CJ-7 Goes Electric

Father and Son Team Transform a Rusty ’79 Jeep CJ-7 Into an All-Electric Keeper

See those smiles? That is the look of a man who has finally freed himself of the woes at the pump. Specifically those that come with owning a 1979 CJ-7.

You see, Adam Verhage of Nebraska (pictured right), has turned his old, rusty CJ-7 into an all-electric Jeep, powered by eight 12-volt batteries and a 75-horsepower electric motor. Amazingly, it gets 16 to 20 miles on a single charge, as highlighted in a Journal Star report.

Well, that’s in the summer. In cold weather, Adam says he might only be able to get 12 miles on a single charge.

CHECK OUT: What Forum Members Are Saying About This Electric CJ-7

Adam and his dad, Carroll Verhage (pictured left), have devoted nearly 800 hours to fixing up the Jeep, which Adam bought for $500. In fact, he says the only things that were really salvageable on the CJ were its axles and transmissions, steering wheel, and grille.

“It originally was in terrible, terrible shape. It was sitting in the weeds, and it had been there for several years, and it hadn’t run,” said Adam. “We started with nothing.”

But Adam is no stranger to tooling around under the hood. He grew up helping restore 1920s and 1930s John Deere tractors, which his father collected. Carroll was an electronics tech in the Navy, so that really helped with all the electrical work needed to fix up the Jeep.

Using an electric motor cut nearly 1,000 pounds from the CJ’s original weight. And while Adam is quick to note the Jeep is no Tesla Model S, it’s still a very interesting vehicle nonetheless.

Via [Journal Star]