Don't stand up in an old CJ.  You are likely to fall through the rusted out floorboard, held in place only by the paint.  Ask me why I know.  You can fix that with new welded in plates.  There are water drain holes in the floor.  Very handy for off-road, but very prone to rusting even earlier than everything else!

Old CJ-7... New Body tub, New Crate Motor installed, new wiring harness...
That would be the golden ticket.

For $5000 more you could get a newly manufactured frame, transmission, and axles and skip the old CJ-7 part.

Like how you can build a Glock with ZERO Glock parts... You could build a whole new Jeep with no Jeep parts.

 

"Boys, go clean the garage out!"

The new Wranglers are nice, but pricey, and they hold their value as well (if not better) than a Tacoma or a diesel.

Looked at them at the local dealerships but you weren't going home with anything they had for under 33k new, and used isn't really much cheaper around here. Very popular, but more than I could spend. I didn't like the idea of financing one for 7 years so I could "afford" the payment.

You can still get them with manuals or auto and I hear the new 3.6L V6 is a good engine. I still think they are cool if you have the means, I just don't.

The craigslist crowd still wants ridiculous money for these things even when old and beat to s___.