Who's owned their TJ the longest? Bought mine in September 2002

[Wildman]

OK folks I thought someone had asked this question before but I can't find that thread..

My story, I was paying child support and had told myself that when I stopped I'd buy myself a new rig... New to me... That happened in Aug 2002... My daughter was 4-5 months old and I was driving a Toyota Celica as my DD. I'd just traded my 67 CJ5 for a Honda CBR1000F so I really wanted another Jeep. When TJ's had first come out I didn't like them but over the years they were growing on me...
Rubicons weren't out yet but I was hoping to find a 4.0 & one with a Dana 44 rear. But since I was looking at rigs that were 5 years or newer the prices were out of my price range. I'd been shopping for close to a month when this 1997 TJ SE popped up in Yakima (where I lived). I went and took it for a test drive with my daughter too. She DISLIKED sitting in the back with her car seat facing rearward... I think it was the way the wind blew in her face... As the say the rest is history.... I'd been preapproved for a loan so I walked in and told them I would buy it for $11K out the door... That was Tax/Tags/Doc Fees/Other BS fees.... They didn't want to deal at first... But as I was headed towards the door they changed their minds.

My first wheeling trip. It had this funky grill guard. Some guy stopped me on the street asking about it. I told him to stop by my place in 2 weeks and it was his... It got it's first dent before the first payment ever hit the bank... And YES it came with those 33x14x15 TSL Boggers on it when I bought it... It had a ProComp 4" lift & had never been off-road in it's life.

My windshield banner was the first mod I'd done to it. My buddy who'd made it for me was killed in Iraq.

And NOPE I didn't break a Dana 35 axle doing this stunt.

My own winch bumper & Poison Spyder rocker knockers were my first big mods.

After Iraq is when I started really modifying it.

I had 4.88 gears and LocRight in the front & a Detroit in the rear. Warn full float kit in the rear with the small hub kit & a Warn small hib kit in the front

Then I decided the 4 angry squirrels weren't enough so I did a Dodge Magnum V-8 5.2 swap.

Picking up after the V-8 swap... I was recovering from being wounded so I'd farmed out this project.

Swapped in a Ford HP44 & TeraLow CRD60 with 5.13 & ARBs

Oct 2006 Phase 1 of it's new build was done.

Then I needed/wanted larger rubber... Added 38x12.5x16.5 TSL SX tires

All was Roses for the next 4 years until I started having overheating issues. I chased them for two years and finally parked it in July 2012. Between an engine fire (wiring for the electric fan) & this wheel breaking I took it as an oman to park it.

Then due to health issues I couldn't work on it for 8 years. Then in June 2020 I was finally able to start working on it again.... It'd started out just going to be a new engine/transmission & suspension refresh..... Now 5 years later....

My newly rebuilt Dodge Magnum 5.9 with a stroker crank making it a 6.7....

That set me back a year... And I decided to scrap the Magnum platform and bought a Hemi....

How she looks now.

So in 3 months I will have owned this TJ for 23 years. And it's now got a lot of sentimental value so I doubt I'd ever sell it plus my daughter would disown me since she's very insistent that this will be her Jeep when she puts me into an old soldier home.

So who's owned their TJ for over 15 year?
10 years?
5 years?

Let's hear your story....

 

[bbaldwin237]

Nice write up! I've wanted to go through your build thread but it's huge! This was a great summary. That busted wheel is insane! How did you manage that?

 

[Wildman]

Nice write up! I've wanted to go through your build thread but it's huge! This was a great summary. That busted wheel is insane! How did you manage that?

That was the condensed version of my TJ's life.... That was a Hummvee wheel that I'd recentered & hadn't checked runout on them when I was putting the new centers in... Well suffice it to say I had clown wheels on my TJ & had a max speed of around 40 MPH and that was sketchy... Was up on a trail in Rim Rock when my right front just dropped like I'd driven into a big hole.... Next thing I see my tire/wheel rolling down the trail & my wife (now ex) is screaming at me...

Luckily someone had a spare with a 5x5.5 & 35" tire. I limped it out since we were almost to the end of the trail anyhow. And when we'd stopped to check things out was when I had the electrical fire. I parked it right then & someone went back to camp to get me a trailer... We're about 25 miles from camp... It was a long day.

 

[KennethS]

Bought mine October 2, 2001. It had 52,000 miles on it then, just rolled over 155,000.

 

[bbaldwin237]

That was the condensed version of my TJ's life.... That was a Hummvee wheel that I'd recentered & hadn't checked runout on them when I was putting the new centers in... Well suffice it to say I had clown wheels on my TJ & had a max speed of around 40 MPH and that was sketchy... Was up on a trail in Rim Rock when my right front just dropped like I'd driven into a big hole.... Next thing I see my tire/wheel rolling down the trail & my wife (now ex) is screaming at me...

Luckily someone had a spare with a 5x5.5 & 35" tire. I limped it out since we were almost to the end of the trail anyhow. And when we'd stopped to check things out was when I had the electrical fire. I parked it right then & someone went back to camp to get me a trailer... We're about 25 miles from camp... It was a long day.

That's wild, and so lucky it wasn't worse. I've always been skeptical of homebuilt wheels. That's not the first horror story I've heard with them.

 

[tnjeepguy]

Surely there is someone who bought their 97 new ??

 

[Wildman]

Bought mine October 2, 2001. It had 52,000 miles on it then, just rolled over 155,000.

So 11 months longer than me....

Edit: I need to see if I can find my contract when I bought mine since I don't remember how many miles it had on it. It was around 82K when I parked it in 2012 but it'd also sat for almost 2 years while I was deployed and then after being wounded. With the new dash my actual mileage is off.

Edit: 50520 was the mileage when I bought mine.

That's wild, and so lucky it wasn't worse. I've always been skeptical of homebuilt wheels. That's not the first horror story I've heard with them.

If I'd trued them up I'm sure they would have lasted longer but yes I'd say most times doing things like recentering your wheels makes them a trail wheel.
But even doing the DIY beadlocks can FUBAR a wheel if your bead isn't the same size all the way around.
While it was a fun project and I learned a lot doing it I'll leave things like that to the professionals.... My Stazworks dual beadlocks are built by a professional.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

…

So in 3 months I will have owned this TJ for 20 years. And it's now got a lot of sentimental value so I doubt I'd ever sell it plus my daughter would disown me since she's very insistent that this will be her Jeep when she puts me into an old soldier home.

…

Didn’t you buy the rig in Sept 2002 - according to the thread title?

May want to check your math there, Brother…

 

[Wildman]

Didn’t you buy the rig in Sept 2002 - according to the thread title?

May want to check your math there, Brother…

Damn....

 

[CharlesHS]

Sold my '98 XJ that I owned and rock crawled for 21 years.
Sold my '11 JK that I owned for 8 years which I mildly offroaded.
Retired EARLY EARLY and moved over to the Philippines.
Due to issues that I could not resolve while overseas; I traveled to CA to resolve them.
While in CA the COVID virus lockdown occurred and I did not have a vehicle to drive.
I purchased the '01 TJ as a project vehicle for $6K in Dec 2020.
I was remained in CA from 10/2019 until I planned my escape in Jan 2021.
Visited my brother in FL, voted in FL for 2020 election and purchased a house while I was there.
Packed the few items I owned, put my Jeep on a trailer behind a UHaul and drove to FL.
I have worked on the '01 and transformed the Jeep from a project vehicle to a daily driver.
Owned the '01 TJ for 5.5 years.

The trip from CA to FL.

A couple months after I purchased the Jeep.

What the Jeep looks like now.

 

[TheBoogieman]

I've had 19 Jeeps since 2006. 20, if you count buying the same Jeep twice. Doest that count? Still cheaper than wives.

 

[tnjeepguy]

Doest that count?

no

 

[TheBoogieman]

no

 

[Abendage]

August 1998:



April 2007:



Current:



It’s had a few lives.

 

[Wildman]

August 1998:

View attachment 622135

April 2007:

View attachment 622136

Current:

View attachment 622137

It’s had a few lives.

COOL.....
Winner so far...

You'll have to give us more back history at some point.

 

[NDSpeed]

i bought my 2003 Wrangler April 4th 2004.
it had 32 miles on the odometer.

I was walking into the BX (walmart for military) at Rammstein AFB about Feb of 2003. saw this Inca Gold jeep swearing it was the ugliest of colors i’ve ever seen.

four months later i walk by. it’s actually not a bad color, two months later i have to have it. walking in and ask the price. $19k. tell the salesman $17k out the door. i wanted the inca gold Rubicon. $44k. way more then this 23yr old E4 could afford.

In Mar of 2004 i got a call from the dealer asking if I still had interest, $17k out the door was my response. “i’ll see what i can do”.

Through the divorce women can be so petty, i’ve lost 8 years of photos. so nothing from those days. including the photo of my jeep with Brandenburg gate behind me. Or driving around the Arc de Triomphe,
And yes the governor kicks in at 95mph. and with a soft top at that speed. The back will collapse as if you’re trying to fold it down while it’s still attached to the windshield. probably stretched that soft top.

I was a Muscle car guy so didn’t know about the 4.0 vs 2.4l. while that little motor was good i always wanted more.

and In 2013 i Purchased two Grands Cherokees to steal the parts to make a Hemi Conversion.

Short Notification saw me in Afghanistan before i realized what happened with an even shorter notification to move to Alaska. so my engine swap ended up taking 7 years to accomplish.

I bought my wife a new 2013 Rubicon to go camping with the kids and then let mine sit for the next 7 years. so no camping trips in jeeps were made.

in 2019 they dropped the R2.8L. i’ve always preferred Diesel and that’s how i ended up with al the parts to make my 55 Ford F100 Hemi powered (if i ever get to it)

 

[Apparition]

Bought this one May 21st 2021 ~10am in Georgia. Had to be back in MN by 8am the next day. No cruise and the radio didn’t work but the body and frame are excellent, which are all that remain.

 

[alittleoff]

I bought some $2 raffle tickets at the 2003 Off-Road Expo in Pomona, CA. from Cal4Wheel.
And in February 2004, I got a call that I won it.
It had 19 miles on it when it was signed over to me and currently has 88,xxx miles on the clock.
One of the first questions asked to me by the people that were taking this Jeep up and down CA. to have parts and kits installed was,
am I going to sell it. I proudly said NO! I'm a 4-wheeler and I've practically grew up in the dirt. I'm going to drive it like a rental car.
They were happy with my answer.

And I'm proud to say that many, many miles of those 88k, were put on while volunteering for the Adopt-A-Trail Program in the SoCal. mountains and in the desert regions of SoCal.

The most highway miles i put on this Jeep was the trip up to do The Rubicon Trail in 2006. And it was my first time in a Helicopter.
That chopper flight over the Rubicon Trail took 12 minutes end to end, while in a Jeep at crawl speeds takes 2 days (22 miles).
And that was a kick in the ass, read all good.

Oh and I paid $1,700 in taxes for a Jeep that had an estimated value of $40,000.

 

[NDSpeed]

waiting in Alaska for the new motor, the wife JK and my youngest helping me do the Engine swap. And the 55 that will get the Hemi when i get a workshop some day. i’ve owned that truck since 2005! all i’ve done to it is take it apart. i’m never in the same state as it. Man i love military life.

 

[Artsifrtsi]

We bought the ‘05 new with 8 miles on the odometer. It has 138k on it now…