Third Jeep's a Charm

NorCalJeeper

New Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2023
Messages
8
Location
Chico, CA
Hello everyone,

Long time Jeeper here, first time posting. Bought my first Jeep when I was 15 and taught myself how to drive a stick. That was a 93' YJ, and over the 18 years I owned it, took it from stock to 6 1/2” SOA lift on 35’s and all of the goodies to go with it.

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I loved that Jeep, but when the family started growing, as many of you probably know, infants and lifted Jeeps are a difficult combination. Sold it and bought a truck to get by. Fast forward a couple years, with the kids no longer crawling, I started to get the Jeep itch back. I knew I didn’t have the time or workshop space to build what I wanted from the ground up, so I started searching for something that had a head start. I found a 00’ TJ that fit the bill and took ownership in 21’.

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In all of my searching, I began to fall in love with the 04-06 unlimited. Longer wheel base, more storage space, bla bla bla you’ve heard it before… but I knew finding one that checks all of the boxes would be time consuming and eventually expensive, so I began to save and search. Took about a year and a half, but finally the stars aligned, I had the cash and found a truly beautiful example of the LJR.

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Haven’t had it long enough to get a good trail picture, best I can do is driveway until some snow melts in the mountains. Love my new LJ, it’s almost built to my specs but always room for improvement. I’ve been lurking in the forum shadows for a while and have gained valuable knowledge along the way, now it’s time to join the community and contribute to the conversation. Northern California based, always looking for new areas to explore, Jeeper for life!
 
Good looking jeep! How does it pull with the turbo?

Thanks! The jeep belonged to a fellow member @RubiconMike, it’s been well taken care of. There is definitely a significant improvement in horsepower with the turbo. Both previous Jeeps I had (one I still have) had the 4.0, and had aftermarket intake and exhaust. The turbo makes a huge difference. When you’re going up a grade at 60, it’ll kick in and push right past 70 in 6th gear instead of lugging down. Just the amount of extra power it needs. Too bad they quit making the kit!
 
Nice LJ! I knew it looked familiar, remember seeing some of Rubicon Mikes posts.

Buddy of mine had a banks turbo. He pulled it and sold it to finance a V8 swap. I kinda think he wishes he still had the turbo.
 
Welcome, and nice LJR! We'll have to hit High Lakes when the snow melts.

Thanks! Absolutely High Lakes area is an awesome spot, similar to southern sierra locations with 1/5 the crowds. Its been a while since I explored up there, been thinking about that recently. If it ever quits snowing I'm in, there's probably 10+ feet of snow up there right now!
 
Thanks! The jeep belonged to a fellow member @RubiconMike, it’s been well taken care of. There is definitely a significant improvement in horsepower with the turbo. Both previous Jeeps I had (one I still have) had the 4.0, and had aftermarket intake and exhaust. The turbo makes a huge difference. When you’re going up a grade at 60, it’ll kick in and push right past 70 in 6th gear instead of lugging down. Just the amount of extra power it needs. Too bad they quit making the kit!

Congrats man! I just recently added the Banks kit and found myself passing vehicles in OD doing 90 up a grade (it was great! Lol)