1977 Jeep CJ7 review from North America

I have replaced the vacuum advance on the Prestolite distributor 3 times in 30 years of the Jeep's life.

Vinyl seats split a little, body rusted out. Was rusty when we bought it 3 years old, patched it every few years, finally replaced it with a stainless steel body. Jeeps those years rusted out in the rust belt states.

Front axle U-joints went bad around 80,000 miles or less. Replaced with greasable.

Engine and tranny still original, but have replaced rockers and pushrods to quiet lifter noise some.

Smog tubes rusted out when 3 years old. Crimped them to prevent asphyxiation.

It's a Jeep! Tough, easy to work on or customize. Simple and reliable. 1 BBL Carter carb easy to overhaul. Been in the family for 38 years!

77 was a good year. Similar to 76. More smog stuff in later models. Some advantages of 78 or 79 was motocraft distributor replaced Prestolite, disc brakes on front became an option, but mileage and reliability may have gone down.

Lighter doors with nicer handles came out on hardtops in 1980, and many improvements in 1981. In 81, everything was made lighter. Thinner sheetmetal, aluminum (weak) 4 speed tranny. Taller gearing for mileage. Less power due to complex smog junk. Better seats (highback) than my 77. My 81 is still a good Jeep at 160,000 miles too though.

Heater in 76-77 Jeeps was poor. Ventilation and heat much better by 81. Not sure when it was improved. Ride and handling improved on 81. Wider offset rims, heavier sway bar... better springs?