Morning everyone!
Longtime lurker around here. Finally decided I should register to join the community and continue to absorb all the knowledge here!
I currently race Ultra4 in a "Jeep" in the EMC class. (Technically it has a few feet of frame rail and a Vin Tag...so I still call it a Jeep.)
On the way back from King of the Hammers this year, the Mrs. and I started talking about the next items on our bucket list. I've built numerous Jeeps and Race Trucks/Cars - but all of them mainly for wheeling or racing (i.e. not made for road trips!). On my bucket list is to build a mild Overland/Expedition vehicle, so we said what the heck, let's do it. Additionally, last fall we moved from the midwest to the mountains of CO. With so much terrain around us to explore, we decided we should have a reliable vehicle that we can enjoy (before kids...)
I spent my childhood growing up in Alaska and haven't been back in 18 years. And my wife has never been through Washington, let alone Canada. So in the short time-frame of a few hundred miles of driving across NM a few weeks back, we hatched a plan to take 3 weeks out of our lives next summer and work our way up to Alaska.
Our plan is to work our way from Colorado to the Oregon coast, then up through the Olympic Peninsula, then up along the Canadian coast to Alaska. On the way back we will come through Idaho and Wyoming to Colorado. We want to be able to hit dirt roads and explore a bit, but will NOT be doing any real wheeling. End goal is to make it up to Alaska and back in (mostly) one piece.
Over the last few weeks I have gone back and forth debating what vehicle we would take. I have a nice 1996 ZJ for the wife with all the goodies that would be perfect...But nothing in the drivetrain is stock aside from maybe the engine accessories. Didn't like the idea of being broke down without being able to head to the local Auto Parts store and picking up a part. A truck would be nice for storage, but being born and bred on CJ's, I really wanted to do the trip in an open top vehicle, but with easy to locate replacement parts and a few newer amenities. Life is too short to sit and plan all the time. I prefer to dive in and see what happens! (i.e. buy vehicles and projects on impulse...)
So then I opened Craigslist (which never ends without me driving halfway to hell to pickup some treasure). Low and behold I find a 1997 Wrangler with a sick #3 squirrel and complete with death wobble.
1997 Wrangler
2.5L 4 cyl
AX-5 5 speed
NP231
New softtop, new clutch, etc
100% straight and ZERO rust (still amazed by the lack of rust out here. I don't miss the midwest at all.)
Horrible homemade bumpers and sliders
Lovely flat black paintjob (that was done without masking anything off..)
and the most important part - ALL STOCK!
Compression testing revealed 90psi, 94psi, 0psi, and 85 psi. Looks like a rebuild is in order.
$1,500 later I hop in the driverseat and drive 72 miles back home. For future reference, 2.5L running on 3 cylinders does not like going up 8% grades at 9000 feet!
This will be a LONG build process. We aren't leaving for our trip until June 2015. But before then we will be working our way across CO to find out what we like and don't like in the Wrangler. Hoping to have it at least running by this summer to enjoy it a bit. Looking forward to utilizing all the knowledge on this site and sharing our adventure.
Goals:
Replace a few worn out parts
New shocks
New tires (maybe 31's)
Fab up some new bumpers and sliders
Winch
Rebuild stock 4 cyl. Maybe add a bit of compression to help out.
Outfit for expedition: Fridge, storage, tools, spare parts, etc.
Longtime lurker around here. Finally decided I should register to join the community and continue to absorb all the knowledge here!
I currently race Ultra4 in a "Jeep" in the EMC class. (Technically it has a few feet of frame rail and a Vin Tag...so I still call it a Jeep.)
On the way back from King of the Hammers this year, the Mrs. and I started talking about the next items on our bucket list. I've built numerous Jeeps and Race Trucks/Cars - but all of them mainly for wheeling or racing (i.e. not made for road trips!). On my bucket list is to build a mild Overland/Expedition vehicle, so we said what the heck, let's do it. Additionally, last fall we moved from the midwest to the mountains of CO. With so much terrain around us to explore, we decided we should have a reliable vehicle that we can enjoy (before kids...)
I spent my childhood growing up in Alaska and haven't been back in 18 years. And my wife has never been through Washington, let alone Canada. So in the short time-frame of a few hundred miles of driving across NM a few weeks back, we hatched a plan to take 3 weeks out of our lives next summer and work our way up to Alaska.
Our plan is to work our way from Colorado to the Oregon coast, then up through the Olympic Peninsula, then up along the Canadian coast to Alaska. On the way back we will come through Idaho and Wyoming to Colorado. We want to be able to hit dirt roads and explore a bit, but will NOT be doing any real wheeling. End goal is to make it up to Alaska and back in (mostly) one piece.
Over the last few weeks I have gone back and forth debating what vehicle we would take. I have a nice 1996 ZJ for the wife with all the goodies that would be perfect...But nothing in the drivetrain is stock aside from maybe the engine accessories. Didn't like the idea of being broke down without being able to head to the local Auto Parts store and picking up a part. A truck would be nice for storage, but being born and bred on CJ's, I really wanted to do the trip in an open top vehicle, but with easy to locate replacement parts and a few newer amenities. Life is too short to sit and plan all the time. I prefer to dive in and see what happens! (i.e. buy vehicles and projects on impulse...)
So then I opened Craigslist (which never ends without me driving halfway to hell to pickup some treasure). Low and behold I find a 1997 Wrangler with a sick #3 squirrel and complete with death wobble.
1997 Wrangler
2.5L 4 cyl
AX-5 5 speed
NP231
New softtop, new clutch, etc
100% straight and ZERO rust (still amazed by the lack of rust out here. I don't miss the midwest at all.)
Horrible homemade bumpers and sliders
Lovely flat black paintjob (that was done without masking anything off..)
and the most important part - ALL STOCK!
Compression testing revealed 90psi, 94psi, 0psi, and 85 psi. Looks like a rebuild is in order.
$1,500 later I hop in the driverseat and drive 72 miles back home. For future reference, 2.5L running on 3 cylinders does not like going up 8% grades at 9000 feet!
This will be a LONG build process. We aren't leaving for our trip until June 2015. But before then we will be working our way across CO to find out what we like and don't like in the Wrangler. Hoping to have it at least running by this summer to enjoy it a bit. Looking forward to utilizing all the knowledge on this site and sharing our adventure.
Goals:
Replace a few worn out parts
New shocks
New tires (maybe 31's)
Fab up some new bumpers and sliders
Winch
Rebuild stock 4 cyl. Maybe add a bit of compression to help out.
Outfit for expedition: Fridge, storage, tools, spare parts, etc.
ort+Angeles,+WA+to:Anchorage,+AK+to:Bailey,+CO&hl=en&ll=53.067627,-124.013672&spn=30.556818,86.572266&sll=52.214339,-118.828125&sspn=31.129873,86.572266&geocode=FelHWQIdy5q2-SkBPr5uQBJrhzErTIZ-F5YPrQ%3BFWUuoAIdXtip-CkZGVCssBnBVDFNiUNKiWHsVw%3BFWzFwAIdK3ye-CmL-5UJRHuTVDG_ihuh8XLd9w%3BFROq2wIdMQeW-CnV-tFzMD6OVDHypZGSQkWB_w%3BFYI53gIdq5ik-ClH5-fADFKOVDHZpU9jjGG8XQ%3BFQgdpgMdCrQQ9ylBP7MEdpHIVjHjaISnWrp9JQ%3BFelHWQIdy5q2-SkBPr5uQBJrhzErTIZ-F5YPrQ&oq=bail&gl=us&mra=ls&t=m&z=4
