Hi everyone. Bought the first Jeep I've ever owned a couple of weeks ago. It's actually going to be my son's Jeep. He turns 15 this summer and will be able to get his learner's permit. I wanted him to learn to drive a stick (his 17-YO sister drives an older stick Kia Sportage so he could learn on that one also) and you really don't learn well unless you daily a manual. My other objectives were: cheap and something to learn on. I was really looking for something that had a blown or worn-out engine so he and I can work together to do an engine swap or rebuild. He was interested in a Wrangler but I couldn't find anything in my cheap price range and had about given up. (Had been looking for about 1.5 years.) Finally found what I was looking for. 2003 TJ. High-mileage, 2.4 4-banger. No lift (but was sitting on 32-inch tires!). Bought it from a guy who purchased it only for the hard top (PO he bought it from wouldn't sell the hard top separate). Wasn't running, didn't have a starter installed. Was told it ran when parked. Had probably been sitting (other than the move when sold and that didn't involve getting it running) for over 2 years.
It's definitely going to be a project. Ugly as all get-out b/c PO had bedlined the entire body, but they didn't prep the paint properly first so it's flaking off all over the place. But the thing has absolutely zero rust anywhere (body or frame) which was just incredible. Did get it running but it currently has no brakes so I haven't even driven it down the driveway yet! One thing at a time.
It's been 30 years since I rebuilt an engine. But over those 30 years I've done nearly all the maintenance on my vehicles including transmission swaps, brake jobs, timing belts, oil pumps, etc. It should be a good learning experience for my son and hopefully he comes away with a greater appreciation for his rig and for his own abilities.
It's definitely going to be a project. Ugly as all get-out b/c PO had bedlined the entire body, but they didn't prep the paint properly first so it's flaking off all over the place. But the thing has absolutely zero rust anywhere (body or frame) which was just incredible. Did get it running but it currently has no brakes so I haven't even driven it down the driveway yet! One thing at a time.
It's been 30 years since I rebuilt an engine. But over those 30 years I've done nearly all the maintenance on my vehicles including transmission swaps, brake jobs, timing belts, oil pumps, etc. It should be a good learning experience for my son and hopefully he comes away with a greater appreciation for his rig and for his own abilities.
