Well here I go again. I'm on my third Jeep since 2000. I should've never sold my '05 Rubicon LJ.
HOWEVER, a few years ago I literally flew to Toledo, Ohio to buy my Holy Jeep Grail (2005 Rubicon Sahara Unlimited). You know, the one from that horrible Matthew McConaughey movie Sahara. They only made 1,000 of this 'commemorative' model (there really wasn't anything special or different about it).
Well evidently, I was high on crack... or maybe it was that it'd be a cool story that I flew to Toledo, the birthplace of Jeeps... or maybe the limited edition... either way you look at it, I got an amazing deal on a clean CarFax, 1 owner, low mileage (55k) Piece of Crap.
This thing was used and abused I tell you. I mean.. clearly the previous owner used it like a Jeep should be used. I was punch-drunk.. I literally thought that I was going to road trip this thing back to Texas. Luckily, the engine purred like a kitten... I figured what the hell, thats got to be a good sign, right?
Wrong... took it on a test drive, and it shuddered like nobody's business. It was bone stock, so I knew that it couldn't be death wobble or other modified driveline issues. Well, this puppy wasn't going to make it through the 20-hour drive home. So what do I do? Started wheeling and dealing with the sales guy. He was all, "that's just how Jeeps handle". I told him to jump off a cliff and then successfully talked the sales manager down by about $3k (it was gonna take that much to get her going in the right direction). Luckily, I also talked them into shipping it to Texas for free.
Long story short... this thing is my nemesis. I'm barely even proud of it. I keep it in the garage so neighbors don't have to look at it.
I'm starting this build thread well after I've worked on it for the past few years. I literally didn't take any pictures along the way. However, I'm going to chronicle all of my prior trials and tribulations of this money pit of a pipe dream.
It will be funny, it will be entertaining. You will literally cringe in retrospect all of the ups and downs and pitfalls that I went through just to get her roadworthy (much less trailworthy).
HOWEVER, a few years ago I literally flew to Toledo, Ohio to buy my Holy Jeep Grail (2005 Rubicon Sahara Unlimited). You know, the one from that horrible Matthew McConaughey movie Sahara. They only made 1,000 of this 'commemorative' model (there really wasn't anything special or different about it).
Well evidently, I was high on crack... or maybe it was that it'd be a cool story that I flew to Toledo, the birthplace of Jeeps... or maybe the limited edition... either way you look at it, I got an amazing deal on a clean CarFax, 1 owner, low mileage (55k) Piece of Crap.
This thing was used and abused I tell you. I mean.. clearly the previous owner used it like a Jeep should be used. I was punch-drunk.. I literally thought that I was going to road trip this thing back to Texas. Luckily, the engine purred like a kitten... I figured what the hell, thats got to be a good sign, right?
Wrong... took it on a test drive, and it shuddered like nobody's business. It was bone stock, so I knew that it couldn't be death wobble or other modified driveline issues. Well, this puppy wasn't going to make it through the 20-hour drive home. So what do I do? Started wheeling and dealing with the sales guy. He was all, "that's just how Jeeps handle". I told him to jump off a cliff and then successfully talked the sales manager down by about $3k (it was gonna take that much to get her going in the right direction). Luckily, I also talked them into shipping it to Texas for free.
Long story short... this thing is my nemesis. I'm barely even proud of it. I keep it in the garage so neighbors don't have to look at it.
I'm starting this build thread well after I've worked on it for the past few years. I literally didn't take any pictures along the way. However, I'm going to chronicle all of my prior trials and tribulations of this money pit of a pipe dream.
It will be funny, it will be entertaining. You will literally cringe in retrospect all of the ups and downs and pitfalls that I went through just to get her roadworthy (much less trailworthy).
