Greetings
Thread Starter
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 121
Likes: 1
Greetings
Hi all,
My start in the Jeep universe began in 1989 with the purchase of a demo Wrangler 'S'. Played with that vehicle for quite a few years modifying it as needed to run the trails in my area. It was a mild build as it just worked. 3" lift, 31" tires, 4.56 gearing, lock right in the rear, and several custom built items like a rear cooler/jack/tire/jerrycan rack, front bumper/winch mount, and internal storage bins. The jeep was taken out in 1994 by a drunk driver.
Jeep #2 was a 1982 CJ7 Limited that saw some extensive buildups. Eventually the 4.2 was fuel injected, 4" lift 35" tires with cut out fenders, etc etc... This one pretty much just rusted out from under me. (^_^)
Current Jeep is a 1946 Willys CJ2a that is in a multitude of pieces. Her serial number is just over 30,000. Although most of the body is in pretty good shape, the frame and Ross steering was toast. The body is being repaired/rebuilt in stages as I have time. The frame was ditched for a Stage III Matkins with YJ spring upgrade and a saganaw box. I've rebuilt the T90 with a Novak kit for attachment to a Buick V6 which is out being machined now. The Dana 18 has been transplanted into a Dana 20 case with a 3.15 gearset. The Model 41 rear is gone to a restorer and I have an offset model 44 to work on. Still have the Dana 25 front end and a spare which I will likely run until I can get a custom 44 built. Or the 25s become more rare and I can get a good $$ for my two.
However, none of that is on topic.
My 'daily driver', if you can call it that as I don't drive much daily being a work from home computer professional, is a 1996 Dodge Ram V10. It's begining to get tired after 10 years and I need to find a replacment. Since the wife has the 'family car' I was given permission to pretty much get what I want. And frankly, since the Willys is turning out to be a pretty serious trail rig (although I intend it to be JUST street legal) I thought it might be nice to get back into a more comfortable Jeep for family outings. Besides, an open top Willys in January is probably not going to be all that much fun. (^_^)
Much of the JK (what a horible code) is a pretty good wheeler out of the box and its a JEEP! I doubt I can ever go for the 4-door, but have my sights on the 2-door version. If my inspection and test drive go well (once I find a 2-door Rubi with a stick on a lot to test drive) I may just buy my first 'new' Jeep in 16 years.
Anyway, I plan to pretty much just lurk here drooling over the pics for now.
Chris
My start in the Jeep universe began in 1989 with the purchase of a demo Wrangler 'S'. Played with that vehicle for quite a few years modifying it as needed to run the trails in my area. It was a mild build as it just worked. 3" lift, 31" tires, 4.56 gearing, lock right in the rear, and several custom built items like a rear cooler/jack/tire/jerrycan rack, front bumper/winch mount, and internal storage bins. The jeep was taken out in 1994 by a drunk driver.
Jeep #2 was a 1982 CJ7 Limited that saw some extensive buildups. Eventually the 4.2 was fuel injected, 4" lift 35" tires with cut out fenders, etc etc... This one pretty much just rusted out from under me. (^_^)
Current Jeep is a 1946 Willys CJ2a that is in a multitude of pieces. Her serial number is just over 30,000. Although most of the body is in pretty good shape, the frame and Ross steering was toast. The body is being repaired/rebuilt in stages as I have time. The frame was ditched for a Stage III Matkins with YJ spring upgrade and a saganaw box. I've rebuilt the T90 with a Novak kit for attachment to a Buick V6 which is out being machined now. The Dana 18 has been transplanted into a Dana 20 case with a 3.15 gearset. The Model 41 rear is gone to a restorer and I have an offset model 44 to work on. Still have the Dana 25 front end and a spare which I will likely run until I can get a custom 44 built. Or the 25s become more rare and I can get a good $$ for my two.
However, none of that is on topic.
My 'daily driver', if you can call it that as I don't drive much daily being a work from home computer professional, is a 1996 Dodge Ram V10. It's begining to get tired after 10 years and I need to find a replacment. Since the wife has the 'family car' I was given permission to pretty much get what I want. And frankly, since the Willys is turning out to be a pretty serious trail rig (although I intend it to be JUST street legal) I thought it might be nice to get back into a more comfortable Jeep for family outings. Besides, an open top Willys in January is probably not going to be all that much fun. (^_^)
Much of the JK (what a horible code) is a pretty good wheeler out of the box and its a JEEP! I doubt I can ever go for the 4-door, but have my sights on the 2-door version. If my inspection and test drive go well (once I find a 2-door Rubi with a stick on a lot to test drive) I may just buy my first 'new' Jeep in 16 years.
Anyway, I plan to pretty much just lurk here drooling over the pics for now.
Chris
JK-Forum Founder
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 36,534
Likes: 16
From: Laguna Niguel, CA
Hey Chris, welcome to JK-Forum and thanks for the background. Sound like you got a lot of experience dealing with Jeeps 
I sure hope you end up getting a JK (yes, a terrible code - what were they thinking
) and share what you do with it here
I sure hope you end up getting a JK (yes, a terrible code - what were they thinking
) and share what you do with it here
Thread Starter
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 121
Likes: 1
Sound like you got a lot of experience dealing with Jeeps