newbie with questions..........dangerous!

[DuckTruck]

Alright guys, here's the deal. I'm currently in the market for a Grand Wagoneer. I want to get one that is solid in the drivetrain and has good interior. I'm planning on adding a 4" lift and running a set of 33x12.50x15 TSL Radials that I have from a previous SUV.

One of the problems I'm running in to is finding used GW that have rough interior (seats and headliner) and the woodgrain sticker is coming off on the outside. Are there any places to get good and cheap interior pieces?

Also, how in the world can you fix the peeling woodgrain on the outside? Is there a kit out there or something?

Lastly, any ideas on what to look for (or how to look for it) on my soon to be GW would be appreciated! Thanks fellas and I'm glad to be here! Jonathan

[ClarkGriswald]

You can get the woodgrain stuff, im thinking stripeman.com or something..I belive its all been dealt with before, try a search on the tech forums or look in the tech section of the main IFSJA sight.

The headliners are known to be funky. They can be repaired if the cardboard piece that the cloth is sagging from isnt water damaged. You can get new cloth with the foam backing and glue it on and put it back up there..

Lots of options on seats.. and you could always try to find some nicer ones from a member.

A grand wagoneer is most likely gonna be a fulltime rig so the front ring and pinion have been spinning and steering the entire life of the vehicle. So expect there to be some slop there.

Mainly keep an eye out for rusty/missing gas tank skidplates.. and frame damage right near there.
Back brakes go out when that rust gets bad enough to eat the line that goes right past there.

[ July 25, 2002, 11:18 AM: Message edited by: ClarkGriswald ]

[Kimbrough]

Seems that all Wagoneers leak through the air vents under the A/C vents at either side of the cab. The air box (vents at bottom of windshield) goes all the way down to just below those vents and consquently, fill up with leaves and dirt. This causes water to fill the air box and drain into the cab = ruined interior. I put a screen under the air box vent at the wndshield to keepm leaves out. I also had to remove the air vents and suck the leaves and dirt out. Now I have no leaks (from there...).

If you wanna run 33's then a 4" lift alone prolly won't get you there. Gonna hafta trim fenders or add a body lift.

Wood grain can be found at www.jcwhitney.com (http://www.jcwhitney.com)

And lastly, look in the for sale section here or www.traderonline.com (http://www.traderonline.com)

Good luck!

[DuckTruck]

Thanks fellas for all the great input. Still looking for the right GW. I hate shopping, I wish I could just find what I want right now!!!

Anyone else have any info. / ideas???

Thanks again, Jonathan

[Dude23455]

Just keep looking on your truck trader and classifieds. Most ppl dont know how much potential these jeeps have and sell them cheap. You just hafta be quick enough to find it before someone else on this board does. FSJ ownership seems to be, well, uncontrollable. You can't stop at just one...lol
Cullen