For me owning a Jeep is less about owning a vehicle and more about a way of life, like surfing, and if you don't surf, you just don't get it. Looking at my YJ, I dont see the daily commute to work, I see an invitation for adventure, a promise of great things to come, if I just get in and drive. There is also culture that surrounds Jeep and is hard to explain unless you experience it first hand, and it starts long before you join a local club, online forum or ever make it to a Jamboree. Just drive a Jeep around a town like Charleston, where I currently live, on a sunny day in a Wrangler and your arm will hurt by the end of the day from all the waving and you will still be smiling when you lay your head on your pillow to go to sleep. Only then will all this make sense to you and if you own one, you already smiling.
I guess the love affair started for me with playing with old army toy Jeeps, they were so different from all my other toy trucks. The old flat fender Willy's were iconic American iron and when my neighbor bought and restored an old 4x4 Willy's wagon, it was a kids dream. Chrome Cragar wheels, mud tires, a pretty hefty lift and suspenion kit, bright red paint, this thing was one bad Jeep. Then came my appreciation for the wrangler, and I am thinking it started with Daisy Duke, which whom alot of young boys my age took notice of, and not only her, but her awesome White CJ. How cool was that Jeep, everyone got excited about the orange Charger, but for me it was the Jeep that was the star of that show.
Some years later, my buddy got a Wrangler, CJ7 all black with black top and we hit the trails, it was awesome to just go in the woods with our friends for hours and drive around were the average car would never make it. Since then, it was always on my list of must have things, a topless off roader.
Here my story takes a different twist, partially isnpired by my grandfather and his love for his hobby, model trains. We traveled all over to different hobby shops and my love of model cars led me to start building Tamiya radio control kits by the age of 12 and still build them today. Tamiya released thier YJ Wragler kit in 1993,( I think) and it was such a well detailed kit, and fell in love instantly. Over the years I have built several of these kits and as my skills improved, I began to add more and more details to make them more unique, much like most full scale Jeeps take on the personality of thier owners. Lots of hand made details like roof racks, bumpers, winches, step bars, you name it, if you find it on a jeep, I'd make a scale version to put on my Jeep.
Since photograghy is another hobby of mine, naturally taking pictures of them in a scale setting to make them look real only seemed logical, so that is what I set out to do. the internet is full of pictures of my Wranglers, and most people don't even realize they are not full size.
Currently working on an almost fully scratch built 1/10 scale replica of my '90 Wrangler, locked live axles, leaf springs, scale frame and suspension, super detailed and too much to mention here, 500+ hours and only about half finished. Obsession to say the least.
The only reason I even mention this is because after years of building scale YJ models, I could not stand it and went out and bought one, a real one, a 95 YJ. I think the previous owner had a wet golden retreiver that lived in an ashtray, that thing stunk. The smell never left, even after I tore out the carpet, must have infused into the metal, it was awful, and after few months had to let it go. There was some mechanical issues with it as well.
Then as luck would have it, I found an orphaned '90 that nobody wanted to love. It looked like it had been sitting outside for at least a year or two, and the paint had gotten to a point where it was a whit-ish pink fuzzy something, not the red that had it had come with. The fenders had been taken off, the stock aluminum rims were pitted to the point it looked they had pulled them out of the surf and the seats looked like they had come out an old, old speed boat, sun bleached and mold spotted. Poor thing must have lived under an oak tree too, there was about an inch of compost with acorns and leaves in the bottom and a bunch of boxes with magazines, dishes and parts in it. I am sure a homless person would have passed it up for somewhere else to go, but to me, it was my diamond. The frame was good, body was free of rust and dents, the soft top was relatively new and the inside had had a spray in liner at some point. I lucked out and won some fender flares on ebay for 40 bucks shipped, painted them, got some cheap seat covers, traded for some TJ wheels and spent many hours cleaning, buffing and presto, new Jeep.
I can only say this has Jeep been a great thing for me, and I love my Wrangler. I grin from ear to ear when I get behind the wheel and the grin grows bigger with every compliment that comes my way, especially knowing were it was about a year ago. A great sense of pride from a little hard work and what a reward, to drive, live and enjoy Jeep. Alot of people overlook the square eyed Wrangler, but its my passion. YJ's rock!
Well, that's my story. Want your own adventure, go getchya a Jeep!
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