What's your Jeep Biography?

[TerryMason]

So, what is your Jeep history?

I've been doing the Jeep thing since high school - here's my "Jeep Biography"

1980 CJ5 - my first Jeep was a 80 CJ5 with a 3 inch body lift and a holley 4 barrel. When I went to buy it in 1991 ($800 cash) you could look through the driver side quarter panel and see out the other one because it was so rusted. This thing was a rolling death trap an I loved it. No back seat, so all my high school friends would just roll around in the back.

1985 CJ7 - this was my baby. I had it from 1993 until 2006. It took me to high school, college, my first, second, and third jobs. There were bugs stuck in the paint for about 5 years, because I painted it in my driveway.

1987 Wrangler - this was going to be for my wife, but ended up donating it's tub to my CJ7. I beat it up and parted it out.

2005 Wrangler - my current ride and my first Jeep daily driver. I planned to keep it stock, but have somehow added a two inch lift, rock sliders, 31s...

So what about you guys?

 

[jtjwrangler]

99 tj - my first jeep was a 99 tj. Bought it new in 99. My first new vehicle ever. Over 4 years I lifted it 4", locked it front and rear, 4.56 gears, exhaust, intake, and chipped the 2.5L, added a winch, and a 1800 watt sound system. Sold it because of too many memories with the ex. Wife didnt like it.

78 Cj7- Bought this for $800. Had more bondo then metal. It was camo and completely stock. Lifted it 4" added tj flares and put 37" tires on it. Started removing panels and replacing them. Painted it lime green with purple flames. Sold this to a guy for his deer lease.

84 Cj7- bought this off of a friend for $5000. Had 360, 4 speed, 14 bolt rear and dana 44 front. Cut the frame in half to replace the rear frame rails because of rust. Double triangulated the rear on tj front coils, welded the spider gears and added hummer beadlocks on 36" tires. Built a cage and bumpers. Twin sticked the dana 300, replaced the 4 speed with a tf727, and added a holley projection to the engine. Traded this for a 73 J10 truggy.

02 TJ- wife got this cheap had it for about 6-8 months and traded in on my tow rig. It was stock.

73 J10- 350 engine, 400 trans, triple sticked 203/205 doubler transfercase on dana 60 front 14 bolt rear. Full hydro steering, spooled front and rear with 5.38 gears. 42" Iroks on recentered hummer bead locks. 4 wheel disc brakes. Runs on propane.

To be continued.....

 

[Jeeper99]

This probably isn't even worth typing due to extreme bordom of everyone taking the time to read, but I've had the Jeep Love for many years. I bought an 88 Toyota with a body lift and 33's that I kept for over 4 years to get me through Highschool and Welding School, then I decided to sell it due to lack of room and also that it was time for a change. So I Started off trying to buy a 79 CJ off a guy who quoted me a price, then when I came back to deal, the tires had been removed/replaced with some Good ole' Bald Eagles, winch and winch bumper gone, high lift jack was also absent...etc....etc. Needless to say I was a little ticked and he still has the CJ.

I looked around for years and could never find what I was looking for until July 07. Ran across a steal for my 99 TJ and Now I don't know what I would do without it. I've got a LONG WAYS to go before I get it to the stage I want it, but I guess we were all there at one point or another. So in other words, I'm a Major Newb to the Jeep Ownership, but love every aspect of it!!

 

[wm69]

1950 Willys Jeepster (2wd convertible made from 48-51). Mom had this one when she was in high school, grandad sold it when I was 14, and I pitched a fit about it.

Dad bought a new 85 Scrambler. It currently has 36XX miles on it. Needless to say, I didn't get to drive it much, so when I was 16 I got

1950 Willy's Jeepster #2. This was one of about 2K of these with the 6 cyl engine. This one was all original and I went in 1/2 with my grandad on it. Only kept it for about a year and 1/2. I didn't know much about cars at the time, my grandad was tired of working on junk cars (spent his whole life doing it) so every little thing was a big ordeal. Wanted something with windows, heat, 12 volt (no more push-starting) and stereo, so sold it (DANG I wish I had this thing back now) and got

85 CJ7. 29K, Renegade. Was in great shape until I teenagered it. Rolled it and had to buy a parts Jeep to fix it

79 CJ7, parts Jeep to fix above Jeep

When I was in school I blew my student loan on

83 CJ7 Laredo, automatic. Lifted, warn winch, 33's, and more rust than metal (covered up with bondo, of course). Bought this one, took the wheels and winch off of it and re-sold it. Thought I would make money on it and get the stuff I took off of it too, but ended losing about $600 on it (although I DID get the winch and 5 aluminum wheels for that $600). Sold this one to a guy who wanted to use it to putter around his farm/ junkyard.

85 CJ7 #2. Found this one and it needed a little work. I had a bunch of extra parts and figured I'd buy it, fix it up, and resell it. Of course I bought it, decided I liked it, and kept it.

As of right now, have both 85's and Dad still has is practically-new Scrambler. Missed a good CJ2 several months ago. Was a great deal but I don't have room for another Jeep and the wife would probably leave if I brought home another one.

 

[Itchee96]

I bought my first Jeep in May of last year with 6000 miles on it. '06 Wrangler, 6 speed and stock. I havent done much to it other than putting some 31's on the generic Jeep wheels and replaced the radio. I also have a safari top for the summer. I plan on getting some half doors, a 2" lift, a 1" body lift, and getting it painted with some new wheels.

I have liked Jeeps since I was a kid when my dad had a Scrambler. I love them, and some day I will own one.

 

[jeepfever]

I've only had two Jeeps.

First Jeep
'73 CJ-5.
In 1989, a bunch of Army buddies and I were waiting in the parking lot of my apartment complex in Manassas, VA for another buddy to show up. We were going to do some winter wheeling near Quantico. The guy who was late owned the Jeep, and, as usual, we had to wait for him. I don't remember which we heard first - the rumblin 360 that it had in it or the sirens. He was running from the law due to outstanding warrants (for doing doughnuts on the courthouse lawn 6 years prior), and as luck would have it........they got him. Yup, he made it to the parking lot of my apartment complex, but that's as far as he AND the Jeep were to go. There were seven police cars that pulled in right behind him, and they jumped out with weapons drawn - right there in front of us. :lol: We had a heck of a laugh over the whole scene. I bought the Jeep a couple months later for $600 to pay the impound fees and get it out of Jeep Jail.

The tub AND the sheetmetal riveted to the floorboard were gone. You could see the ground. Even the rubber floor mats had holes in them. I replaced all the steel with a full fiberglass tub and dog box with the exception of the windshield and grill. I added 6 point roll cage, new seats front and rear, 35" Ground Hawgs, 4" Skyjacker, 3" body lift (stupid), new Bestop, and more s*** than I care to list. That thing would climb a tree if the bark would hold! I sold it in "92 when I got back from Germany to pay for diapers and formula for my new born daughter. My wife hated this Jeep, but I loved everything about it other than the T14. She liked the way it looked, but hated just about everything else. The suspension was so stiff on it that it hurt her when we drove, and she had to ride with her arms wrapped around her chest. Not only that, every time she rode in it something broke.

Still.......the Jeep bug still had a hold of me.

Current Jeep
'85 CJ7 completely disassembled.
In '06 she asked if I'd build another Jeep. I didn't even hesitate. I told her "Yes, but I'll need more tools." :shades: We started looking for a potential project, and found it in April '07. It needs quite a bit of massaging, but it has a solid foundation to work with. It's just not too appealing to the eye. We started the complete disassembly the day we got it home with the intent of rebuilding and getting it close to stock with just a few mild modifications. The tub is still off, and I'm still working on the drive train. The transmission and Xfer case should both be back in it in late October so that I can start on the tub. It needs a little metal in a few places. I hope to have the Jeep back on the road in late '09.

 

[redrooster]

First Jeep was an 85 Cherokee 2 door. This Jeep somehow had the oddball 4 cylinder Iron duke and 4 speed manual. It was supposed to have the newer 4 cyl for that particular year. Who knows, it was still AMC back then and they were known for that kind of stuff. I ended up putting a 4" lift and 31's on it. Fun truck, completely unreliable, but still fun.

Second Jeep was a 1993 Grand Cherokee Limited. It was a green and gold chick magnet. This was a daily driver and stock. Still had the 2 door Cherokee until I sold it for the following:

Third and current Jeep is a 78 Levi's edition CJ7. It originally had a 304 with 3 speed. I bought it in 1996 and it looked like it had been sitting under a pine tree with no top for at least two years. It didn't run but did have a locker in the rear, and a brand new winch on the front. Fast forward many chapters and untold fortunes to the present and the only original parts left are the tub, steering column and heater. She currently rides on a YJ frame, chevy engine transmission and axles, atlas transfer case and some Q Buckshots.

 

[wrangler_x03]

my first jeep was 1988 cherokee 5 speed manual all stock. i painted all the decales pink and had fun cutting through fields

second is a 2003 wrangler X 5 speed manual with 31 bfg mt 2 7" fog lights and k&n intake system. the rest is stock for now.

 

[SteelHeadz]

I grew up from a Different country where Jeeps here are called Jeepneys there. it was built for 2, 4, 15 seat configurations. varying from a painted sheet metal or stainless steel. some are set up like a low rider with slicks just for racing. some are daily drivers and the 15 seaters are for public transportation. i always thought they were cool. then i decided to move here to the U.S. and saw the diff. kinds of jeeps. it wasnt till 7 years ago when i went back to Las Vegas for a Motorcycle Rallye to laughlin nevada that i got involved into helping my best friend work on his 81CJ7. i kept telling him to drive it more than it sits in the garage. after a week when i got back home here in texas, a Pick-up truck and a flatbed trailer showed up in my driveway on a saturday. on the flatbed sat my best friends jeep. i immediately picked up the phone and called him to see what the heck was going on. he simply asked me to spiffy it up for him and sell it. so i did and bought it. i literally had this jeep striped down to the bare body and worked on it from there. so there is a lot of pride on this jeep including sentimental values. its always watched by the local law enforcement if not by me. its always loaded with at least 2 firearms and all the electronic gadgets i use. i asked my wife that if my time came to hit the bucket, just rent a backhoe and dig a hole in the backyard big enough for the jeep with me in it. The Name SteelHeadz is actually my Business Name for Custom steel Fabrications. this Business started with this Jeep. After designing and building everything on the jeep it became a rolling showroom.

 

[Itchee96]

Well, you did a great job on it.

 

[black87yj]

my 1st was a 77 cj golden eagle. i had a friend looking for a jeep for ME. he found it and decided to keep it ! it took a year of begging and price raiseing to get her. the tub was toast bty then, but it had a 304 with under 70,000 ! i glass tubbed it edelbrock and headers 4 inch lift 33s full cage and new glass. found a beat up hard top and repaired it and two hdoors. only dislike was the full time quadratrac. wife was begging for a "more family friendly" ride so i sold it and used the cash to buy a dodge ram....nice truck...but not for me. i found another 70ish cj w/258 six and 4 speed. ugly but fun. then bought a 70 cj5 for parts and finally the wife saw i needed a jeep in the drivway more than a truck so i got her a liberty and me a tj ! my daughter turned 16 and bought a yj...she soon wanted a car (boo hiss roar of the crowd !) so i sold my tj and bought her yj ! no more payments and lots more to play with. so now i have 5 inches to clear the 32 bfg mudders a 2150 carb nutter and tfi along with lots of littler mods ! i miss the tj but lve my YJ ! thats me...............

 

[black87yj]

thats a cool story ! my dad always said find a job you love !

 

[ndnatty]

My first jeep was a 95 wrangler, blue and stock. Didn't have much money for mods so it stayed stock except for the CB I put in it. Then I traded it for a 98 jeep cherokee because the woman I started to see had kids and they didn't like the open wrangler like I did (what I was think, well only one thing obviuosly). It was leased so I drove the crap out of it and turned it back in with over 100K miles, since I didn't want to pay for the overage I offered to buy it. They said no, and I said it's all yours and walked out without paying a dime!! It was in the contract and since I just got out of law school I found a flaw in their wording...they agreed! Then I found a old beat up 1979 jeep cj-7 with the original 304 in it. I said write it up when the salesman hopped in on a really cold NC winter morning and it started right up. I got it with a two part warranty (if it broke in two when I drove it off, I got to keep both parts!) and drive it to the mountains smelling like exhaust when I got there. Come to find out the body was made up of old road signs, the speedometer cable was snaped, but after a ground up rebuild I still have her! Then I decided I needed one with AC for this florida heat and humidity when I went to work so I picled up a 2008 jk unlimited rubicon since my wife said it would be hard to put a baby seat into a porsche! Now I jsut have to find the time to work on both, as my '79 is getting neglected.

 

[Vanmantraveler]

OK...
Started out with a 69 SJ Wagoneer (first Lux SUV) AC power windows 350 buick hooked to a Dana 20 and crappy axles, 4 inch lift and 33's... it was a luxo off roader.... body got to bad so we parted it out to the Full size jeep crew...then the wife wanted a Jeep of her own....

So we bought her a 88 XJ 4.0 L Jeep 4 inch lift and 31's that beast whent all over the place and was fun off road on camping trips in the desert of Utah and AZ. 180K miles and the motor blew up parted it out.

Now we have a CJ5 in a box... Needs new everything.... I have a good frame and a good transfercase.... the rest is junk and will get replaced over the next few years. How is the scrap metal prices? 81 CJ5 wimpy 2.5 L GM with a 4 speed and tooth pick axles. More rust then body, More holes then seats, has been sitting in a field since the early 90's. But it is my wife's new Jeep and she loves it. Already have the Hi lift Jack for it and scouting out new motor and Axles.... lots of work to do.:?|