Finally back into an FSJ!

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • CRASH076
    232 I6
    • Jan 31, 2003
    • 87

    Finally back into an FSJ!

    As the title says i have finally gotten back into an FSJ but before I go into the details there is a bit of a story behind this so bear with me.

    Even before I sold my 76 Cherokee I knew I was going to have another FSJ, it was just a matter of when. Well this year I decided I needed something to replace my 88 4-runner. Even though I always wanted the 4-runner, with only 2 doors and 2 kids it was a pain to go anywhere and I really don't have the money to build it like I want so the search was on for something 4WD and 4 doors.



    I really wasn?t specifically looking for a Wagoneer as my searches came up with anything from 2nd gen 4-runners to explorers to XJ?s but when I would find something that was in my price range and what I thought I was looking for I just wasn?t ?feeling it?. Now during this time I was also looking for Wagoneers but as most of you know the prices can be all over the board and most were out of my range. I wanted to stay under $2000 on the road. Then I found the perfect waggy. It was a dark grey 84 with no wood grain, white leather interior with all the bells and whistles, and a 6 cylinder for $1500! The guy told me he was heading to the PA jeep show and was going to go right by my house so we made arrangements for him to stop by for me to look at. So the day came, I had the money in hand and no jeep! I called several times and nothing until the next day. He sold it the day before and claimed he left his phone on the jeep.



    Distraught, I stopped looking for a few weeks then one day for whatever reason, I searched on line again and noticed a Craigslist ad for an 89 that I saw weeks earlier. The description was vague but it looked ok in the pics and he wanted only $1700 so I sent an e-mail but no reply.


    About a week later I saw the ad was relisted again and although I don?t normally send replies to Craigslist adds more than once, I noticed in the add that he would only reply if a return number was in the e-mail so I thought what the hell and sent it. The next day(last Tuesday) I get a call. It?s the guy with the waggy. I gave the normal series of questions and tried to make it sound like I wasn?t that interested but that I would try to get there sometime over the weekend.


    Wednesday, just for the heck of it, I looked for the add and would you believe, he changed it and reduced the price to $1000! At this point I?m thinking ?man I should go up right now and look at it before it?s gone? but I wasn?t going to have the money until Friday. With no other option I decided to wait until Friday. I got off of work, stopped at the bank then went home and called the guy. Sure enough he still had it but it was too late to look at it that night.



    He wanted me to come over around noon on Saturday but my daughter had been bugging me for a week to go to the Carlisle all truck nationals to see the monster truck demonstration and the car eating Megasaurus. I wasn?t going to deny her that so I tried calling the guy back but his inbox was full. So I e-mailed him asking if I could look at it earlier. His reply was no so I decided to leave it up to fate and told him I would call when we got back from Carlisle.



    Later that night I call him and amazingly enough it was still there! We set up a time for 9:00 the next morning. I would take me over an hour to get there so I told hm I would call around 8 so he knew I was leaving. Now it gets better. That night I looked for the Craigslist add again and it was gone! He deleted it! Now I?m thinking someone surely bought it. Regardless the next morning I called and left a message stating that I saw the add was gone and to let me know if he sold it. I wasn?t gong to make the trip for nothing. 8:30 passes, no call. 9:00 passes, no call. I figured oh well it?s gone and set about the rest of my day. 10:45 he calls and apologizes for not calling back then says it?s still there and we could come up that night.



    5:30 I arrive and just as he described was an 89 waggy. Gray with wood grain which is in amazing shape save for one fender. The body is strait, very little dings and scratches and only 2 pinholes of rust behind the passenger?s side wheel. The rockers are solid, the dog legs are solid, I could not believe it! The frame was solid without a speck of rust, even the springs and axles are clean! He also just replace the front brake lines and pads. Then the clincher, he casually mentions that the previous owner told him it had a new Jasper motor in it and that it was installed only months before it was parked 5 years ago. I quickly looked underneath and saw the telltale gray paint and sticker on the pan! and to make it even better, when i got home i looked it over real good and it appears to have a Jasper trans as well!!



    Now for the bad. there is a couple spots of rust in the floor. A rather large one behind the driver?s seat, a small one above the exhaust shield and a tiny one behind the passengers seat. The interior was completely removed so there may be some missing parts and the carpet and headliner were thrown away. The battery was dead so he couldn?t start it and there is a piece of trim missing from the rear side window but considering everything else I thought it was well worth what he was asking even in parts. So I shelled out the $1000 (after I tried to haggle it down of course) and brought it home.



    Oh an one last thing, if you believe in fate, he told me the reason he removed the add was because of the dozens of calls he was getting once he lowered the price but I was the only one he called back. For some reason he knew I was going to get it and kind of held it for me over the weekend by not showing it to anyone else. Weird huh?

    So after all that here is my new pride and joy! It needs some work but I should be able to get it running and driving without too much effort. I?ll be on the hunt for a carpet and head liner as I know I?ll need those and i'll get more pics posted later.






    88 Wagoneer. All stock...for now!
  • jdaniel83
    350 Buick
    • Sep 26, 2008
    • 928

    #2
    Sounds like a good buy. Hope it doesn't take too much to get it going again. Good luck.
    '89 GW; 4" Susp Lift on 32" Wild Country MTX; 360, HEI, Edelbrock Intake, Melling MTA-1 Cam, Summit 600 carb, 3.73 Gears

    '70 Wagoneer; stock Buick Dauntless 350, TH400; 3.73 stock gears

    '83 Wagoneer Limited; stock 360, 727, 3.31 gears.

    Comment

    • mattparliament
      327 Rambler
      • May 13, 2004
      • 603

      #3
      Well done buddy!
      Member, FSJ Prissy Restoration Association
      1976 Cherokee 401 Quadratrac
      4" Rusty's Spring lift 31" tires
      All MSD ignition system
      EZ EFI status: Running Smooth!
      1999 Dakota Seats
      2000Tahoe Console
      Powertrax No-slip lunchbox rear locker
      Amp meter delete
      Two Wire 94Amp Alternator upgrade

      Comment

      • mud89
        304 AMC
        • Nov 18, 2009
        • 2028

        #4
        congrats, looks like a steal
        J10 sportside '81, J10 Golden Eagle '77, Wagoneer '65, Gladiator '64 + parts rigs

        Comment

        • Strode
          1st Chair, Cowbell
          • Nov 08, 2011
          • 2292

          #5
          Congrats, looks like a good solid rig.
          Brad
          (*Allowed to post while failed 'I am not a Bot' test results are under appeal)

          My build thread: 1982 Cherokee Laredo

          Ristow's Bunker

          Member, FSJ Prissy Restoration Association

          Comment

          • cma
            350 Buick
            • Jan 26, 2012
            • 1460

            #6
            Congrats too! Have fun!
            Markus!

            Member, FSJ Prissy Restoration Association

            Note: Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. - Mike Tyson

            Cherokee Chief Laredo, 360 cui, selec trac, black, 12/1982

            Picture story:

            https://picasaweb.google.com/1019823...eat=directlink

            Comment

            • Brizio
              AMC 4 OH! 1
              • Apr 11, 2008
              • 4850

              #7
              Welcome back!
              brizios.com
              Small Scale Jeeps
              Brizios

              Comment

              • steve1
                232 I6
                • Jan 22, 2006
                • 84

                #8
                You did good Grasshopper !!!!!!!! That look's exactly like mine.
                Good luck !
                88 Grand Wagoneer

                Comment

                • e_digg
                  258 I6
                  • Oct 26, 2009
                  • 351

                  #9
                  Good find. Was this in VA? Lucky for you the woodgrain is still in pretty good shape.

                  Ed
                  1991 Grand Wagoneer
                  My 91 Phoenix Build Thread

                  Comment

                  • jeeper54
                    350 Buick
                    • May 25, 2009
                    • 929

                    #10
                    Feels good to be back in the game, doesn't it? I'm hopeing to be back in the game someday myself. This FSJ withdrawal is a killer.
                    Currently without
                    Formerly
                    1986 G.W. 360
                    1986 Eagle Wag
                    1985 G.W. 360
                    1984 Eagle Wag
                    1981 Wag 360
                    1978 Wag 401
                    1981 Cherk W/T 258
                    1966 Wag Super 327
                    Not counying XJs'.
                    [Did have a 94 & more recently a '97 GC with 5.2. for awhile. Just not the same! Now have the FSJ blues!

                    Comment

                    • Putt2close
                      232 I6
                      • Oct 16, 2012
                      • 87

                      #11
                      nice project

                      Nice! it was meant for you to have it. Do your best to bring it back to life.
                      1972 J 4000 (j4600)
                      304
                      3speed manual
                      4X4
                      Not much rust, but needs TLC
                      Been sitting for 10 years.

                      Comment

                      • jeepskater433
                        327 Rambler
                        • Jan 26, 2009
                        • 644

                        #12
                        looks pretty good, woodgrain doenst look too bad, just looks like it needs a good cleaning,
                        CURRENTLY FSJLESS

                        Happiness is just a downshift away
                        2009 Ford Mustang GT-DD/Track Car
                        2006 Jeep Wrangler-DD/Trail Rig
                        1999 Jeep Wrangler-Dads Trail Rig
                        1989 Jeep Comanche-Project Truck
                        http://www.txfsja.org/forum/

                        Comment

                        • CRASH076
                          232 I6
                          • Jan 31, 2003
                          • 87

                          #13
                          Thanks guys. It does feel good to get back into an FSJ. Hopefully i'll actually get to drive this one on the road! LOL!

                          Anyways i did get her running. Definatly needs new gas but still runs failry smooth and strong. i also drive it around the property and it seems to work ok. I'm pretty confident it is a new motor and tranny as it feels "tight" and it revs up quick.

                          Now this is not all roses though. I've determined that the reason the waggy had a new motor and tranny was that it was under water. I was told that the previous owner used it only to tow a boat and he was an older fella so my assumption is that it went into the drink with the boat one day and he felt it was worth it to replace the motor and tranny but never properly dried out the interior right away and once he started having electrical issues stopped driving it.

                          It's dry now of course but there are telltale signs of water. all the door panels are warped, the aluminum on the column has white corrosion, the dash pad hardware is rusted through, all the bare metel under the dash is rusted, most of the dash does not work, the windows don't go up or down smoothly etc.

                          But since it runs and drives i should be able to fix all the little gremlins without much trouble and i still think it was worth the money if nothing else for the drivetrain.
                          88 Wagoneer. All stock...for now!

                          Comment

                          • Satchmo
                            232 I6
                            • Nov 29, 2007
                            • 101

                            #14
                            I think thats hunter green, not gray? Maybe? It looks just like mine, which sat in the sun and definitely made it look gray(er).

                            She looks great to me. I can't wait to see where it goes from there
                            Last edited by Satchmo; 08-16-2013, 09:37 PM.

                            Comment

                            • CRASH076
                              232 I6
                              • Jan 31, 2003
                              • 87

                              #15
                              Originally posted by Satchmo
                              I think thats hunter green, not gray? Maybe? It looks just like mine, which sat in the sun and definitely made it look gray(er).

                              She looks great to me. I can't wait to see where it goes from there
                              Definitely gray. it looks green because of the moss growing on it

                              Not much of an update but i did get it washed







                              88 Wagoneer. All stock...for now!

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X