Potential TJ restoration project

[JackieJeepasaurus]

Hello all,

I am new to this forum and was wondering what you guys thought of this.

One of my relatives recently passed away and left me in possession of 1999 jeep wrangler sport. I just wanted to get some input on whether this car is worth working on/restoring. By restoration, i don't mean getting it back to factory but just close to rust free and presentable. It currently has 268,000 miles on it. Runs fine, leaks a bit of oil here and there. The 4wd does not work currently. It has some rust on the door panels at the bottom, on the trunk door near the bottom, but mainly on the side panels and underneath the hood where the side panels make contact with the rest of the tub. It also has alot of rust on the frame. The frame doesn't look compromised anywhere, other than a tiny little hole at one part. Other than the rust, the car was well taken care of. 1 Owner, only ever commuted. No off-roading or anything.

I took it to a body repair place, and they told me i should get the frame medium blasted, to get the rust off, and to see the state of the frame. Any panel work would be done once the frame was determined to be OK. But, i wanted to get some other peoples opinions first.

 

[The Real Lxxtsy]

part it out, not worth it with all that rust

 

[JEEPCJTJ]

That TJ may be too rusty to bother working on.

I'd take a hammer to the frame and check for weakness near the lower control arm mounts.

I'd also try to loosen all six bolts that hold the skid plate on.

If you end up with holes from the hammer and/or the bolts just spin but won't unscrew the frame is pretty much toast.

If it passes both "frame tests" then you have to think about how much work you want to do to the rest of rustiness.

 

[RMETeeJay]

Does MI have mandatory vehicle inspections? If not, I'd focus on getting the mechanical aspects done (if no service records, change all fluids, check suspension, brakes, tires, etc) and then go have a blast with it.

 

[AndyG]

Just enjoy it in their memory , don’t sink money in it .

 

[Sea Cot]

Does MI have mandatory vehicle inspections? If not, I'd focus on getting the mechanical aspects done (if no service records, change all fluids, check suspension, brakes, tires, etc) and then go have a blast with it.

MI does not have mandatory inspections or emissions testing.

Preserving or rehabilitating the Jeep will require a lot of time an money. If "mostly rust free" and "presentable" means that you can wash it in the driveway without grating your sponge on rust, have chunks fall off, or enlarge holes with water pressure, then that's going to require a lot of time, effort and cost if "close to original" is your vision/goal.

Is the Jeep worth working on/restoring? Worth is subjective, so that's on you to define. If the context of worth is financial/profit, then no it's not worth restoring. Not as a DIY job and especially not if you're paying pros to do all the work. Sell it as-is (post an ad here), and move on. I wouldn't recommend parting it out because you're going to invest a ton of time and effort selling nickle-and-dime parts to earn what you could have sold it for complete. The body and chassis have severe rust, so those parts will have very low demand and value. The Jeep also has high mileage which reduces the demand and value of drivetrain parts and whatever the driver touched.

If the Jeep has sentimental value and you're willing to tackle this as a DIY project, then go for it. I'd first assess the frame, brake, and fuel lines to determine the cost and effort for making those components safe for use. Then, restore and drive it as time and funds allowed.