I had been into Jeeps long before I got my
YJ in 1997. I saw my first Jeep in 1981.
My dad had a '73 IH Scout II (RIP), and I
was with him several times when he had to
go the the IH-AMC dealership to get parts,
because, as anyone with an IH truck in the
early '80's could tell you, you had to go
to the dealer to get normal routine parts
like oiol filters and the like. Well, I
was there, and, out front, was this
beautiful CJ8 Scrambler, yellow with black
hard half top. I've loved Jeeps every
since!! I got my '92 YJ in Dec '97, it had
56K miles on it. I had been looking for
one for years, but, I kept running into
ones that were wore slam out. Found this
one, and, after 10 years and 212 miles, is
STILL my daily driver!!! Mods, well
haven't done much, just a Rancho 2
1/2" lift, and a fishing pole/cooler
rack on the front. I have a Cobra CB radio
and an old railroad radio I used when I
was working for CSX. I put in XM
Satellite Radio a couple of years ago. I
have 31"x 10 1/2" BFG AT's,
which they have almost 100K on them, and
STILL have tread on them!! Oh, and I
changed out all the hinges with SS, looks
great on a black Jeep! I have one
other Jeep, it's a '62 DJ5. I saw it
beside the tracks when I was running
trains, and I went to ask about it. They
wanted $500, I liked the Jeep, it had a
steel hard top with steel doors with
roll-up windows, the one issue that they
told me that the tranny broke. After I
handed them the money, I wanted to start
it up, just to see if it could (dumb, I
know now). Had to pour gas into the carb
because the fuel pump had dry-rotted.
Hooked a battery up to it, and it fired
right up!! It was then that the uncle
stated that they rebuilt the eingine,
replaced the clutch, drove it about 100
ft, and something broke, they thought it
was the tranny. Well, with it running, I
went through the gears, nothing, put in
into 4WD, it moved, took it out of 4WD, it
stopped. So, I let the clutch out in 2WD,
and got on the ground, and lo and behold,
the drive shaft was turning!! So, it was
rear diff that was the source of the
problem! I think I did a little bit better
with my $500 then I first thought!! I
haven't done much to it, just put some BFG
AT's on it for tires (I know, I spent more
on tires then I did on the Jeep!) Those
are my Jeeps. When I was working with the
Tidewater 4Wheelers in Chesapeake, VA, I
was a trail guide for Camp Jeep in Oak
Ridge, VA, for several years. I've had
lots of fun with my Jeeps and meeting
poeple, the people at Tidewater are some
of the best in the sport, alot of
experience, but, are willing to teach the
newbies!!, and they know how to have
FUN!! Sad to say, the DJ was sold. The
good news is, it should get the attention
it finally deserves. I felt like I did my
part in saving it from rusting away to
nothing, now, I pass it on to someone that
can hopefully finish what I've started!