I had been looking for a 2005-2006 TJ Rubicon for several months last summer and one that fit my criteria showed up on CL in September in western Idaho. I was fortunate to have a friend living near Pullman WA who could donate most of a day to inspect it (he owns a 2005 Rubicon). I purchased it. It is another that appears to have never been off roaded (there were no scratches on the diffs or skid plate but that deficiency has been fixed) and is rust free. It was a 1000 mile plus two stage road trip to retrieve it. After market bumpers, sliders, 3.5" lift of unknown origin, Bilstein shocks, American Racing wheels, Falken Wildpeak AT's, and relatively nice roof basket as received. It also came with the factory soft top, a bikini top, and half doors.
It got initiated into light combat several days after I got it home and then some relatively heavy combat on the McKelvey Lake trail a few days later.
Soooo, the roof rack was removed ASAP (it would not have survived the McKelvey Lake trip) and in between those trips I had time to get the ARB twin compressor that previously resided in POS (2012 JKUR) mounted under the hood. I also found a really nice used Zeon 10 for it. Some massaging of the front bumper is currently in progress to mount the winch. I managed to bend the drag link on that second trip so both the tie rod and drag link are now J. Currie items. Currently on the list of items needing addressed before summer are the upper control arm bushings-both front and rear, and some real tires (KM 3's). The Falken AT's are totally worthless in the rocks even aired down to 10 psi.
As for my Jeep history, it started with my late father's 47 CJ2A in the mid 50's when I could finally slide off the seat far enough to address those pedals on the floor. The only photo I found of that Willys in my parents slides, from 1957.
A couple years after that photo, my father traded the 2A off on a like new 57 Kaiser FC 150 which I proceeded to wheel in a lot of places it probably shouldn't have been. I purchased my first Jeep, a 68 CJ 5 which was new and titled as a 69, in 1969. That was followed by the purchase of a 55 CJ 3B three years later. I still have both the 68 and 55. I gave the FC to my brother last year. 1972 photo:
From 72 through 2012, the 3B was the go-to wheeler but it got supplemented in that latter year by a new JKUR.
I picked up another beater CJ three years back that left Toledo as an identical twin to the one I purchased new. Those two were built in consecutive months with all the same options, 225V6, 4.88 gears, and Empire Blue paint. The 225 in that rig is very tired but there is a good 305 has been languishing in the garage for a decade.
I wasn't the least bit impressed with the 3.6 in the JK. Maybe better than the 3.8 but that set a pretty low bar. The 4.0 is a lot better off road and doesn't come up too short on road. That said, both fall way short of a sbc, any Gen.
It got initiated into light combat several days after I got it home and then some relatively heavy combat on the McKelvey Lake trail a few days later.
Soooo, the roof rack was removed ASAP (it would not have survived the McKelvey Lake trip) and in between those trips I had time to get the ARB twin compressor that previously resided in POS (2012 JKUR) mounted under the hood. I also found a really nice used Zeon 10 for it. Some massaging of the front bumper is currently in progress to mount the winch. I managed to bend the drag link on that second trip so both the tie rod and drag link are now J. Currie items. Currently on the list of items needing addressed before summer are the upper control arm bushings-both front and rear, and some real tires (KM 3's). The Falken AT's are totally worthless in the rocks even aired down to 10 psi.
As for my Jeep history, it started with my late father's 47 CJ2A in the mid 50's when I could finally slide off the seat far enough to address those pedals on the floor. The only photo I found of that Willys in my parents slides, from 1957.
A couple years after that photo, my father traded the 2A off on a like new 57 Kaiser FC 150 which I proceeded to wheel in a lot of places it probably shouldn't have been. I purchased my first Jeep, a 68 CJ 5 which was new and titled as a 69, in 1969. That was followed by the purchase of a 55 CJ 3B three years later. I still have both the 68 and 55. I gave the FC to my brother last year. 1972 photo:
From 72 through 2012, the 3B was the go-to wheeler but it got supplemented in that latter year by a new JKUR.
I picked up another beater CJ three years back that left Toledo as an identical twin to the one I purchased new. Those two were built in consecutive months with all the same options, 225V6, 4.88 gears, and Empire Blue paint. The 225 in that rig is very tired but there is a good 305 has been languishing in the garage for a decade.
I wasn't the least bit impressed with the 3.6 in the JK. Maybe better than the 3.8 but that set a pretty low bar. The 4.0 is a lot better off road and doesn't come up too short on road. That said, both fall way short of a sbc, any Gen.
