Forest for the trees.....
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JK Newbie
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 83
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From: Dirty Jersey
Forest for the trees.....
This is my first post here so i'm gonna tell a bit of a story, please bear with me....
My first experience in a Jeep was in Australia back in 79' when I was just a little kid. There were only three vehicles that I saw on the dunes of WA, a Suzuki Jimny(Samurai), Honda three-wheelers, and a Jeep CJ-5. The CJ-5 had the biggest tires and the biggest engine so it was the most fun to ride in. All I remember besides the dark blue color....... is that I wanted one.
Several years later I took my drivers license in an a 4wd AMC Eagle wagon, I was not impressed, but then again I had little experience in cars at the time. I couldn't afford my own car anyways so I had to save my pennies. I lived in upstate Maine at the time, a great place to go muddin' but my dad got me a black Chevy Nova 2 door. It had black wheels and a red interior. No complaints, awesome car, it was my first, and it was a free, with gobs of power. It lasted about 3 years I think,....then I wrecked it by getting in a mud slinging contest with a Jeep. Real smart move on my part, but hey, I was a kid. Young and dumb. It was around that same time that I was introduced to REAL offroad mud slinging. This time it was in a CJ-7. We tooled around in the woods and muck for hours, well into the night. All I remember is the the Jeep was black, had big knobby swamper tires, and we had alot of fun,.....and that I wanted one.
Over the next 10 years or so I sampled a variety of cars and trucks, some muscle, some econo-box, some old, some new. I even test drove a YJ in 91', but I couldn't afford the bigger engine, and I didn't like the square headlights. I bought a white Ford Escort coupe of all things,.....what was I thinking? The Escort got a CB radio, an 8ft whip, and I painted the wheels black so that it would look sportier with the white letter BFG Radial TA's.
A few more years go by and I move to the foothills of Colorado. In 95', not having the internet to tell me about the new TJ coming out, I buy a regular cab 2wd S-10. It didn't make too much difference though, I had beat up the Escort pretty bad by taking it offroad and I needed an affordable vehicle that had more ground clearance than an Escort. Seeing the new TJ was cool though,.....and it reminded me that I wanted one.
So what do you with a 2wd truck in the early 90's? That's right, I lowered it. Doh! But seriously, it was alot better looking slammed, and I had more excuses than just 2wd when it got stuck in the mud and snow that it inevitably found. It was silver, but a stripper otherwise. Black bumpers, black grill, a black bedcover, and a black Wilson 500 CB antenna. It too got BFG Radial TA's, and it too looked cool when I painted the wheels black.
As much as I did take that truck up into the mountains I didn't mess it up, and in all honesty it was a great little vehicle for me for many years. Next stop.......Bahrain?
I joined the USMC in 98'. I shot rockets, played with C4, filled a few sandbags, and drove a few Hummers through impossible conditions. Hummers are great offroad vehicles, but they suck at everything else. I was too busy to drive much of anything else. However, I did get to drive the Mercedes IFAV too, and that was a great little offroader in its own right. It reminded me that Jeeps and mud were fun,......and that I wanted one.
After the Marines though I kinda wanted something else. Blame The Fast and the Furious, Initial D, Cannonball Run, or whatever, but I wanted a hot hatch. So when I got out of the Marines I bought a VW GTI. I fixed it up, drove it fast, raced it a little, and had a blast. Then I traded it in and got another one. It too got fixed up, and it was faster, and handled even better, but I never really found out how much better because i'm getting older or wiser or something. Speed just isn't as important as it once was. I still value small, compact, and capable, but fast isn't really that important anymore,....and fast doesn't always get you over 3 inches of snow bank. In fact it and a very firm racing suspension can get you high centered in a parking lot pretty fast if you are not careful. Both of my VW GTI's were adorned with black wheels btw,....hmmm.
So, here I am, thinking about all the cars i've owned over the years, and all the automotive experiences i've had, and it occured to me that maybe the right choice of personal transport for me has always been right in front of me.
What do I need in a vehicle....
I need it to be able to handle a decent sized antenna or two for my CB and ham radios.
I'd like for it to be able to drive in mud and snow, and maybe even go "muddin" on occasion.
I enjoy working on and modding my vehicles so it needs to have some good aftermarket sources.
Does anyone know where I can find a compact, 2 door, not too expensive, utilitarian type of vehicle, that can look good with BFG white letter tires and black wheels?
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
The answer pretty much punched me in the head a little over a year ago when I helped my girlfriend buy a new 2010 Sahara.
Was this the dream vehicle I had been waiting for?
To be honest, I wasn't overtly impressed right away. The quality of the interior just isn't up to the level a VW has. Its power was almost non-existant. The mileage and fuel cost kinda suck too. I've been running 93 octane in my GTI's for 10 years now, making well over 250hp and ftlbs of torque when I needed it, and i'm still getting 25mpg or more daily after over 150000 combined miles.
Granted her JK can hit a pothole with nary a twitch, and her roof comes off in the summer, but I dunno.....the 2010 JK just didn't do it for me.
Then the new interior....
Then the new engine....
Then Sahara Tan....
Then Dozer Yellow....
OK, enough excuses, I need a JK.
Long story short, the shopping has begun, the lists are made, the money is being set aside, and the time is near. I hope to be a proud owner of a 2012 Dozer Yellow JK hardtop some time in the next couple of months.
PS: Is it bad that I already have planned on AEV Pintlers(black of course), 285/70/17 BFG KM2's, and a Teraflex leveling kit?
My first experience in a Jeep was in Australia back in 79' when I was just a little kid. There were only three vehicles that I saw on the dunes of WA, a Suzuki Jimny(Samurai), Honda three-wheelers, and a Jeep CJ-5. The CJ-5 had the biggest tires and the biggest engine so it was the most fun to ride in. All I remember besides the dark blue color....... is that I wanted one.
Several years later I took my drivers license in an a 4wd AMC Eagle wagon, I was not impressed, but then again I had little experience in cars at the time. I couldn't afford my own car anyways so I had to save my pennies. I lived in upstate Maine at the time, a great place to go muddin' but my dad got me a black Chevy Nova 2 door. It had black wheels and a red interior. No complaints, awesome car, it was my first, and it was a free, with gobs of power. It lasted about 3 years I think,....then I wrecked it by getting in a mud slinging contest with a Jeep. Real smart move on my part, but hey, I was a kid. Young and dumb. It was around that same time that I was introduced to REAL offroad mud slinging. This time it was in a CJ-7. We tooled around in the woods and muck for hours, well into the night. All I remember is the the Jeep was black, had big knobby swamper tires, and we had alot of fun,.....and that I wanted one.
Over the next 10 years or so I sampled a variety of cars and trucks, some muscle, some econo-box, some old, some new. I even test drove a YJ in 91', but I couldn't afford the bigger engine, and I didn't like the square headlights. I bought a white Ford Escort coupe of all things,.....what was I thinking? The Escort got a CB radio, an 8ft whip, and I painted the wheels black so that it would look sportier with the white letter BFG Radial TA's.
A few more years go by and I move to the foothills of Colorado. In 95', not having the internet to tell me about the new TJ coming out, I buy a regular cab 2wd S-10. It didn't make too much difference though, I had beat up the Escort pretty bad by taking it offroad and I needed an affordable vehicle that had more ground clearance than an Escort. Seeing the new TJ was cool though,.....and it reminded me that I wanted one.
So what do you with a 2wd truck in the early 90's? That's right, I lowered it. Doh! But seriously, it was alot better looking slammed, and I had more excuses than just 2wd when it got stuck in the mud and snow that it inevitably found. It was silver, but a stripper otherwise. Black bumpers, black grill, a black bedcover, and a black Wilson 500 CB antenna. It too got BFG Radial TA's, and it too looked cool when I painted the wheels black.
As much as I did take that truck up into the mountains I didn't mess it up, and in all honesty it was a great little vehicle for me for many years. Next stop.......Bahrain?
I joined the USMC in 98'. I shot rockets, played with C4, filled a few sandbags, and drove a few Hummers through impossible conditions. Hummers are great offroad vehicles, but they suck at everything else. I was too busy to drive much of anything else. However, I did get to drive the Mercedes IFAV too, and that was a great little offroader in its own right. It reminded me that Jeeps and mud were fun,......and that I wanted one.
After the Marines though I kinda wanted something else. Blame The Fast and the Furious, Initial D, Cannonball Run, or whatever, but I wanted a hot hatch. So when I got out of the Marines I bought a VW GTI. I fixed it up, drove it fast, raced it a little, and had a blast. Then I traded it in and got another one. It too got fixed up, and it was faster, and handled even better, but I never really found out how much better because i'm getting older or wiser or something. Speed just isn't as important as it once was. I still value small, compact, and capable, but fast isn't really that important anymore,....and fast doesn't always get you over 3 inches of snow bank. In fact it and a very firm racing suspension can get you high centered in a parking lot pretty fast if you are not careful. Both of my VW GTI's were adorned with black wheels btw,....hmmm.
So, here I am, thinking about all the cars i've owned over the years, and all the automotive experiences i've had, and it occured to me that maybe the right choice of personal transport for me has always been right in front of me.
What do I need in a vehicle....
I need it to be able to handle a decent sized antenna or two for my CB and ham radios.
I'd like for it to be able to drive in mud and snow, and maybe even go "muddin" on occasion.
I enjoy working on and modding my vehicles so it needs to have some good aftermarket sources.
Does anyone know where I can find a compact, 2 door, not too expensive, utilitarian type of vehicle, that can look good with BFG white letter tires and black wheels?
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
The answer pretty much punched me in the head a little over a year ago when I helped my girlfriend buy a new 2010 Sahara.
Was this the dream vehicle I had been waiting for?
To be honest, I wasn't overtly impressed right away. The quality of the interior just isn't up to the level a VW has. Its power was almost non-existant. The mileage and fuel cost kinda suck too. I've been running 93 octane in my GTI's for 10 years now, making well over 250hp and ftlbs of torque when I needed it, and i'm still getting 25mpg or more daily after over 150000 combined miles.
Granted her JK can hit a pothole with nary a twitch, and her roof comes off in the summer, but I dunno.....the 2010 JK just didn't do it for me.
Then the new interior....
Then the new engine....
Then Sahara Tan....
Then Dozer Yellow....
OK, enough excuses, I need a JK.
Long story short, the shopping has begun, the lists are made, the money is being set aside, and the time is near. I hope to be a proud owner of a 2012 Dozer Yellow JK hardtop some time in the next couple of months.
PS: Is it bad that I already have planned on AEV Pintlers(black of course), 285/70/17 BFG KM2's, and a Teraflex leveling kit?
Last edited by feuerdog; Feb 8, 2012 at 04:42 PM.
Thread Starter
JK Newbie
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 83
Likes: 0
From: Dirty Jersey
Wish listing accessories and mods is easy,.....paying for it all is another matter.
My biggest problem has been deciding on a color.
Tan was my absolute first choice ever since they came out with it, but they dropped it just before I was ready to buy. I very pissed about that.
My girlfriend has a black JK so I don't really wanna copy hers, and I think JK look more appealing when they aren't all murdered out.
I like silver, but my past three cars have been silver or gray, it's time for a change.
I don't like the current blues, reds, or greens.
I had a white car once,....and once was enough. White Jeeps look cool, but are so hard keep clean, even though that is totally counter-culture to do so.
The orange is awesome looking, but almost too orange,......it's like in your face ORANGE!
I don't like bright colors, but the shade of yellow that Dozer is just looks so cool,.....it makes me want to build things and then demolish them.
Decisions decisions.
My biggest problem has been deciding on a color.
Tan was my absolute first choice ever since they came out with it, but they dropped it just before I was ready to buy. I very pissed about that.
My girlfriend has a black JK so I don't really wanna copy hers, and I think JK look more appealing when they aren't all murdered out.
I like silver, but my past three cars have been silver or gray, it's time for a change.
I don't like the current blues, reds, or greens.
I had a white car once,....and once was enough. White Jeeps look cool, but are so hard keep clean, even though that is totally counter-culture to do so.
The orange is awesome looking, but almost too orange,......it's like in your face ORANGE!
I don't like bright colors, but the shade of yellow that Dozer is just looks so cool,.....it makes me want to build things and then demolish them.
Decisions decisions.
Thread Starter
JK Newbie
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 83
Likes: 0
From: Dirty Jersey
