John82601
Member
Long time enthusiast but I've only recently become a Jeep owner. For many years I've been wheeling with my early Bronco but recently had the opportunity to acquire a 1995 Wrangler from my in-laws. A bit of the back-story. In college (early 90's) I picked up a '74 Bronco and quickly became known as the "Bronco Guy" among my fellow students and faculty. People would leave notes on my windshield asking me to contact so-and-so about a Bronco they needed hauled off. Over time salvaging parts from the one's I was hauling off, I built a pretty decent Bronco. 351 Windsor, C-4 auto, disc brake D44 fr/ 9in rr, 4.10's, Rancho 4" lift, 2" body lift, 35" BFG AT's on 15x8 alum wheels and a Wagner Power Painter paint job of Safety Blue oil based enamel, lol.
Owned the Bronco for many years until a gentleman from Utah was passing through, stopped into Champion Auto while I was working and just had to have it. We visited for a while and the next weekend he showed back up with a trailer and an envelope full of cash.
That left me without anything to wheel but life got busy (kids will do that to you) and I didn't think about it much.
The 1995 Wrangler. I'll rewind just a few years to 1995. I drove my girlfriends (now wife's) mom to the dealership to buy the YJ as it was a gift to her husband. Thanks to many viewings of Rick Russel's off-road videos, he build it up with a 2" lift, 30x9.5's, Warn winch, KC lights and a nice sound system. He drove it for a few years before his new position provided him a company truck and the YJ became my ma-inlaw's daily driver. It stayed that way until recently when he suprised her with a new to them 2009 Rubicon Unlimited. When they were at the house showing us the new Jeep, my father inlaw took me aside and asked if I wanted to buy the '95. Two seconds later I was finally a Jeep owner.
As we received it, the YJ had 62k miles on it and had been garaged it's entire life. It was in very good condition but needed some updating. The Rancho add-a-leafs combined with leaking Monroe shocks didn't ride very well at all. I had done some researching and wanted to do a Ford 8.8 swap to replace the Dana 35 before doing any other modifications so it would have a reasonably solid foundation to build on. Much to my suprise, my wife had co-conspired with my best friend to also arrange a 4" TrailMaster lift and a set of 33x10.5x15's to go on at the same time. I love my wife
Now it's just a fun little daily driver that gets wheeled on the weekends. The 4cyl isn't very powerful but combined with the 5-speed manual and 4:10 gears it does alright. In 3 years I'll be teaching my son how to drive with it and 3 years after that it will be my daughters turn. Once they're done with it, I'll look into doing an engine swap and more upgrades. Until then we're loving the Jeep lifestyle. Fill a cooler full of drinks, pull the doors off and follow a 2-track just to see where it ends up.
Owned the Bronco for many years until a gentleman from Utah was passing through, stopped into Champion Auto while I was working and just had to have it. We visited for a while and the next weekend he showed back up with a trailer and an envelope full of cash.
That left me without anything to wheel but life got busy (kids will do that to you) and I didn't think about it much.
The 1995 Wrangler. I'll rewind just a few years to 1995. I drove my girlfriends (now wife's) mom to the dealership to buy the YJ as it was a gift to her husband. Thanks to many viewings of Rick Russel's off-road videos, he build it up with a 2" lift, 30x9.5's, Warn winch, KC lights and a nice sound system. He drove it for a few years before his new position provided him a company truck and the YJ became my ma-inlaw's daily driver. It stayed that way until recently when he suprised her with a new to them 2009 Rubicon Unlimited. When they were at the house showing us the new Jeep, my father inlaw took me aside and asked if I wanted to buy the '95. Two seconds later I was finally a Jeep owner.
As we received it, the YJ had 62k miles on it and had been garaged it's entire life. It was in very good condition but needed some updating. The Rancho add-a-leafs combined with leaking Monroe shocks didn't ride very well at all. I had done some researching and wanted to do a Ford 8.8 swap to replace the Dana 35 before doing any other modifications so it would have a reasonably solid foundation to build on. Much to my suprise, my wife had co-conspired with my best friend to also arrange a 4" TrailMaster lift and a set of 33x10.5x15's to go on at the same time. I love my wife
Now it's just a fun little daily driver that gets wheeled on the weekends. The 4cyl isn't very powerful but combined with the 5-speed manual and 4:10 gears it does alright. In 3 years I'll be teaching my son how to drive with it and 3 years after that it will be my daughters turn. Once they're done with it, I'll look into doing an engine swap and more upgrades. Until then we're loving the Jeep lifestyle. Fill a cooler full of drinks, pull the doors off and follow a 2-track just to see where it ends up.
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