After decades of owning numerous different 4x4 platforms

Irun

Irun

A vicious cycle of doing, undoing, and re-doing!
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...I can't get away from the scrawny kid on the block. Having owned several model early Land Cruisers, solid axle Toyota 4Runners, full size early Chevy Blazers, and 1st Generation Broncos, I've landed on the the TJ/LJ platform and won't ever leave. Why is that?
 
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I too always seem to come back to Jeep in one form or another. I didn't like the TJ platform when it first came out because it didn't have a flat dash like a Jeep was suppose to. But this is what finally made me start looking at a TJ.

MVC-557S.JPG


And this was a SE TJ with a budget boost & cheap shocks w/ 33" TSL SS. I was driving a 1965 CJ5 that maybe flexed 3".

MVC-555S.JPG
 
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Irun said:
...I can't get away from the scrawny kid on the block. Having owned several model early Land Cruisers, solid axle Toyota 4Runners, full size early Chevy Blazers, and 1st Generation Broncos, I've landed on the the TJ/LJ platform and won't ever leave. Why is that?
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Because you like spending your hard earn cash on mods and fixes after a weekend out :)
 
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Because the SWB is the ideal platform for entry and departure angles, they are narrow, they have coil springs on all four corners, they can typically do more than the driver, they are easy to work on, they are cool, they are the last True Jeep .
 
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Wildman said:
I too always seem to come back to Jeep in one form or another. I didn't like the TJ platform when it first came out because it didn't have a flat dash like a Jeep was suppose to. But this is what finally made me start looking at a TJ.

View attachment 193105

And this was a SE TJ with a budget boost & cheap shocks w/ 33" TSL SS. I was driving a 1965 CJ5 that maybe flexed 3".

View attachment 193108
Click to expand...
Ooohhh the CJ-5...


Cj-5 with 4 wheel drive...
Two chrome pipes...racing stripes

Smokey had a Ford
 
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JMT said:
Because the SWB is the ideal platform for entry and departure angles, they are narrow, they have coil springs on all four corners, they can typically do more than the driver, they are easy to work on, they are cool, they are the last True Jeep .
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Nailed it. Especially the bolded part. I had a CJ7, absolutely hated it, and swore I'd never own another SWB Jeep. The only nice thing I could say about it is I do long for the sound of the factory installed 304 V8 occasionally.

Two generations later, along comes the TJ, which makes me eat crow and look again. This was almost exclusively due to the addition of coil springs on all four corners. It was, without a doubt, the biggest technological leap forward for the SWB Jeep. With coils as the foundation, the weak spots are easily addressable.

I did own several TJs over a period of time, but something still wasn't right with them. It wasn't until Jeep introduced the 2004 models that I knew they had me hooked for good, with the addition of the LJ!

:love:
 
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I grew up with my dad always having a Jeep, be it a Cherokee XJ or a Grand Cherokee (he still drives Grands). Jeep people are just different. There is something about the Jeep that makes it more fun to own and drive than any other 4x4, and the community that drives them are a different breed. You can tell a real Jeep person from someone who isn't. I have met what I consider "cool down to earth people" in the work place, only to see them later on in the parking lot hopping into a Jeep. It takes someone with an adventurous spirit to own one of these things. Nobody in their right mind would purposely drive a vehicle with off road tires, loose steering, and no creature comforts on the street, yet most of us do. :ROFLMAO:
 
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I've owned Toyotas and Ford trucks and simply didn't find them as enjoyable as TJs.

I always believe this is due to the compact size of the TJ (which I like), but also the fact that the doors and top come off. It reminds me more of riding a motorcycle than it does driving a car, which is probably why I love it so much, since I always loved riding motorcycles.
 
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JMT said:
Because the SWB is the ideal platform for entry and departure angles, they are narrow, they have coil springs on all four corners, they can typically do more than the driver, they are easy to work on, they are cool, they are the last True Jeep .
Click to expand...
I gotta say, going from an XJ to an LJ, the coils in the back are the shit. I'm loving the ride. My first 4x4 was a full-size Jimmy, so I've gone from 4 leafs to 2 leafs to no leafs, and it's nice.
 
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anarce said:
I gotta say, going from an XJ to an LJ, the coils in the back are the shit. I'm loving the ride. My first 4x4 was a full-size Jimmy, so I've gone from 4 leafs to 2 leafs to no leafs, and it's nice.
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I got an XJ for my daughter and am currently building it. Zone 3", definitely not as cool as a TJ with coils, but will hopefully be a good little rig for her (if I can ever get her off-road).
 
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Prior to buying my LJ last year, I was also looking at Land Cruisers, 4Runners, and XJs. However, I quickly found out I couldn't get away from Jeep fever and the search solely became TJ/LJ focused.

My first 4x4 experience was with my family's 1993 full size blazer. My dad basically owned it since new, but we had to sell it in 2017. It was a super reliable vehicle and it ran better the more it was used. We never had any mechanical problems with it. The one thing I would've changed about it would be the wheels, but my dad liked them. I loved the factory paint.

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il buono said:
Prior to buying my LJ last year, I was also looking at Land Cruisers, 4Runners, and XJs. However, I quickly found out I couldn't get away from Jeep fever and the search solely became TJ/LJ focused.

My first 4x4 experience was with my family's 1993 full size blazer. My dad basically owned it since new, but we had to sell it in 2017. It was a super reliable vehicle and it ran better the more it was used. We never had any mechanical problems with it. The one thing I would've changed about it would be the wheels, but my dad liked them. I loved the factory paint.

View attachment 193186
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I love those old 2 door Blazers. Now apparently everything has to have 4 doors.
 
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