Greetings. I've been on the forum for a few weeks but I've been in the middle of rehabbing my Jeep so I was waiting until I had some new photos to upload before introducing myself.
I bought my TJ new in 97 (my first new vehicle). A 4 cylinder automatic, stripped down to the bare minimum. It was my daily driver - I bought it because I liked the look of it and it was a cheap convertible (a must-have as a new resident of southern California). I never planned on going off road, but a friend who had also just bought a TJ of his own took me on some dirt back road and I was hooked. Two weeks later I was on my first trail run. Bone stock.
(Baby photo - TJ's first hill)
I'm not very experienced as a mechanic but I have managed to do a lot of basic work on TJ myself. It's amazing what you can do with a set of torx wrenches and a credit card. New 31" tires & rims, bumpers, safari doors, diamond plating, nerf bars, spring spacer lift, shocks, sway bar discos, soft goods, onboard shower - lots of money spent and lots of questions from puzzled UPS drivers with heavy packages in the early years. It's not the most built up Jeep out there by far, but I would take it out to events like the TDS Desert Safari and Morongo Basin Desert Run year after year and it performed like a champ - it's never been down the chicken route on any run.
Life, needs, and finances changed over the years and poor TJ was sadly neglected. Now he's back with a new motor, transmission, and rear end, and looking spiffy again for his age. Still a few things to do to him but he's coming along nicely. He's semi-retired now, and will probably never go rock crawling again, but he's capable and ready to get dirty every now and again.
This forum has been very helpful so far with the rehab. I'm happy to be a part of it. Thanks for your past and future help.
I bought my TJ new in 97 (my first new vehicle). A 4 cylinder automatic, stripped down to the bare minimum. It was my daily driver - I bought it because I liked the look of it and it was a cheap convertible (a must-have as a new resident of southern California). I never planned on going off road, but a friend who had also just bought a TJ of his own took me on some dirt back road and I was hooked. Two weeks later I was on my first trail run. Bone stock.
(Baby photo - TJ's first hill)
I'm not very experienced as a mechanic but I have managed to do a lot of basic work on TJ myself. It's amazing what you can do with a set of torx wrenches and a credit card. New 31" tires & rims, bumpers, safari doors, diamond plating, nerf bars, spring spacer lift, shocks, sway bar discos, soft goods, onboard shower - lots of money spent and lots of questions from puzzled UPS drivers with heavy packages in the early years. It's not the most built up Jeep out there by far, but I would take it out to events like the TDS Desert Safari and Morongo Basin Desert Run year after year and it performed like a champ - it's never been down the chicken route on any run.
Life, needs, and finances changed over the years and poor TJ was sadly neglected. Now he's back with a new motor, transmission, and rear end, and looking spiffy again for his age. Still a few things to do to him but he's coming along nicely. He's semi-retired now, and will probably never go rock crawling again, but he's capable and ready to get dirty every now and again.
This forum has been very helpful so far with the rehab. I'm happy to be a part of it. Thanks for your past and future help.
