What is considered not stock

[Minuit]

Allow me to add my thoughts.

 

All of my "purist" opinions stem from one thing: I just like them better that way. I prefer the way they look and drive without a lift or with a small lift of no more than 2 inches. I expect my trucks to be functional working vehicles when needed, and part of that includes how easy it is for me to load things into the bed - the less I have to lift something to get it in, the better. Could I load sheets of plywood into my MJ if it had a 6" lift? Sure, but it's easier at stock height. If I'm doing grocery shopping in my truck, it's much more convenient for me to just put things into the bed over the walls rather than opening the tailgate. My truck's low ride height and low bed walls make that effortless.

 

And if anyone really thinks I'm a purist, they have no idea how picky people can get.

 

As to "what is stock?" the purist reading would be simple: it's not stock if it did not come from the factory that way. That's a valid way of thinking, but it's not the way I would want my truck to be, so I changed it. For my truck, that would mean an uncomfortable bench seat, no radio, no gauges except the fuel gauge and speedometer, no clock, no center armrest, no cupholder, the absolutely pathetic factory attempt at sound deadening, and 195/75/15 tires. None of those things jive with my preferences and would be an absolute no-go for the style of driving I do with my truck. So I added the things I wanted, and I did it in the way I wanted - everything reversible, everything serviceable, and everything almost completely indistinguishable from my truck having had it in the first place.

 

My truck is about as far as you can go from its original condition while still being considered stock. It just happens that it's my truck and I'm in control of what happens to it. I just happen to like it just fine the way it is.

[PCO6]

I agree with Minuit.      For over 7 years now the only vehicles I've owned are Jeeps.   I currently have 4.   My biggest kick is that everything I need or want to do is done in a Jeep.    None are modified in any big way and all are used on a daily basis unless they're off the road for work I need to do on them.  

 

As my Dad told me when I was young … "When you park your car and walk away, if you don't turn around to look at it you might have bought (or built) the wrong car".   So what ever you do or don't do to your Jeep, so long as you're happy that's all that matters.

[DesertRat1991]

Very interesting hearing the different perspectives.

 

I've always viewed "stock" as a configuratuin of items available from dealer stock, and "all original" as the unmolested, virgin state that rolled off the factory floor.

 

Two questions for you guys:

 

1) If a guy ordered a Comanche with 15" steelies, then goes back to the dealer a week later to have them swapped out for turbines -- do you object to marketing that vehicle as a "stock" Comanche at the time of resale?  

 

2) A different Comanche goes in for its first dealer service and has the lower control arms replaced with the correct dealer-supplied parts. Stock or not?

 

By my compass, both are in stock configurations but neither is "all original."  For that reason, I kind of agree that "stock" is overrated but a 30 year old, low mileage, "all original" is a noteworthy find. 

[amsuco]

2 hours ago, PCO6 said:

As my Dad told me when I was young … "When you park your car and walk away, if you don't turn around to look at it you might have bought (or built) the wrong car".

 

Wise advice indeed.

[Pete M]

1 hour ago, DesertRat1991 said:

 but a 30 year old, low mileage, "all original" is a noteworthy find. 

 

and that's why I sold my beloved Dakota to get my new MJ.     She's not perfect, mind you, but that wear and tear dropped her down to my price range (as well as lets me rest easy after a few minor mods like the headrest).  I would not have been able to afford a truck like her that was garage kept the whole time.    

 

Quote

Two questions for you guys:

 

1) If a guy ordered a Comanche with 15" steelies, then goes back to the dealer a week later to have them swapped out for turbines -- do you object to marketing that vehicle as a "stock" Comanche at the time of resale?  

 

2) A different Comanche goes in for its first dealer service and has the lower control arms replaced with the correct dealer-supplied parts. Stock or not?

 

well, we're getting into the nitty-gritty here and I'd say it depends on the industry definitions of the words.  Does the owner have the paperwork on those mods?

 

[Red Mistress]

IMO after 30 years of collecting is that Jeeps are made to be modified.

That's why there was Jeep Special Equipment offered thru dealers.

 

2 door XJ and MJ are in infancy stage of being future collectible.

 

 

[eaglescout526]

17 hours ago, PCO6 said:

"When you park your car and walk away, if you don't turn around to look at it you might have bought (or built) the wrong car".

Quote of 2020. Makes a whole lotta sense why I look back every morn before I walk in to work.

[CoastChief]

Thank you all for your really well thought out responses. I just want to keep it a 1988 time capsule with modifications only to improve mechanical/ electrical reliability. I’m not entering any auto shows etc, so I don’t need to be down to the extremely fine details. I don’t plan on selling the truck. ( Iv been offered 8k) already. My sister dropped me off in grade school in a XJ. My stepdad taught me to drive manual in a YJ. I got hit by a semi owning before this Jeep.That in mind I could have bought something with airbags . None the less after being merged into by Optimus Prime. I got this Jeep death trap because I love it. I really enjoy Jeeps history, and they don’t make cars that feel this solid anymore. When I park I always double check the locks, keep it clean. Not to tempt anyone to break in. If I go eat it’s always in my vision. 

 

 

[Pete M]

but you SHOULD enter some car shows.    Not the super fancy ones, just anything you can find that's local.  People like to see the old american iron.  

[eaglescout526]

Pete is right. Me and two other members went last night and boy did our MJ's get attention. None of us won any awards but its people looking and seeing that AMC/Jeep made trucks before Chrysler is what really gets them. 

[Minuit]

9 hours ago, CoastChief said:

I’m not entering any auto shows etc, so I don’t need to be down to the extremely fine details.

You should. It's a ton of fun, especially if you go with some other MJ owners. Your truck especially, considering how original it is.

[Eagle]

On 2/21/2020 at 8:30 AM, DesertRat1991 said:

Two questions for you guys:

 

1) If a guy ordered a Comanche with 15" steelies, then goes back to the dealer a week later to have them swapped out for turbines -- do you object to marketing that vehicle as a "stock" Comanche at the time of resale?  

 

 

1) Not stock. The build sheet for that vehicle will say it was built with steel wheels.

 

Quote

2) A different Comanche goes in for its first dealer service and has the lower control arms replaced with the correct dealer-supplied parts. Stock or not?

 

By my compass, both are in stock configurations but neither is "all original."  For that reason, I kind of agree that "stock" is overrated but a 30 year old, low mileage, "all original" is a noteworthy find. 

 

2) Stock. Control arms are "consumables." They are expected to be replaced. If they are replaced with factory parts, the vehicle is still stock. To view it any other way you would have to say that when you do the first tune-up, changing the spark plugs means the vehicle isn't stock. Or the first oil change, if you replace the oil filter. Steel wheels aren't "consumables."

 

 

[Pete M]

8 minutes ago, Eagle said:

 Steel wheels aren't "consumables."

 

tell that to the salt fairies that keep eating mine.  

[Eagle]

4 hours ago, Pete M said:

 

tell that to the salt fairies that keep eating mine.  

 

The salt faeries eat aluminum alloy wheels a lot faster than they eat painted steel wheels, Grasshopper.