The moment you've all been waiting for!

[Grant Lamontagne]

Ok, probably not, but here's my cool new truck!


Front


Side


Arse

2000 Jeep TJ Sport with 5 spd manual transmission and 4.0L 6 cyl engine.  The rag is in great shape, but the zipper on the back window is messed up.  We managed to get the window in place for now, but I'll be meeting a woman tomorrow evening who does vinyl and canvas work, and who also fixes Jeep tops. 

Stereo needs to be replaced (eventually) and that's about it.  The heater only works on low and hi, not on either stop in between (not a big deal) and the rubber is almost new on it.

It was torched slightly, which is why I got a great deal on it- about $4,500 less than what other 2000 TJ's are going for locally.  It looks like someone stuffed one of the wheel wells with paper and tried to burn it down- other than a little soot and some blistered paint, there's no damage to it.  However, as a result, it was taken off the road, and sold for scrap.  A dealer here in Nova Scotia bought it and a bunch of others at an auction, planning to use them for parts, but two of them (this one and another) were intact and he figured he'd get more to re-sell them.  I paid a small fee to a mechanic to give it a look over to make sure there was nothing structurally wrong with it, and he says that it's in surprisingly good shape for a Jeep of that year.  It's got a big scratch on the hood, and a dent in the back right corner and that's pretty well the only damage.

I bought new wipers and floor mats and it's good to go!

Def

[Spoonrobot]

 

That's pretty sweet.

Shotgun.

 

[NutSAK]

Its yeller!

Looks nice.  How many miles on it?  Don't let it overheat.  As I mentioned before, the 2000 model 4.0L is susceptible to head cracks.

I have your TJ's XJ brother! (2000 Patriot Blue XJ Sport)

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

What does Chinook think of it , he's got to have more room than your last car

[NutSAK]

It was torched slightly, which is why I got a great deal on it- about $4,500 less than what other 2000 TJ's are going for locally. 

Be careful with the term "torched" Def.  The UK guys might think that someone shined a flashlight on it.     

[Roadie]

Looks good Def

Be careful with the term "torched" Def.  The UK guys might think that someone shined a flashlight on it.     

[WhichDawg]

wow! Congrats boss, great deal and nice Kayak carrier!

[Grant Lamontagne]

We still have the Sunfire- we need two cars nowadays.  We've actually needed two cars for a while, but finally got to the point where we couldn't avoid it any longer.  I've spent enough in the last month on rental cars that I could have made three month's payment on a new car!   

Chinook loves the new Jeep- I folded up the back seats and removed the back windows for him and we went for a drive... until I remembered the temporary permit (no license plate yet!) was stuck to one of the windows that was nicely rolled up in the passenger seat!  Nook was pretty upset when I closed the window and he only had one to stick his head out of!

Terry- let's see some pics of that XJ!  I was gonna go that route, but I wanted a convertible in preparation for my mid life crisis!

Which reminds me, what's big, yellow and can easily pick up lots of chicks?
















































































_{a forklift!}

Def

[Tsquare]

     Good choice Jeeps have a good reputation for quality.

[WhichDawg]

needs a special hood ornament!

[prime77]

Congratulations Def. It looks good. I always wanted a Jeep.

[ducktapehero]

Congrats!!!!!!

[Viking]

Looks great Def!!!

I've always wanted a Jeep.  Maybe it was because MacGyver drove a Jeep that I want one.  It's because of him that I wanted a Swiss Army Knife.

[edap617]

Congrats Def!

Do you intend to go off road driving with that Def?

[hawkchucker]

Nice little ride. I hope it works out well for you. It seems almost too pretty for you.

However the color is going to make it very easy to find in a parking lot!!!

[Benner]

Looking good Def. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yeah, I've wanted a Jeep for a while.  For years I've thought the hype about Jeeps was the same as Harleys- nice, but nowadays just a "anyone can buy one and be cool" thing, but the rep is well deserved.  This is really a good truck, and it's all stock.

I plan to get it muddy tomorrow, but I doubt I'll do any serious off roading with it.  I'd like to, but there's not many trails around here, and I don't get a lot of time to devote to it.  I have dreams of doing things like Moab, but I doubt it'll happen.  Got other, more realistic dreams first, like taking the kayak out on a paddling/camping trip for a few days.

As for the SAK hood ornament, I thought about buying a Mack bulldog to put on the hood!



But, if you must have SAK content (and we always do!) I couldn't help but think that this one would be right at home in the new Jeep!



Def

[CQC-7]

That is a cool jeep.  I have wanted one for years but I have yet to buy one.  I imagine that one will be coming soon.

[Grant Lamontagne]

The place I got mine has another one.... 

It's grey- you could put a Multitool.org logo and pass it off to the wife as showing support for the site!

I told my wife I was in a mid life crisis and needed a big toy!

Def

[WhichDawg]

mans gotta match!

[BIG-TARGET]

needs a special hood ornament!
(Image removed from quote.)

The hood ornament should be stayglow

[CQC-7]

Yeah, but if it is stayglow people will see it and be more inclined to steal it like they do with hood ornaments back here.  If you have a Cadillac where I live it does not have a hood ornament even though it obviously had one at one time.

[NutSAK]

Terry- let's see some pics of that XJ!  I was gonna go that route, but I wanted a convertible in preparation for my mid life crisis!

I'll have to take some.  It's my 'beater', so I've not been so proud to take any yet.

I do love it though--simple and easy to work on, and that 4.0L is a great chunk of iron.

[MultiMat]

Def you need to get some Land Rover "Defender "badges for your new beast

[J-sews]

Sweet ride there Def! Congratulations on what sounds like a great deal. The 4-wheel-drive should come in real handly next winter. 


The nice thing about Jeeps is all the accessories available. Got any plans to pimp her up?

[Grant Lamontagne]

Sorry Bob, didn't see there was another post here!

I have locking nuts already, although I am having some issues putting them on.  I'll work on that eventually.  I spoke to a woman about fixing the rear window, and she does all kinds of work on boats (making sails etc) so she knows what she's doing.  She showed me a sunroof mod that she did to her soft top, and I am going to go ahead with that if the price is right.  Basically, she cuts two large holes in the top and replaces it with plastic sheet, giving you a flexible sunroof, front and back.  Kim and I really liked that, so that's another thing we are going to do.

The lights on the bumper don't currently work, so I am going to have to crawl around underneath to find where the lines go and see if I can hook them back up again. 

And, I want to wire in a better alternator for a two battery setup, so that way when I am using it at work, and have my laptop and other goodies plugged in, I know I'll be able to start it again!  I am going to also hook up some additional 12V ports inside, and maybe also hard wire in an inverter to plug regular stuff in, so I don't have to drag my inverter around with me all the time.  I'm also considering a small solar panel, just to make absolutely certain it always starts...

Also, it needs a new stereo- the one that's in it is a bit worse for wear, although it is a Pioneer.  Still a high end broken stereo is still a broken stereo!  It takes about 5 minutes to change from one station to the next, so I always leave it on that one station.  Also, the display is cracked, so it's hard to read.

Then, when I get ambitious, I plan to haul out the carpet and re-do the entire bottom of the tub in Rhino Lining, or some similar roll or spray on, indestructible bed liner type stuff.  Anyone got any suggestions or experience with that stuff?

Oh yeah, and I put a fresh coat of brown stuff on it yesterday!

Def

[jzmtl]

When you say the heater only work on lo and hi, I assume you mean the fan speed control? If so all you need is a new resistor pack (I think that's what it's called), it's not expensive either.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yeah, that's exactly what it is.  I looked it up in the Haynes Bible and it shouldn't be too difficult.  My concern, as always, is that electricity and I have never really seen eye to eye...

Def

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Yeah, that's exactly what it is.  I looked it up in the Haynes Bible and it shouldn't be too difficult.  My concern, as always, is that electricity and I have never really seen eye to eye...

Def

I can sympathies with that

[NutSAK]

Then, when I get ambitious, I plan to haul out the carpet and re-do the entire bottom of the tub in Rhino Lining, or some similar roll or spray on, indestructible bed liner type stuff.  Anyone got any suggestions or experience with that stuff?

I have experience with it.  Herculiner is the best brand for do-it-yourself.  It looks good, is fairly easy to apply and is pretty tough if you put it on thick.  It's not going to be equal quality to the professional spray-in liners, but what do you expect for $80 a gallon.  One gallon should easily do your whole tub.

What brand/type of batteries do you plan to use for your dual battery setup?  I would suggest Optima or other coil-plate battery, and the one you use for the laptop and inverter should ideally be a deep-cycle type.