Wow, I don't even know where to begin in this forum, I don't want to incur any critisism. Well if you already have a daily driver, and are just wanting something to play with you have a few choices, all pretty much depending on what you want to do. If you just want to go out and play every other weekend or so, I say get a stock, not beaten-to-death on the trail, pre 81 CJ-7. It will probably be ugly enough you don't have to worry about hurting the body. The engine is pretty basic and relatively easy to work on, not to mention when it's running right it's got great power. It's already pretty much a go anywhere machine, you'd be surprised where you can get with a set of 31" mud tires and a winch. Seriously, unless you are planning on some really serious trails, you don't have to do much to go anywhere. Be careful and pick a good line, and you're set. Just make sure you have a buddy with you in case something happens to you. If you are wanting to do some hardcore wheeling where you have the possibility of rolling over, I really wouldn't recommend ANY CJ with the stock axles under it. In my opinion, they are just too narrow. If you are going hardcore enough to require 35" tires, and you don't want to worry about breaking everytime you get in a sticky situation and give it some gas, then you're probably going to replace the axles anyway. You say you know a little something about Internationals? Well they made a pretty decent set of Dana 44's in their scouts. Everybody and their mother is going to have an opinion about what you should run, but it's dependent on you. The crazier the trails are you run on, the crazier the modifications are going to have to be for you to be able to run the trail. The only reasons I suggest a CJ is because they are (well, they can be) cheap, and simple. I say run what you want, it will always be the best to you, as what everyone else runs is always the best to them. Hope I gave you little insight, and good luck.

P.S.: CJ's 76 and later all came with the Dana 30 front, and the AMC 20 rear, with both axles becoming widetrack models somewhere around 81 or 82. The exception to the AMC 20 is a Dana 44 in some 86 models.