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Help me out: Looking to get a low budget desert Jeep/Truck OMGWTFBBQ Bought Something!

What do you think about the Jeep overall? Pics, description, etc?

I can't help you on the jeep, but I've got an older Toyota pickup for sale with snipers hide discount. It's v6, 5 speed, lifted, alloy wheels, and comes with a case of Pabst Blue Ribbon, a log of Copenhagen Black, a night of coyote hunting with NV, and a place to crash for the remainder of the night, then homemade biscuits and gravy with venison tenderloin for breakfast before you leave. Just saying brother...
 
I can't help you on the jeep, but I've got an older Toyota pickup for sale with snipers hide discount. It's v6, 5 speed, lifted, alloy wheels, and comes with a case of Pabst Blue Ribbon, a log of Copenhagen Black, a night of coyote hunting with NV, and a place to crash for the remainder of the night, then homemade biscuits and gravy with venison tenderloin for breakfast before you leave. Just saying brother...

Haha. Always trying to invite me.

How about regardless of what I get, I'll swing by in it in the spring sometime and drink all your PBR after we go coyote hunting? Good news is, I can bring my own NV and I'll leave you some of the Cope as I still prefer old-school loose tobacco (hell, even the cheap Levi Garrett!).

But you're on the hook for the food, bud.
 
Haha sounds good, I'll get my canoe and banjo and we will make it a party!
 
Whatever you test drive, take it for a spin on the highway before making your purchase. Some of the SUV/Jeeps can be real dogs on the open road which may disapoint you.
 
What do you think about the Jeep overall? Pics, description, etc?
It sounds almost ideal. The parts list is excellent.
Rear Chrome Moly Axle Shafts
Rear Aussie Crawler Traction Lockers
Ected Front Electric Locker with on off switch on a three button power-control-board set above cigarette lighter outlet in the cab.
4" Fab Tech Short Arm Suspension
Slip Yoke Eliminator
Bigger U-Joints in the front end and front driveline
Good parts, but, I would ask them about the axle ratio. It's going to be a dog if it wasn't changed. Make sure the front locker works.
 
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New prospect I am thinking about:

Pros - Has fucking EVERYTHING, and its mainly quality add-ons for the most part. It's also the straight 6 cylinder and its only an hour from me. Price is right as well as I can probably snag it for 4250-4500 cash.

Cons - 1987 with 180k miles; this is what I am really torn on. Does this even matter, or does it say I am going to be fixing shit on the engine/drivetrain soon? It does however have a brand new transmission. It also says that the 4x4 lever linkage is disconnected; what the hell does that mean, and can it be easily fixed/remedied?

Here are the specs:

Howell TBI
- AX15 Transmission (with aftermarket mount)
- NP231 Transfer Case (rebuilt), with Slip Yoke Eliminator and Heavy Duty Shaft.
- Lifted, (Spring-Over Axle)
- Smitty Built Bumpers, Sidebars, Hitch, and Swinging Spare Tire Mount
- Custom Dual-Cardan Drive Shaft
- WARN Remote Controlled Winch
- Cloyes Double-Roller Timing Chain and Gears
- New Harmonic Balancer
- HEI Ignition System
- "4x4 Posilok" Manual Posi-Lock System (allows low range in 2WD)
- Custom METAL Clutch Slave Cylinder With New Lines
- Mojave Heater
- Block Heater (not oil-pan heater)
- New Fuel/Return Lines
- New Power-Steering Lines
- New Thermostat
- New Oil Sending Unit
- New Valve Gasket
- New Rear Main Seal
- New Rear Differential Gasket (high quality reusable)
- New Silicone Oil Pan Gasket (high quality reusable)
- Vacuum MPG Gage
- Lots of Screws/Bolts Replaced With Stainless Steel (loctighted and torqued where needed)
- "Ammo Can" Center Console


COMES WITH:
- Hard Top and Metal Doors
- Soft Top and Soft Top Doors
- Large Metal Roof Rack (will install)
- 1 1/2 inch Wheel Spacers (installed in picture)
- Roll-Bar Speaker System
- New Head Gasket (new in shrinkwrap)
- New Exhaust Gasket (new in shrinkwrap)
- New Coolant Overflow Tank (not installed)
- A Bunch of New Oil Filters
- New Timing Light
- Haynes Manual
- Electronic Schematics

FAQ:
- Extremely reliable! Will start-up after sitting for very long periods of time, or temperatures.
- The interior is bare, but functional.
- The heater works VERY well.
- 4x4 lever linkage is disconnected, but 4x4 works fine.
- I don't know if the engine has ever been rebuilt, but a lot has been modified and it runs perfectly.
- All cylinders were pressure checked, results were roughly 160psi per cylinder.
 
Help me out: Looking to get a low budget desert Jeep/Truck

Sounds like a good deal. Careful of the 4x4. The linkage in the cab may have been disconnected(or the transfer case is shot). Make sure it works first. The jeep may have a front axle disconnect like this. http://www.4x4posi-lok.com/app_jeep.html
Don't be worried about miles. The 4.2L engine is plenty stout and brand new long blocks can be had for $2700.
 
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Good luck with the Jeep, but just in case you have not yet pulled the trigger and your wife is waffling, I would look for a Toyota. Tundra 4x4 here -- plenty of room in the back seat for rifles, but a 4Runner would probably be even better for your purposes.
 
What about an M715 :)

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That's my work truck btw :D.

--Wintermute
 
Sounds like a good deal. Careful of the 4x4. The linkage in the cab may have been disconnected(or the transfer case is shot). Make sure it works first. The jeep may have a front axle disconnect like this. 4x4 Posi-Lok Positive Axle Engagement System for Jeeps
Don't be worried about miles. The 4.2L engine is plenty stout and brand new long blocks can be had for $2700.

The linkage is what confuses me. He said that he has the old linkage and that the 4x4 works, it was just disconnected because the transfer case was changed from 207 to 231 and the distance for the linkage is longer. Does this make sense? Is this a huge issue and an indicator that stuff is screwed up, or is this something that can be taken care of?
 
You can find some good deals on well used, well loved, Toyota 4runners fairly inexpensively. They're pretty common on the used market, much more so than their bretheren, the Tacoma pickup. However, the major components are the same in both. And they're fairly tough, comfortable, & get decent mileage. Plus you can trick them out for offroad as little or much as you like/your wallet allows. Some guys even make'em into full on expedition vehicles, complete with lights, lockers, winches, & bull bars etc.

A good tool to use when you're looking is www.AutoTempest.com It's a search engine that let's you plug in a LOT of specifics about the vehicle you're looking for, & then it searches bunches of different sources of listings of vehicles for sale.
 
If the spring over axle lift is done right I wouldn't be scared of it, but I've seen plenty of scary SOA lifts. I have a YJ, TJ and have messed with jeeps for a while. They are good vehicles that are easily fixed when broken but are very similar to custom rifles in the sense that you can dive as deep into them as you want.

My honest opinion would be to find a stock YJ, (both the 4 & 6 cyl engines are good) and put a small lift (2-3" and any bigger and you start spending more $$$)on it and 31-32" tires. You will be suprised how capable this setup is, it wont walk up walls but you won't break axles on speed bumps like some cobbled together jeep on 38s and stock axles.

FYI my last yj was bone stock and bought for 1200 $ from the 2 owner off of CL. There are deals out there if you look.
 
German, it probably needs a newer linkage. A good fabricator could hook it up quick. I echo the concerns on the spring over. It sounds like it had a mild lift and the SOA was added for bigger tires. Maybe it had rubbing issues. It's hard to tell.
 
Someone beat me to throwing the early ford bronco into the ring. They didn't make a much tougher truck in about 5' of space. 302 V8, C4 tranny, Dana 44 front. Big bearing 9" in the rear. I'll keep mine forever
 
The Jeep saga continues!

I've spent weeks scouring craigslist (any within 200 miles of me), sending emails, calling people, looking online, etc and have decided that I am pretty much going to have to build this damn thing. I either run into something that is so modified that it doesn't look like a Jeep anymore, people wanting top dollar for something I'd have to dump money into, Jeeps that have some features but they cannot tell me anything about them and I don't want to find out the lift kit is total shit the hard way or just bone stock Jeeps with some small issues.

I'm leaning towards the bone stock with small issues like having a crack in the window and a small exhaust leak or some rip in the seat or whatever that can be fixed within $400; and I can get a 98+ year Jeep with less than 120k miles for $2500-3500.

Plus this allows me to modify it the way I want, rather than have to work around someone else s project.

For a fairly stock 98+ was looking at doing this:

- Have the entire thing painted matte tan (friend owns bodyshop so this is at a bit of a discount); have the body went over and any dings or rust will be taken care of here
- Remove the front fenders and replace with these: Jeep Wrangler TJ/LJ Arched Tube Fender
- Rear corner guard (maybe add the same profile flares as the front to it as well): Jeep Wrangler TJ Rock-Biting Corner Guards
- New bumper: Frame-Built Jeep Bumper #231002, LJ/TJ/YJ
- Inside just add a MP3 capable radio
- Get bikini tops for the summer
- Possibly get full 'top' doors
- Will eventually get nicer wheels and put 32" tires on it; with the Metalcloak front flares I was told by them that I could go up to 33" tires without a lift - go into the photos on the MC page and you'll see it.

Now here's a random question. The jeep I was looking at has the tan soft top. I know it can be changed, but if I wanted the tan paint color in the pic in OP (its a matte desert tan) would this look weird and I should go with a different color or can this work as sort of a 2 tone thing as the tops are a much lighter sand tan? I know, I know, 1st world problems.

Anything else I should be looking at?

With everything listed, including paint, wheels, MC parts, and the base Jeep I can build this for under $7k.


EDIT: Bought something today. Very stock, very clean 1998 Wrangler that someone was selling locally for well under what I've been seeing. Went out to look at it, drove around and bought it.

The Jeep along with what I want to add to it will be well under budget. Now the 'add shit to the Jeep' process begins.
 
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Help me out: Looking to get a low budget desert Jeep/Truck OMGWTFBBQ Bought S...

You need to be in a Jeep XJ Cherokee. They are amazing off road and good enough on road. You can find them all day long for less than $5k. The inline 6's in them are bullet proof. Get one made after 1989. The earlier ones had over heating issues.

Say good bye to your plan to save money. JEEP=Just empty every pocket. :)

98 was THE best year for the TJ wranglers.
 
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