Automan2164

Eh, that's big money. For me, I would rather see an MJ in original tattered war paint with some age than new shiny paint. Who knows what else could be hiding under that paint. If the bondo/filler is this easy to see now, just wait until that paint gets some seasons under it's belt and starts showing it's true colors in HD. Rob

Recently, I have been on the search for a replacement for my daily driver '98 Grand Cherokee. I bought it because it was cheaper at the time than XJ's, and it was the closest thing I could get. Granted, it's been the nicest thing I have ever owned. Memory, leather, steering wheel controls for the radio, sunroof... Etc. I like it, but it's always made me nervous with the Chryco trans, the D35 or D44HD, and all the gagetry. Recently the rough midwest winters were starting to show also... Rust. I've been searching for a replacement for 6 months pretty heavily now, but I am super super picky. Prices have skyrocketed around here over the past couple years. I bet some has to do with CFC, and shortages, but holy crap. Just a couple years ago, I could buy a nice XJ for $2500 where as now the same thing seems to be $5000 at a minimum. As a gauge, at the public surplus auction we send some of our municipal cars to from work, they had a '01 XJ that a town over used in it's public works fleet. Just a sport, about average condition, little rust on the rockers, holes from antennas and lights, mounting holes in the inside... 67K. When the dust settled, it fetched $5300. A week later, it was for sale at a local used car lot for $8000. I heard through the grapevine that he got $7800 or so. Crazy money. I've looked at a few, but one bothered me in particular. I found an '01 60th with 130K about 3-4 hours away. Seller was super cool, had bought it in '02, had the dealer install mudflaps and a hitch. Been dealer maintained ever since. Guy had BFG A/T's on it, and even had a chart of how he rotated the tires, including the spare. Weather guard floormats, perfect exterior. All records kept, "immaculate". Had to make special mention of a door dent on the passenger side. The perfect PO. I drove the distance, only to find that he had lived on a gravel road, and the whole thing was sandblasted clean. It was so bad that the leading edge of the rear flares actually had texture... Wouldn't budge on his $5500 asking price. Thanks but no thanks. Didn't even take it for a ride. I have been getting down on it for awhile, it seemed all were out of reach, or just piles. Problem was that they were selling. I had my eye out for a late model limited, black/red/silver, agate leather interior, and preferably a '98-99 because of the head issues in '00-01. I found a few in various condition, most on opposite ends of the spectrum on price and condition. I looked at a '98 Limited on Monday, black, mist (light) grey leather interior, and keyless. 100K on it, $5000. Wouldn't budge, had cracking paint and bad body work. Not looking good. Then on Tuesday, I found this: Something was wrong with it. Had to be. $4000 with all that work? I had to go look. A high end independent repair shop had it, and it was sitting amongst the likes of Mercedes AMG's, Audi's, and Rovers. Looked fairly clean, no rot, no horrid damage other than what a 15 year old vehicle might accumulate. No hitch, but it was a non-ABS, so it got the 8.25. 231 instead of a 242, but I could deal. All said parts were replaced, looked new, and properly done. They had gotten it from a longtime customer who was the original owner. He owed some money on another car, and gave this to them for the balance. The shop did the work in their downtime, and put it up for sale. The original owner must have been pretty well off, as the condition of the interior and exterior showed some care... That, and it has one hell of an alarm. Pressure sensors, shock sensors, auto arm... Yowza. After a short test drive (and finding the window sticker), I was sold. No leaks other than a rear pinion. I offered $3500, and we settled on $3600. Other than a serpentine belt that was glazed from the old coolant leak that I replaced and a leaky valve stem, I am pretty happy with it. I washed and clay-bar'ed it this morning, plan on giving it a buff this week... Shine up the black and get rid of some of the surface scratches. For the pics: All I have to do to dial it into my liking is install an overhead console, hitch, replace the factory radio with another one (I like the factory one, and this one is shorting out the left speaker), upgrade the speakers in the doors/soundbar, add factory fogs, and maybe contemplate finding a agate leather interior, even though this one is growing on me. It might stay just to appease the window sticker. I've never had a car with one, so I don't want to ruin the integrity... Haha. The ZJ is on CL waiting for a new home. I can't honestly say I will be happy to see it go, but a change was needed. Hopefully I can find someone who can pickup where I left off. Rob :cheers:

Rules are stickied (Always on top) of every forum. Rob

Considering the 85 horsepower and 135 foot lbs of torque moves the MJ along just fine, I bet that nearly 200/300 combo feels more than adequate. Rob

You said it brother. Rob

Don't believe all the hype... Watch your sources. If you only hear what you want, you don't get the whole story. http://news.yahoo.co...-205828426.html "There's no bigger challenge to writing about complex topics than making sure words mean what one wants them to. Today's exhibit comes from a story quoting a Jeep executive on the company's plans for getting back into China which, through the power of a clumsly misreading, has morphed into a charge that Jeep "is considering giving up on the United States and shifting production to China." It's not -- but many people suffering from election fever will want to believe it anyway. The story began with this Bloomberg piece, where Jeep chief Mike Manley talks about the prospects for the Jeep Wranger and Grand Cherokee in China. Chrysler had built the older-generation Jeep Cherokee in China decades ago, but lost the plant en route to bankruptcy, and has been seeking ways back into the world's largest market for new cars since. "We're reviewing the opportunities within existing capacity" Manley told Bloomberg, as well as "should we be localizing the entire Jeep portfolio or some of the Jeep portfolio." That quote led Paul Bedard of the Washington Examiner to assume Jeep was ready to pack up its Toledo plant and sail west. "It appears that the taxpayer bailed-out Chrysler is looking back and now considering cutting costs by shifting production of all Jeeps to China, which has a strong desire for Jeeps," Bedard wrote today. That story quickly gained traction in political circles, fueled by the continuing political sparring over the bailouts of Chrysler and General Motors that's become a staple of the presidential election. The problem: Bedard's flat wrong. "Localizing" as Manley said means building versions of Jeep models in China, just as all major automakers tweak their products for Chinese production, safety rules and local tastes. China has yet to become an exporter of vehicles to the United States, and only one automaker imports vehicles from China to the United States today -- the start-up electric car builder Coda, which finishes its cars in California and has sold only a handful to date. In fact, Chrysler has sunk its roots deeper in Toledo, committing last year to spend $500 million on the factory complex and add 1,100 workers, based on plans to eventually build a variety of models at one of the two plants there. The Toledo Jeep Wrangler plant has been running at full-tilt this year, as has the Detroit plant that builds the Grand Cherokee. Moving either anywhere would cost Chrysler billions of dollars in costs and lost sales -- and both make huge profits for the automaker. To be fair, this misreading was fueled by President Barack Obama's comment in the last debate that absent his administration's rescue of GM and Chrysler, "we'd be buying cars from China instead of selling cars to China." In truth, Chinese automakers had a chance to buy Jeep and any other part of Chrysler from its private equity owners in February 2008 before its bankruptcy, but passed. Even if a Chinese buyer had carved out Jeep, the finances of shifting output over the Pacific would have been even worse. People inside the auto industry knew what Manley meant, but stripped of all context, and with no background the phrase could be used to create a political ghost story. Election day can't get here soon enough." Rob

I know a few of you were wondering the same thing I was, which is "How do you mark forums read without entering every forum and clicking the button, then moving to the next..." The other night, I stumbled upon salvation. From the main forum page, if you want to mark a forum read, click the quote bubble on the left before the forum title. Done. Happy forum-ing. Rob :cheers:

One was all it took. You see him fall to the floor after I reminded him of the fury of the Thunderchief? Rob

Guy told me that in person that the Thunderchief was just red and ugly. Rob

Drilling holes is almost more than certain. Once you can accept that, it's all down hill. Rob

No they won't work. Break out the metal working tools. Rob

You could have welded up a pole to mount in the middle of the bed too Ben... Sort of a "Welcome Wagon". Rob

The VIN will tell us how close you are to the last one made. Cross your fingers for a 223,000+ serial and a '92 build. Rob

What is the build date on the drivers door and or the last 6 of the VIN? Rob

Really nothing other than the truck itself. It's built for scale competition, but I don't have any of that around here. I picked it up more as just something to tinker with while on the couch. Rob

The winch on the front of mine is actually functional... And rated for 3 lbs IIRC. Rob

It's basically just a company that does the dirty work for you. I wanted to sandblast the truck myself before applying POR15, but living in a residential area, as well as not having a compressor that could take a blaster chose to go this route. I will just drop off the truck to them, and from there, they roll it into their shop and blast away. I will be getting the frame rails, underbody, engine compartment, cab floor, and bed underside blasted so I can have clean canvas for the POR15. The rest will be sanded by hand before automotive paint. I assume they have a booth, which allows them to recycle the media, and they charge an hourly rate for services rendered. For sandblasting, I think it is $100 an hour. Having them do this for me saves me the mess, hassle, and noise complaints from the neighbors. The prep company also does baking soda blasting, powder coating, hydro graphics (Where they wrap metal with a baked on graphic), and general metal refinishing services. This is their website: http://www.metalprepservices.com/ I have thought about it Ben. I plan on doing a pinstripe on the truck when it's done. I had contemplated painting the wheels white to match, and duplicating the stripe on the lip. I wouldn't do soft 8's, but was thinking of these, wrapped in some re-treads. 285/75R16 Guard Dog MT's As for the blasting, I would hope that more comes back than a swiss cheese frame. The body is pretty solid so lets hold out hope for good things to come back. Like bare, shiny steel. Mmm... Steel. Rob

Had some time to get everything ready for the blaster this weekend while taking breaks from housework. I removed the brake lines, fuel lines, master, steering box, doors, and all the little things that needed to come off yet. Only things that could come off at this point would be the glass, hood, and suspension... I managed to save all the break lines, and most of the hardware. Now all that is left is to put the bed on with a couple bolts, and cart the works over to the metal prep place. Rob :cheers:

Shield the eyes of your MJ, mine's naked! Rob :thumbsup:

If you want to see a video of those, I have a few... The previous owner was really good at making them... As well as ruining the truck. I got it cheap, but had to redo the whole thing. His video: Rob

whowey has a GI truck that was shipped to Europe. Bought it from the original owner who had it delivered over there while he was in the service. Rob

Nope. It was a standalone option, and IIRC, part of the offroad package. Rob

Screw making it. Go to the jy with a sawzall, cut the bottom off an oil pan, and grab one. Rob

I believe it included the front skid, t-case skid, gas tank skid, and an optional D44. Rob