I’m not sure what kind of thread this will become but I figured someone might want to go along for the ride.
My normal day consists of dropping the kids off at school, working from home and then picking the kids up after school. Any other driving is optional or can be done in the wife’s Kia. This meant my “new” car could be a toy. I narrowed my choices to a newer Camaro or a Jeep. At the end of the day I wanted something I could wrench on and the Jeep won. So 2 years ago I bought a 2002 X, I6, A/T with full doors, a soft top and 75k miles on it. (A/C & cruise too) It is awesome and has been for 2 years.
Now I find that I’m struggling with the wrenching. While I don’t drive much I do drive everyday which means projects need to be started and finished between 8pm and 8am or over a free weekend which don’t seem to exist with kids in youth sports. A few weeks ago when astjp2 posted about the idea of salvage jeeps I was interested. I always knew salvage auctions existed but being in Illinois I couldn’t bid on them till astjp2 pointed out that there was an entire industry of brokers to get around these laws.
Brokers opened up the possibility of getting a cheap salvage vehicle, building a rolling chassis and then spending the summer taking the two jeeps and turning them to a single solid rig. My current Jeep is starting to lose the rust belt war. The plan was simple, make a list of features I wanted, figure out what I could spend while still getting out from under the project by parting it out and then wait till the right Jeep surfaced. Since I’ve never done salvage auctions before the first purchase needed to be local so I could control as much as possible.
My unicorn would be a 2002 (or close) I6 mated to a A/T with a hard top and half doors. I cared more about the 32rh than I did the year. She would have A/C, cruise control, a rust-free frame, as little body rust & damage as possible with a grey interior. A running motor was a “nice to have” and I just assumed I’d be dealing with a salvage title. The hope was to find something close to me by the fall of 2019 so it could be a winter 2019 and all of 2020 project.
6 weeks later this Jeep popped up at local salvage auction. 2002 I6 with an A/T, hard top and half doors. Rust free body minus one spot so far, what appears to be a serviceable frame with little rust, no real body damage minus a dent in the grill that an angry bird grill was covering. Grey interior, a running motor which sounded great and best of all a clean title. I ended up with everything but the A/C and cruise. Due to waiting on the title and the weather I haven’t driven it other than into the driveway and then to the far end of the garage.
I don’t know what to do with it. Do I flip it? Do I do a frame off restore? Do I part it out? Do I still combine the two jeeps to get a single solid jeep? I’m half tempted to look for a 3rd salvage Wrangler to use and restore both Jeeps. Someone tell me that having a Jeep as a DD and a 2nd Jeep to restore is perfectly normal. My wife doesn’t seem up to the task.
My normal day consists of dropping the kids off at school, working from home and then picking the kids up after school. Any other driving is optional or can be done in the wife’s Kia. This meant my “new” car could be a toy. I narrowed my choices to a newer Camaro or a Jeep. At the end of the day I wanted something I could wrench on and the Jeep won. So 2 years ago I bought a 2002 X, I6, A/T with full doors, a soft top and 75k miles on it. (A/C & cruise too) It is awesome and has been for 2 years.
Now I find that I’m struggling with the wrenching. While I don’t drive much I do drive everyday which means projects need to be started and finished between 8pm and 8am or over a free weekend which don’t seem to exist with kids in youth sports. A few weeks ago when astjp2 posted about the idea of salvage jeeps I was interested. I always knew salvage auctions existed but being in Illinois I couldn’t bid on them till astjp2 pointed out that there was an entire industry of brokers to get around these laws.
Brokers opened up the possibility of getting a cheap salvage vehicle, building a rolling chassis and then spending the summer taking the two jeeps and turning them to a single solid rig. My current Jeep is starting to lose the rust belt war. The plan was simple, make a list of features I wanted, figure out what I could spend while still getting out from under the project by parting it out and then wait till the right Jeep surfaced. Since I’ve never done salvage auctions before the first purchase needed to be local so I could control as much as possible.
My unicorn would be a 2002 (or close) I6 mated to a A/T with a hard top and half doors. I cared more about the 32rh than I did the year. She would have A/C, cruise control, a rust-free frame, as little body rust & damage as possible with a grey interior. A running motor was a “nice to have” and I just assumed I’d be dealing with a salvage title. The hope was to find something close to me by the fall of 2019 so it could be a winter 2019 and all of 2020 project.
6 weeks later this Jeep popped up at local salvage auction. 2002 I6 with an A/T, hard top and half doors. Rust free body minus one spot so far, what appears to be a serviceable frame with little rust, no real body damage minus a dent in the grill that an angry bird grill was covering. Grey interior, a running motor which sounded great and best of all a clean title. I ended up with everything but the A/C and cruise. Due to waiting on the title and the weather I haven’t driven it other than into the driveway and then to the far end of the garage.
I don’t know what to do with it. Do I flip it? Do I do a frame off restore? Do I part it out? Do I still combine the two jeeps to get a single solid jeep? I’m half tempted to look for a 3rd salvage Wrangler to use and restore both Jeeps. Someone tell me that having a Jeep as a DD and a 2nd Jeep to restore is perfectly normal. My wife doesn’t seem up to the task.