Mods
Current:
-New distributor, cap and rotor
-Plugs and Denso Wires
-Cleaned pushrods (no more sludge)
-Freshly painted valve cover because who needs brakes when you can just waste time painting with Metalcast!
-Freshly rebuilt 242 Transfercase (courtesy of ebay and and the cheapest, non-leaking Tcase I could find)
- Trak-Lock lunchbox locker in the rear Dana 35 (Turdey Five)
-New 33x12.5in Dick Cepek tires and pro-comp wheels
-4inch rough Country Lift
-New Headlight and turnsignal assemblies
-New smelly tree because mold smell
-Dual radio, amp bypass and Rockford Fosgate door speakers
-Thrush welded muffler, axle dumped
-lifter tap. 4.0 life bro
-Radiator, because it hates me despite all the work i've done
-New distributor, cap and rotor
-Plugs and Denso Wires
-Cleaned pushrods (no more sludge)
-Freshly painted valve cover because who needs brakes when you can just waste time painting with Metalcast!
-Freshly rebuilt 242 Transfercase (courtesy of ebay and and the cheapest, non-leaking Tcase I could find)
- Trak-Lock lunchbox locker in the rear Dana 35 (Turdey Five)
-New 33x12.5in Dick Cepek tires and pro-comp wheels
-4inch rough Country Lift
-New Headlight and turnsignal assemblies
-New smelly tree because mold smell
-Dual radio, amp bypass and Rockford Fosgate door speakers
-Thrush welded muffler, axle dumped
-lifter tap. 4.0 life bro
-Radiator, because it hates me despite all the work i've done
Build story
So to start, I am a big Jeep fan and in my time I have owned several Jeeps in my time including another 1998 jeep Grand Cherokee that is much nicer and better kept up. I work for a large auto part chain and we deliver out to commercial shops and at one of them sat this heap in the back, in a field of totaled trucks and cars. This thing was so buried in the weeds I had to get a bush whacker to just open the door.
Anyway, I initially wanted to get parts off this truck for my other jeep and the shop owner said I could get anything I wanted and we talk price but when I finally got to it I was shocked at the condition of this thing.
The interior smelled like fungus, the headliner was non-well it was in pieces on the floor. The door seals were caked in green fungus, there was seven wasp nests (occupied), and it had four flat tires and cracked up leather seats.
So why, would anyone think to buy this after the horrid condition it was in, and although it has the rare sunroof option being a Laredo but thats another rant on a blog where men compare trim specials to penis sizes.
So naturally I did, now I did my research, watched a lot of how to vids and generally did my darndest to look up the history of this Jeep where I discovered where this was a one owner truck leased from 1998 until it 2016. For a niche geek like me it was perfect. That's not the real reason I bought it for $350 after the alarm wouldn't turn off when a battery was connected.
The reason I bought this tired SUV is because no-body else would. The owner was going to scrap it a week from the day I found it and It angers me when I see cars like this that still have some value as parts or a teenagers first car or just something for grandma to put her six tiny dogs in.
So I bought it, washed it really good with a cool pressure washer from Amazon, and set about mending the 4WD. Where I discovered the transfer case was completely destroyed ( lack of oil from the pic as you can see,the chain was slack to the point it hit the casing every time the front shaft moved. The inpust shaft had wleded itself to the planetary gears so it couldn't be removed easily). So I did what every does with their projects, bought a cheap one off eBay where it sat for six months in my garage stinkig up the place with mold smell and febreeze.
Then after my that time there was a sense of hurry to get it finished. The last 10 years me and my Father got into Overlanding, watch all the big guys on Youtube, and recently at the start of this year he got some bad news related to his health and things got put into new perspective. After much talk we decided this was going to be that project we never got to do. So we busted our asses, wrenched into the night getting the transfercase done (with he-man like power, no jacks for us), I had to clean every surface in the engine because this thing had the worst valve cover leak I have ever seen which led to the discovery of the sludgiest engine ever produced by Chrysler next to the Seabring 2.7.
After losing several years of life to the toxic material that was in the fuel tank she set off on her maiden voyage where I discovered third gear, didn't work and overdrive, didn't work.
One transmission filter, several solenoids purchased from U-pull yards, and every single fluid changed on this thing. It become a decent piece of crap. It was our piece of crap though, and after some good friends from a local shop in town hooked us up with the lift kit and tires we have created "Ghost". She is still on-going because we are are not beaten yet and I hope to create some wonderful memories for my dad and I.
So this is the story up to now of a stupid man buying a worthless truck no-one saw value in except for him. Now it's a piece of junk that brings a smile to a family, and a reminder of the little important things in life people take granted until they are almost gone forever.
Anyway, I initially wanted to get parts off this truck for my other jeep and the shop owner said I could get anything I wanted and we talk price but when I finally got to it I was shocked at the condition of this thing.
The interior smelled like fungus, the headliner was non-well it was in pieces on the floor. The door seals were caked in green fungus, there was seven wasp nests (occupied), and it had four flat tires and cracked up leather seats.
So why, would anyone think to buy this after the horrid condition it was in, and although it has the rare sunroof option being a Laredo but thats another rant on a blog where men compare trim specials to penis sizes.
So naturally I did, now I did my research, watched a lot of how to vids and generally did my darndest to look up the history of this Jeep where I discovered where this was a one owner truck leased from 1998 until it 2016. For a niche geek like me it was perfect. That's not the real reason I bought it for $350 after the alarm wouldn't turn off when a battery was connected.
The reason I bought this tired SUV is because no-body else would. The owner was going to scrap it a week from the day I found it and It angers me when I see cars like this that still have some value as parts or a teenagers first car or just something for grandma to put her six tiny dogs in.
So I bought it, washed it really good with a cool pressure washer from Amazon, and set about mending the 4WD. Where I discovered the transfer case was completely destroyed ( lack of oil from the pic as you can see,the chain was slack to the point it hit the casing every time the front shaft moved. The inpust shaft had wleded itself to the planetary gears so it couldn't be removed easily). So I did what every does with their projects, bought a cheap one off eBay where it sat for six months in my garage stinkig up the place with mold smell and febreeze.
Then after my that time there was a sense of hurry to get it finished. The last 10 years me and my Father got into Overlanding, watch all the big guys on Youtube, and recently at the start of this year he got some bad news related to his health and things got put into new perspective. After much talk we decided this was going to be that project we never got to do. So we busted our asses, wrenched into the night getting the transfercase done (with he-man like power, no jacks for us), I had to clean every surface in the engine because this thing had the worst valve cover leak I have ever seen which led to the discovery of the sludgiest engine ever produced by Chrysler next to the Seabring 2.7.
After losing several years of life to the toxic material that was in the fuel tank she set off on her maiden voyage where I discovered third gear, didn't work and overdrive, didn't work.
One transmission filter, several solenoids purchased from U-pull yards, and every single fluid changed on this thing. It become a decent piece of crap. It was our piece of crap though, and after some good friends from a local shop in town hooked us up with the lift kit and tires we have created "Ghost". She is still on-going because we are are not beaten yet and I hope to create some wonderful memories for my dad and I.
So this is the story up to now of a stupid man buying a worthless truck no-one saw value in except for him. Now it's a piece of junk that brings a smile to a family, and a reminder of the little important things in life people take granted until they are almost gone forever.