Minor restoration (is it worth it?)

[Gary S]

Hello,
I'm new to this forum and I would like some advise from y'all. I purchased my TJ 3 years ago. I paid $5,000.00 for it from a gal who had to move back to Brazil. She put in new exhaust, radiator and front end. My TJ became my best friend with endless Jeep Crawls, off roading and I even plowed snow with her in winter. I was mean to her and not washing, waxing or whatever. I brought it to a frame welder and he said it needed a patch in the frame but otherwise okay. 1998 TJ, auto trans, 4 cyl, 114,000 miles. Engine runs great, shifts well and floor is solid. Interior is clean and no rips on seats. I'd like some restoration done, but will it be worth it? Take a look at the pics and please let me know what you would do. The first pic is when I bought 3 years ago. Thanks!

 

[Chris]

It's absolutely worth it if you plan on keeping the vehicle for a long time and really have feelings for it

 

[bromel]

Need more pics of the undercarriage. From a completely rational perspective, is it worth putting $2k in frame repair into a 4 cyl Jeep that won't ever be worth more than $4-5k? Probably not. But if you love the Jeep and can afford it, why not?

But if the body is rotting out as well, then don't bother.

 

[Alex01]

If your goal is to restore it to make a profit then I highly doubt you'll add more value to it than you pay to restore it. If you want to restore it purely for intrinsic value I'd say it's worth it.

A clean 4 cyclinder with no rust could be found for around 7-8k around here and a 4.0 for around 9k. So I wouldn't go too crazy. (Plus shipping)

 

[glowell222]

My opinion: entirely worth it.

 

[JEEPCJTJ]

I'd like some restoration done, but will it be worth it?

The answer to that depends on what some restoration is and why.

Possible goals:

Restore it to like new condition and sell for a pretty penny? Not worth it, not even close.

Restore it back to where it was 3 years ago and keep it? DO IT!!

Restore it somewhere in between those and still keep it? DO IT!!

 

[Peakbagger]

You can always take the other approach and instead of restoring everything, upgrade everything and make a Johnson Valley worthy rig out of it. Not sure if there is a lot of rock crawling in Massachusetts but there is always the mall...