GB_Willys_2014
Well-known member
Fantastic pictures. Thanks for sharing!
Day 1/30 in the Alps and Pyrenees. An experience I will likely spend the rest of my life trying to put into words
Post Pic's of your Jeep
- Thread starter jwhutch
- Start date
Outside somewhere
Overland certified public figure brand ambassador
hikingff77
Adventurer
Those LJ's are amazing. I had a TJ back in the day and when they came out I was twitching to get one. I waited until the 4 doors came out. Now I'm debating on getting a very used (read more affordable) LJ or save up for a 4 door again. Have you had many issues, outside of the regular Jeep issues?
Mundo4x4Casa
West slope, N. Ser. Nev.
THIS UNIT IS SOLD. I've had I think 8 Jeeps in my time. Let me see; 1949 Willys Utility Wagon Chevy V-8; 1973 Jeep Gladiator J-4700; 1973 Jeep Commando (below); 1982 Jeep Scrambler modded to the max; 1989 Jeep XJ Limited; 1990 Jeep XJ; 1999 Jeep XJ Classic; 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited. I think that's eight. For your viewing pleasure, below is the most interesting one because of its rarity and its build. And it's for sale. $8500. SOLD AUG. 23RD. What a great rig.
I have the real Commando, not the come lately in the sidebar above that smells of cultural appropriation. It's totally a California car without rust. The last 22 years it has been garaged. With AMC taking over the helm of the Jeep line from Kaiser by the 1972 year, AMC's car engineers, in their infinite wisdom, decided to make the venerable Jeepster into a Boxy Bronco and Scout look-alike, at least on the longer front clip. When they decided to use the 4.2L, I-6 engine as an option, they extended the front end of the frame and engine compartment 3 inches to accommodate the longer I-6. This model, officially called the C-104, lasted only 2 years: 1972-73. Gone were the flat, iconic 7-slat Jeep grill, and the fold down windshield. But the factory made up for their Ford/IHC chase by adding other features like the torquey 5.0 liter, 304 c.i. V-8; the 104 inch wheel base and much sturdier frame with 5 cross members (which was the prequil to the Jeep Scrambler in the next decade), extra long rear springs for a better ride, 12 inch non-power drum brakes (which work very well, whether the engine is running or not), full removable, no leak hard top, with slope back and an actual drop down tailgate, and Saginaw power steering. My buddie's dad bought this car new to ply the sands of Baja in style, which he did, so I know it's entire history. We are the 2nd owners. After he was done with it, subsequently to make this into a sleek, world class off-roader, we had to bulletproof and slightly widen track on the drive train with a Dana 44 front axle with an Eaton Detroit True Trac torque biasing limited slip; manual 6-bolt locking hubs; shackle reversal, and steering over; a Dana 60, 35 spline rear axle with full Detroit Locker
; both with 4.10 gears for better highway manners; traded the 3-on-the-tree T-15 transmission over to a creep friendly wide ratio Borg Warner T-18 (6.32:1 low gear); and fitted a Dana 300, all gear driven T-case with a 4:1 TerraLow gear set (with the exceedingly rare Texas pattern case bolt pattern used only in the 1980 Scout) making the final drive in low-low a glacial speed 112:1. It has a full custom roll cage and a springs-over-axle swap so there is nothing hanging down underneath except the pigs. The 5 tires are 36x12.50/R15 Super Swampers on 8 inch wide aluminum wheels. It has a Warn 9Ki winch and a back seat. Full custom roll cage; Custom bumpers and great approach, breakover, and departure angles; . The weak part of this rig from the factory was the frame which has been 3-side plated on the front half and front axle located about an inch farther forward making it a C-105. Other than that, it's so low tech there is not much to go wrong. It needs a new bench seat cover and a carb overhaul, with assorted dings and one big gash, but this 45 years old veteran is smog exempt. The carbureted V-8 does very well on steep or side angles or on the highway, and has about 70K actual miles on the original engine which doesn't burn any oil. This is the original paint. I also have 6 inch wide JK fender lips that go with this if you need the cute factor. This was used as a chase car during my brother John's (JR) racing days at the King of the Hammers, hence his number on the bulkhead: 427. Here is a short vid showing this rig doing Winch Hill #2 on the Fordyce Jeep trail, about 15 miles from my place: so open my dropbox for this very unexciting crawlfest: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ihbrpikdnugw184/winch_hill1.m4v?dl=0
This is one rare and capable rig with a lot of best of best, tried and true upgrade parts for the time. Only 9500 units were sold in 1973, the last year of the Commando, and most of them have rotted away. I have the original window sticker and a 1973 Jeep Commando shop manual that goes with it for provenance. jefe
I have the real Commando, not the come lately in the sidebar above that smells of cultural appropriation. It's totally a California car without rust. The last 22 years it has been garaged. With AMC taking over the helm of the Jeep line from Kaiser by the 1972 year, AMC's car engineers, in their infinite wisdom, decided to make the venerable Jeepster into a Boxy Bronco and Scout look-alike, at least on the longer front clip. When they decided to use the 4.2L, I-6 engine as an option, they extended the front end of the frame and engine compartment 3 inches to accommodate the longer I-6. This model, officially called the C-104, lasted only 2 years: 1972-73. Gone were the flat, iconic 7-slat Jeep grill, and the fold down windshield. But the factory made up for their Ford/IHC chase by adding other features like the torquey 5.0 liter, 304 c.i. V-8; the 104 inch wheel base and much sturdier frame with 5 cross members (which was the prequil to the Jeep Scrambler in the next decade), extra long rear springs for a better ride, 12 inch non-power drum brakes (which work very well, whether the engine is running or not), full removable, no leak hard top, with slope back and an actual drop down tailgate, and Saginaw power steering. My buddie's dad bought this car new to ply the sands of Baja in style, which he did, so I know it's entire history. We are the 2nd owners. After he was done with it, subsequently to make this into a sleek, world class off-roader, we had to bulletproof and slightly widen track on the drive train with a Dana 44 front axle with an Eaton Detroit True Trac torque biasing limited slip; manual 6-bolt locking hubs; shackle reversal, and steering over; a Dana 60, 35 spline rear axle with full Detroit Locker
; both with 4.10 gears for better highway manners; traded the 3-on-the-tree T-15 transmission over to a creep friendly wide ratio Borg Warner T-18 (6.32:1 low gear); and fitted a Dana 300, all gear driven T-case with a 4:1 TerraLow gear set (with the exceedingly rare Texas pattern case bolt pattern used only in the 1980 Scout) making the final drive in low-low a glacial speed 112:1. It has a full custom roll cage and a springs-over-axle swap so there is nothing hanging down underneath except the pigs. The 5 tires are 36x12.50/R15 Super Swampers on 8 inch wide aluminum wheels. It has a Warn 9Ki winch and a back seat. Full custom roll cage; Custom bumpers and great approach, breakover, and departure angles; . The weak part of this rig from the factory was the frame which has been 3-side plated on the front half and front axle located about an inch farther forward making it a C-105. Other than that, it's so low tech there is not much to go wrong. It needs a new bench seat cover and a carb overhaul, with assorted dings and one big gash, but this 45 years old veteran is smog exempt. The carbureted V-8 does very well on steep or side angles or on the highway, and has about 70K actual miles on the original engine which doesn't burn any oil. This is the original paint. I also have 6 inch wide JK fender lips that go with this if you need the cute factor. This was used as a chase car during my brother John's (JR) racing days at the King of the Hammers, hence his number on the bulkhead: 427. Here is a short vid showing this rig doing Winch Hill #2 on the Fordyce Jeep trail, about 15 miles from my place: so open my dropbox for this very unexciting crawlfest: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ihbrpikdnugw184/winch_hill1.m4v?dl=0This is one rare and capable rig with a lot of best of best, tried and true upgrade parts for the time. Only 9500 units were sold in 1973, the last year of the Commando, and most of them have rotted away. I have the original window sticker and a 1973 Jeep Commando shop manual that goes with it for provenance. jefe
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Hristo34
Member
I had a 04 Rubicon for 6 years before finding this LJ 2 years ago. The TJ Wrangler platform has always been really good to me and I have had no major problems. The main issue I had with the TJ, even though I dont take a lot of stuff, was storage space on camping trips when wife and dog came. The LJ is the perfect size for us. The range isn't great, about 400km, but adding the Titan Trekker solved that, so its gone all over the place without a hitch.
I have a lot of experience with the 4 door JKU as well. A close friend has one that I have done a lot of work on, and we used it for a 3 week trip to Tuktoyaktuk. I put on quite a few km as the driver. I think if you have a family, or like to take a lot of stuff, the 4 door is better. It gets slightly better mileage, and has a larger fuel tank as well. The ride is a bit smoother, but the JKU feels much bigger/heavier.
I prefer the TJ platform, due to it being narrower and shorter. The LJ feels much more nimble than the JKU. I also prefer the motor, the ease of wrenching and the cheaper parts. My anecdotal experience with the JKU is that it has more issues, especially when it comes to over heating.
jeepdreamer
Expedition Leader
Ahh... The loved and lost list.
I had a 72 commando for a while. It was fun.
I've had 2As, Jeepster commandos, CJs, waggys, XJs... It really is a habit.
Current stable is a 67 Jeepster, 78 Cherokee Chief, 83 Scrambler, and a 91 Grand waggy.
Everytime I get rid of one I regret it.
CanucksRedRocket
Observer
Well here is my first Jeep...unless an old AMC eagle wagon counts lol. It's a 99 tj with the 2.5ltr manual. pretty much bone stock, smitty bilt top, smittybilt front bumper and rear bumper, stereo and subs, some off road lights, but lots more mods to come, building rock slider/steps for it this weekend, and doing a new muffler.
CanucksRedRocket
Observer
it doesn't look that good close up lol, lots of paint blemishes, and some badly fixed fender rust, but it's a work in progress, its solid underneath with no rust on the under side though and runs like a top. the fenders were also faded grey so they got painted with a flexible plastic paint and it made a world of difference to the look.
CanucksRedRocket
Observer
this was the day i picked it up after i took the hardtop and doors off.
Dr. Marneaus
Station Wagoneer
UntitledThis might be a silly question, but why is your tent so high? I've seen this on a number of other trailers and even in RTT's mounted on frames in the back of trucks. It seems like you want it to be as low as possible - keeping in mind that you do want to use the trailer for storage.
Dr. Marneaus
Station Wagoneer
Untitled
Dr. Marneaus
Station Wagoneer
Lol, yeah its big when the annex is attached. Some folks will opt for a liftable or adjustable rack so they can lower it while driving, but personally I did not have the wherewithal to complete such a design. This should do fine for my needs.