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Got my 97 from my neighbor(the original owner) who was leaving the country for 2k in good shape. Bought the wife's 01 for 3k from my mother in laws friend who owned a body shop and the customer couldn't afford to pay for the front end work that he had done.
My fiance bought her XJ in college, had it stolen one week later from behind the sorority house, and was recovered a week after that. She went to the towing yard and found blood all over the driver's area, in addition to drugs, pipes, needles, and stolen merchandise. The cops said the blood was from the thief when the driver's window was broken. They think that the XJ was traded for drugs to dealers and used for drug deals, in addition to screwin hookers (yeah, there was evidence of that). The insurance totaled it (although only the column was broken) and she bought it back for $400. She had it professionally cleaned by guys that specialize in cleaning up crime scenes (ie shootings) using enzyme cleaners. When she graduated, her dad bought her a car, and I got my first Jeep for free!
I was looking for something satisfying the following criteria:
- 4x4, capable of going off pavement, but not much more than this
- not huge
- highway worthy, good for daily driving
- manual transmission for some fun on road
- cheap in repairs for some fun in the parking lot
- preferrably 2 doors
- cheap, but under 90000 miles
- appealing exterior styling
So the choice came to a Jeep Cherokee. After looking for a month for craiglist and ebay I found mine in Oregon. So my wife and I jumped on a bus [the idea was to experiment all the way] and went there to get it. On the way back we visited a few places, like the hotel where "shining" was shot, Crater Lake and a few others.
It turned out to have oversized tires, but everything else was stock, so the tires were rubbing every time I was entering a parking lot, after studying the subject for a couple of monthes I decided to lift it. It went from there.
I Totalled my first XJ on a telephone pole it was a 92 2 door laredo with all the options and i got it for 1500. Then the search began again after a few months i finally found what iwas looking for a 93 Black 2 door with no power (makes taking the doors off easier ) i had to drive From Tennesee to New jersey to get it for 1700 its worth it! I Love this think and i can wait to retire it from DD and make it my trail vehicle.
90 xj from my grandpa, he bought it new, fully loaded in 1990 and had it for 16 years, but put a new engine in in 2003, so i only got 40k on the engine! oh yeah, and i only paid $10 for it
Mine was originally my older brothers and I had an '88 chevy S-10 blazer (just to get me through high school) and after I ran that thing to hell (this was when I found my love for driving on nonexistant roads:clap and it came down to replacing the front and rear main seals on the engine...don't know how that could have happened :dunno: my bro wanted a new truck...we traded my blazer in and I got the Jeep...3" lift and many great times later I dont think I can be any happier with my JEEP!!!!
I was looking for a truck, perhaps a Dakota, Sanoma, S10, or a Silverado (that was a rare one...whatever)
Then my Dad's cousin had a black XJ out front that I saw before, had it up for sale because it got bad mileage......so it had around 165,000 miles on it at the time, paid $1,700.00.
Really increased my automotive know how......tinkering with your own vehicle is the best class!
well after reading this i can sympathize with some of you...i own an 87 Ranger Xtra cab 4wd that i traded my 86 BroncoII for...after having the rearend rebuilt(to the tune of about $400) the transmission decided to take a dump on me and leave me, my pregnant fiance, and my 1 yr old son stranded with nothing to drive and no way for us to get to work.....enter my first ex wife who had this 89 XJ 4wd parked in her yard for almost a year because it "overheated for some reason"....my dad and i went to look at it after it had been sitting all that time with 6 bags of trash in the back, all 4 tires flat, dead battery, god knows what else....turns out it overheated because she didnt put the coolant fill cap back on right....aired the tires up, filled it with antifreeze, spent a couple hours at the carwash cleaning it out and ended up driving it home for $150....so far ive had to replace 2 injectors and i took the factory aluminum wheels off and put my wheels and tires from my ranger on it......otherwise it runs great
One thanksgiving my buddy needed help with his jeep. He was stuck. Got him out and thought the little 90 2 door was in good shape and told him he shouldn't beat on it like he did. 2 months later he said he was selling it to his friend for $100 to destroy it in the woods. I told him he was a dumbass to destroy something in good shape like that and told him I would give him $300 that week for it. my dad went, looked it over and said it wasn't bad for $300. I bought it, drove it a few months and got into wheeling. Broke a leaf, put a small lift, threw 31's under, bought a $300 2 door parts jeep, Jeep started acting up (wheel bearrings, engine quirks) so I got another 2 door for $300 and just swapped everything over. Got a gas tank leak and asked my mom to have her bf look for a tank (works repairing vehicles) She bought me a $500 2 door because they wanted $300 just for a tank... So now I have 2, 2 door jeeps (other 2 were scrapped) and it looks like the xj fever isn't going to end with me
Well in December 2005 I bought an '89 Pathfinder SE with 31x10.50 BFG A/T's from my wife's cousing for $800 to replace my dead '90 Volvo 740 GLE SW. The Pathfinder was my first 4x4, and I immediately got online looking for offroading forums. I got hooked up with a few Nissan groups, took a trip to Paragon, and became hooked. I picked up a Hi-Lift, cut my front fenders, and put about 2.5" of lift on it. I wheeled that hard, but really wanted a 4 door. As luck would have it, the timing belt snapped on my way to a trail ride in August taking out half the valves. After making a list of everything that needed attention, I made my decision to look for an affordable replacement instead of dumping the money into the Pathfinder. That is when I came across a '93 Sport with 3" lift and practically brand new 31's on 15x8 Cragar wheels for $2600. A lot of maintenance had been done to the Jeep to make it reliable transportation. After taking it for a test drive, we negotiated payment arrangements and I drove it home.
Since getting it, I have installed a CB, new CD/MP3 player, utility winch, and rock sliders.
Picture of the Pathfinder that started my addiction on MaBell.
mines been in the family since its birth in '94. it will soon be turned into a "mostly" trail only rig.
the new one, the fixer-upper, i got for $130. gotta replace the header and fix the drivers seat. then do some interior work. no rust and runs perfect!! thats a helluva accomplishment for an '88 from NY
) i had to drive From Tennesee to New jersey to get it for 1700 its worth it! I Love this think and i can wait to retire it from DD and make it my trail vehicle.
