New Member From CT With Questions
- Thread starter 18thcenturyguy
- Start date
Going to check it out thoroughly. I do trust the dealership. It’s a small place, only three guys. father, son and one other guy. They only sell and work on Wranglers, nothing else. They have a really good reputation in the area. They all drive Jeeps, and are only a half mile away from me.
There's a saying about that, IIRC, it's something like this:
If she says you're too old, she's too loud!
Ha, well….it’s an 82 tub and VIN, so it’s an 82, but it has an AMC 304, so that ain’t 82, ha, and a Dana 300 short output which is 80, and the axles are 100% pre 78, ha.
It was out together on a salvage title, but it’s pretty darn clean.
And I have Wide Track axles here ready to rebuild when I get the chance here, ha.
Long Jeep Geek answer
naw, if she says your too old for a jeep just tell her she's right and her ass is too big to fit in it anyway
ufatbasted
Member
The finger test is great because it can quickly rule out a jeep if you immediately feel a pile of what used to be the frame now in giant flake form sitting right there, however a savvy seller can clear that stuff out but may leave behind piles of flakes further inside.
So, I third the motion to get a boroscope in there & poke around from stem to stern, literally every inch of the interior of the frame will be accessible with one of these things, I think the cord on mine is at least 5 or more feet long & there are more than enough entry points spaced out on the frame so you really only need to get a foot or so in...
I've seen more than enough frames here in the rust belt that appear decent from the outside but closer inspection reveals a disaster inside. Most bad frames however will show outward signs too, if not clearly visible rot/holes, at least bulging around the factory openings is usually an obvious one. Also, when you look at a TJ from a distance & see rust on the rocker panels and/or fenders you can usually assume the frame is hosed, but lack of rust on the body is unfortunately not conclusive as to the condition of the frame, it must always be examined regardless of how perfect the body may be.
This is what you want to see inside the rails with the scope, a smooth surface free of chunks & large flakes of rust.
I think the finger test is how @TheBoogieman ended up on wifey #3, so be warned.
Yup!
Decent advice, except what I've learned is that you can't make any assumptions. My Sahara has some tub issues, but no torque box issues, and the frame is perfect. Like this post, when I first saw it for sale I was sure it was a pile of rusty frame rot. I finally stopped to check it out. tapped the frame.... stuck my fingers in all the holes..... got a chipping hammer and tapped harder over the hole frame.... borescoped the frame.....
Man I didn't understand, I couldn't find a weak spot. Called my welder buddy to look at it. In the pouring rain we went all over the damn thing. Frame was rock solid. Tub had some rocker issues, and the fenders had top rust, but the frame was perfect.
My point is this: don't listen to the advice above. Check out each one for yourself. I've looked at very low mileage jeeps with perfect tubs that were put up wet after running thru the salt. The frames had issues, but the bodies looked perfect. You need to look at each one. You just never know when you will find a good one if you are in the rust belt.
Don't believe what people tell you. Look. For. Yourself.
Edited to add:
Know how to look and what to look for. Once you understand this, you can make the right offer on the right jeep. Alot of the people on this forum are out west. These Jeeps are all awesome and we all envy them. The best choice is go buy one of these. Otherwise, learn how to identify what we have in the rust belt.
I second the boroscope....worth every penny. Also consider a preinspection evaluation by a mechanic hired by you. I just used lemonsquad.com. Seriously amazed at the quality of the whole experience. $200
They say you can’t put a price on happiness….. it’s a lie! Sounds like your happiness costs $17k . I was always told “with age get a cage”, you’re the exact age to get a TJ
If you’re asking in this forum it’s already to late… accept it and go write the check
I got mine at, 50 and 60+ now, go for it. I don’t daily mine, have a 60 mile commute but mainly work from home now. I bought a beater that gets 30+ mpg. 9 mile drive can be run daily but as mentioned salt will suck.
Good luck.
Good luck.
@Westtown Willy those interal frame pics make me feel funny where i pee.
yea that was poorly worded on my part, I agree that it makes no sense to assume anything with these vehicles, all TJs have to be examined to know what you're dealing with. What I was trying to say was that I've seen bad frames follow bad bodies FAR more often than the other way around. Tons of TJs look beautiful body-wise but when you tilt your head sideways & catch a glimpse of the frame you run for the hills. I've always thought that was the result of people 'taking good care' of their TJs by running them through the car wash to get 'all' the salt off while being very unaware of what was going on inside the rails. Not sure I can blame them, if I had purchased a new TJ way back when I doubt I would've thought about the inside of the rails, never have on any vehicle before & I've been living in the salt-belt my whole life. Only when I bought the TJ in 2016 did I become aware of how horrific the salt problem can be to a vehicle, but it does take some participation by the manufacturer to build something that is so easily compromised. I've had older vehicles with more miles that have been bathed in PA winters with no real problems. Corroded hard to get off bolts, yea, but frame snapping in half death-traps, no. And I'm one of those people that almost never washes the car, I let mother nature's heavy rains take care of that
As an aside, some of those TJs that have 'perfect' frames with rot on the rockers & fenders are nothing more than post-frame replacement TJs, seen that too.
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