Posted by Jesse Ybarra
on 7/24/2012, 20:07:34, in reply to "searching for a 677 daily driver"
71.223.179.143
Hello Bill B.,
Sorry I have been offline for a while, my computer was out with an annoying virus.
All of us have dreams, I luckily have been able to enjoy and drive my dreams, it would not be as much of a dream vehicle for me if everyone had an FC, that only a few of my friends and I have and that is especially true with the M-Series vehicles .
Blaine made the comment of cut and splicing to create a 4 door, what you end up with is a civilian single cab made into a 4 door, but it will never be an M-677. The hardest part about Blaine's post is, where do you find these people that are willing to give up the space and give up production work to do this type of work.
It doesn't make sense because you can buy M-677s that already exist For Sale. It is easy to imagine getting two FC cabs and cut them and put them together, but the beds are also M-677 only, doing simple math add up the hundreds of hours it takes to do this type of work (X) how much per hour, to professionally complete the work, a good fabrication shop needs to be charging over $50-70 per hour, to keep the doors open (+) all of the materials.
I feel fortunate that no auto manufacturer has been able to actually create a new production 4 door FC 4x4 vehicle like the M-677, in today's world it would need to at least have an SBC 383, 375 hp / 390 ft/lb torque or equal. To be a freeway driven, dream catcher.
I know of only two other M-677 high performance haulers that are actually able to be qualified to be called daily driver M-677 Duallys, Vance's and Troy's. I know of only a few M-677s, that are finished originals, and a few more that are currently being completed as freeway flyers. I equally like both the repowered and originals.
I can not explain why, but for now, I know of no others that have been considered on the road daily driver haulers. My definition of an FC hauler requires being able to haul another FC on a trailer at cross country sustained freeway speeds. Duallys have better control while hauling another FC on a trailer against the wind, additionally just think about any FC with or without a trailer at freeway speeds, the cab of an FC is pushing a lot of wind to get up to speeds over 70+ mph, so then add Mother Natures wind at 40-60 mph.
There are other M-677 vehicles out there that will be completed, only one more that I know of as a dually, that is Craig's, I have his future chassis here at my place, so I know it will be done. And there are 2 non dually super rigs, that I have been the previous owner of and I am currently an advisor during the completion of the build, one is the Duramax 6.6, / Allison 6 speed 4x4 M-677, and the other is a Cad 500" powered M-677, I have had mine on the road since the mid 90s and I intend to keep mine until I am in my mid 90s.
I have a lot of people that ask what I think some of my vehicles are worth and my answer is always the same answer, they are worth every precious minute, that I can get to enjoy driving them.
Good luck in you quest, I hope to add you to the list of M-series owners.
Jesse Ybarra
--Previous Message--
: Good day all.
: I am new to the forum and wanted to
: introduce myself, I have been a Jeep lover
: from before I could drive.
: My Dad and Granddad understood that Willy's
: and Jeep represented American ingenuity and
: spirit and they passed that on to me. My Dad
: was in the market for a M677 when the Red,
: White and Blue Cj5 Super Jeep was released
: in 1973, and when he saw it the course was
: set. I still own that Cj, a one-of-a-kind, I
: believe, but the M677 weighs on my mind. I
: drove '77 Cj5 as my daily driver for almost
: 30 years, but I am now thinking its time to
: dream again. I am hoping to find a M677 to
: use as my daily driver. I do a lot of
: community work and would pair it with a
: trailer, but it would be my
: "do-all" drive. I no longer have
: the shop I used to, so I am looking for one
: that has already seen a conversion and can
: handle freeway travel.
: Well, its good to be on-board and I look
: forward to possibly becoming a member of the
: FCC Family. Thanks for the help. Bill+
:
:
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