The Jeep is where my love of the Willys family of vehicles started. I remember seeing a billboard advertising a Jeep when I was about a ten year old. Funny but at the time I remember thinking both how cool it was and how when I grew up I probably wouldn't find it practical enough to actually buy. Maybe I never grew up, because I bought one after searching for about a year to get just the year, color, and everything just right.

From '88 to '98 I drove my beloved 1978 CJ-7 as my primary transportation (and most of that time as my only transportation).  It had a gutless 304 cid engine. When I got it, it still had the the "Levi" package - kind of blue jeans looking top and seats, but the top and the plastic seats were well past their useful life so they weren't kept.

It went through numerous iterations of tops (soft and hard) and multiple wheels (the mags on the 51 Willys came from the Jeep). Chrome radiator cover. First painted the front bumper red but eventually put on a chrome bumper.

Ran 32" BFG AT's and installed a SkyJacker set of springs that gave 2" of lift.

Naturally had a killer stereo. Removable Alpine head, Quart 4" speakers in front dash, 6.5" Quarts on the rear fender wells, 10" JBL sub, two Alpine amps with a total of 350 watts. 

I put in seats I got from a Honda in a junkyard. They had nice side bolsters, which were black, and I had an upholstery shop make the center panel red and then make the rear seat black and red to match with some added padding to bolster the sides a bit.

Yes, I'm here as prove that if you're willing to make the door strikes work (take the frame support with striker from a later model and cut/weld it in), you can fit Wrangler doors on a CJ-7 - contrary to what my Jeep dealer told me. Photo to right is the Wrangler hardtop & doors.

I always wanted to drop in a Chevy 350, but never got to it. I sold it when I got my Dodge Ram V-10 and it was leaking engine oil at the rate of a quart per tank, so it definitely needed a going over. Still cant see an older Jeep on the road without having getting a smile on my face.