I come from a Jeep family. Growing up we had a 1963 Willy's Wagon (wish we still owned that one), a 1959 CJ 3spd 4cyl we changed out to a Chev 327, a 1976 ?CJ? with the Buick V6, and I now have a 2002 TJ Sahara I6/Auto.
Every one of these Jeeps was/is fun to own and had advantages and some disadvantages. I'd own any of them again, but my heart longs back to the Willy's Wagon.
My current TJ does about all I'd want it to do (so far) with the mods that I have made. I do recognize that it would have been more cost efficient to have just bought a TJ Rubicon rather than add the lockers and gears myself. But, building this one up has been fun, and it is now close to being equal to a Rubicon.
Regarding that Jeep you thought was underpowered. Maybe it is just undergeared. My TJ Sahara came stock with 3.07 gears, and it was a bit doggy on the road. I changed gears to 4.10's and that improved performance quite a bit. My only complaint is that until I get my lift and 33's, the 4.10's make it tach pretty high when on the street. So you might want to check the gearing, and if 3.07's, that can be changed.
Good luck on your acquisition. And someday, you'll wish you kept your YJ.
