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Well, stopped yesterday and asked about an extremely straight looking ?76 Cherokee I had spotted and it?s not for sale at this time (see thread on ?Differences on trim levels of Cherokee? for details on that). But, I owe a brief (hah, what does that mean) back story here first of my "irons in the fire", so please stick with me and read through.
In November, I purchased a great house, but in need of updating (which we are attempting to do as much of ourselves as possible), for my soon to be new family of a wife and her two boys, just sold my daily driver ?99 Grand Cherokee LTD day before yesterday, have been working on getting my trusty ole ?85 Mustang GT 5 spd back on the street for semi-daily driver use (stopped driving daily back in ?05 and started driving '99 GC due to buying now ex-wife new car and aiding in recovering from bad blown disc flare-up, clutching was very painful), have a ?72 Javelin SST w/88K orig miles that is also an ongoing project that I do not want to mile up, a ?70 Javelin w/232 6-cyl that I?ve had to get donor roof for cause the cancer there was so bad and it?s nowhere close to being on the road (believe me), a ?74 Wagoneer with original, running 401 that I bought as donor for the ?70 Javelin before not being able to pass up the ?72 Jav, and now borrowing my elderly dad?s truck for daily duty till the Mustang can start taking up the slack. So, long and short is, I really used the ?99 GC?s cargo area to haul around stuff all the time and still need that capability, plus I want V-8 power, do occasionally tow a trailer and try to always save mechanic labor dollars by working on my own vehicles. My fiancé has an Expedition, but that serves to haul school backpacks, sports equipment, groceries and WallyWorld trips all the time, so not an option for my needs. My ?74 Wagoneer has rusted out rockers, quarters, various other rust throughs (spots on top of cowl, kick panel areas inside, etc), a huge hole in the windshield and unknown condition of the transmission (I only drove it up on trailer, off trailer and around field before parking it under a shed about a year ago), suspension, steering, braking systems. I hate to part out a rare ride like the Wagoneer, but it might be the best solution in the long run, as it will take a conservative $1,000 or more just to get her rolling legally and safely and that?s not counting unforseens nor making her more comfortable or pretty (umm, yeah). Heck, that?s not even counting tires.
So, we drop back and punt (and get to the point of this post). I looked at an '88 Wagoneer locally a week and a half ago with 141,000 miles that was a cross between a dog and a pig and rattled inside like mad on the cobbled up black top they lived off of, but then drove smooth as could be when I got it up on a nice Farm Road. It actually shocked me as to how nicely it drove/rode (plus it was my first actual drive in a Wagoneer). Vacuum leaks under the hood audible (seems like could hear from inside too), some kind of knock in the exhaust (the girl thought a loose muffler was making the noise, but the sound seemed to come from the catalytic converter or the pipe just in front. Never run into this before, but did not sound like motor oriented), rear doors stubborn and those pwr windows stuck in up position on each, grimy on top and greasy under the engine, burgundy interior (which is a big turn-off for me) is filthy with the driver seat torn up pretty well, someone attempted a radio install and now no audio working, some stray wires under dash area (surprise), blower motor not working and/or wiring was monkeyed with, not sure the wipers were working, did I mention it rattles inside on rough pavement really, really loudly?, body straight for most part with badly faded dark blue paint and rust free other than just beneath front vent windows and those areas are very, very crusty there for some reason. Ok, they are now down to $1,300 asking price, the girl just left to go to college 1,200 miles away leaving the tank behind and I'm thinking of offering them $500 and not a cent more (they have zero use for it far as I could tell). Sound insulting or like a stupid "investment" on my part that I would regret before getting home in it? Figure with extensive tune-up/clean-up this could be driven until it comes apart and still have parts left (the 360 in particular) to go toward my other AMC's. Advantage here over my '74 is that it can be driven legally (and seemingly safely on short test drive anyway) right now. This girl had been using it as a daily driver for the last year (saw her on the highway driving it a couple of nights after I looked at it). Before that I know it sat at a little car lot for almost 2 yrs, because I passed by it every day. They wanted something like $2,800 for it then. I sold my ?99 GC because I had gotten tons of use out of it and it was not something I could easily enough work on (i.e. computer systems, sensors, electrical everywhere, all those inherit problems with the ?99?s and believe me it?s had them all and then some). Don?t get me wrong, I don?t necessarily love mechanicing, far from it on some repairs (drum brakes were invented by the Devil...), but the FSJ?s fit the bill for my needs and can be worked on without complex knowledge for the most part, so that?s why I?ve focused on them for an on-the-cheap replacement.
Sorry, long-winded as usual, can?t help it though. For those that were brave enough to read through all this, thank you. I?m interested in what your experiences have been with similar Jeeps and what I should have looked for and possibly missed, what the usual problem areas are with this year range or what I could realistically expect out of this Wagoneer? Thanks in advance, Reagan.
In November, I purchased a great house, but in need of updating (which we are attempting to do as much of ourselves as possible), for my soon to be new family of a wife and her two boys, just sold my daily driver ?99 Grand Cherokee LTD day before yesterday, have been working on getting my trusty ole ?85 Mustang GT 5 spd back on the street for semi-daily driver use (stopped driving daily back in ?05 and started driving '99 GC due to buying now ex-wife new car and aiding in recovering from bad blown disc flare-up, clutching was very painful), have a ?72 Javelin SST w/88K orig miles that is also an ongoing project that I do not want to mile up, a ?70 Javelin w/232 6-cyl that I?ve had to get donor roof for cause the cancer there was so bad and it?s nowhere close to being on the road (believe me), a ?74 Wagoneer with original, running 401 that I bought as donor for the ?70 Javelin before not being able to pass up the ?72 Jav, and now borrowing my elderly dad?s truck for daily duty till the Mustang can start taking up the slack. So, long and short is, I really used the ?99 GC?s cargo area to haul around stuff all the time and still need that capability, plus I want V-8 power, do occasionally tow a trailer and try to always save mechanic labor dollars by working on my own vehicles. My fiancé has an Expedition, but that serves to haul school backpacks, sports equipment, groceries and WallyWorld trips all the time, so not an option for my needs. My ?74 Wagoneer has rusted out rockers, quarters, various other rust throughs (spots on top of cowl, kick panel areas inside, etc), a huge hole in the windshield and unknown condition of the transmission (I only drove it up on trailer, off trailer and around field before parking it under a shed about a year ago), suspension, steering, braking systems. I hate to part out a rare ride like the Wagoneer, but it might be the best solution in the long run, as it will take a conservative $1,000 or more just to get her rolling legally and safely and that?s not counting unforseens nor making her more comfortable or pretty (umm, yeah). Heck, that?s not even counting tires.
So, we drop back and punt (and get to the point of this post). I looked at an '88 Wagoneer locally a week and a half ago with 141,000 miles that was a cross between a dog and a pig and rattled inside like mad on the cobbled up black top they lived off of, but then drove smooth as could be when I got it up on a nice Farm Road. It actually shocked me as to how nicely it drove/rode (plus it was my first actual drive in a Wagoneer). Vacuum leaks under the hood audible (seems like could hear from inside too), some kind of knock in the exhaust (the girl thought a loose muffler was making the noise, but the sound seemed to come from the catalytic converter or the pipe just in front. Never run into this before, but did not sound like motor oriented), rear doors stubborn and those pwr windows stuck in up position on each, grimy on top and greasy under the engine, burgundy interior (which is a big turn-off for me) is filthy with the driver seat torn up pretty well, someone attempted a radio install and now no audio working, some stray wires under dash area (surprise), blower motor not working and/or wiring was monkeyed with, not sure the wipers were working, did I mention it rattles inside on rough pavement really, really loudly?, body straight for most part with badly faded dark blue paint and rust free other than just beneath front vent windows and those areas are very, very crusty there for some reason. Ok, they are now down to $1,300 asking price, the girl just left to go to college 1,200 miles away leaving the tank behind and I'm thinking of offering them $500 and not a cent more (they have zero use for it far as I could tell). Sound insulting or like a stupid "investment" on my part that I would regret before getting home in it? Figure with extensive tune-up/clean-up this could be driven until it comes apart and still have parts left (the 360 in particular) to go toward my other AMC's. Advantage here over my '74 is that it can be driven legally (and seemingly safely on short test drive anyway) right now. This girl had been using it as a daily driver for the last year (saw her on the highway driving it a couple of nights after I looked at it). Before that I know it sat at a little car lot for almost 2 yrs, because I passed by it every day. They wanted something like $2,800 for it then. I sold my ?99 GC because I had gotten tons of use out of it and it was not something I could easily enough work on (i.e. computer systems, sensors, electrical everywhere, all those inherit problems with the ?99?s and believe me it?s had them all and then some). Don?t get me wrong, I don?t necessarily love mechanicing, far from it on some repairs (drum brakes were invented by the Devil...), but the FSJ?s fit the bill for my needs and can be worked on without complex knowledge for the most part, so that?s why I?ve focused on them for an on-the-cheap replacement.
Sorry, long-winded as usual, can?t help it though. For those that were brave enough to read through all this, thank you. I?m interested in what your experiences have been with similar Jeeps and what I should have looked for and possibly missed, what the usual problem areas are with this year range or what I could realistically expect out of this Wagoneer? Thanks in advance, Reagan.
. I do tend to ramble on from time to time. I really would prefer a ?70?s era FSJ due to their lack of (or simpler) emissions systems and much simpler electrical (and honestly, lack of vinyl siding), but only know of one more in my area. It?s been sitting behind a muffler/repair shop for I know better than a year (stumbled across it when checking on a U-Haul trailer; otherwise, would still not have seen it.). It?s a?78 P code 360 4bbl Wagoneer, but is bound to have been back there for a while for a reason. Will stop Saturday if I get time and inquire about it. I do intend to throw a battery back on the ?74 this weekend if possible and see if I can get it cranked and evaluate as much as I can without getting out on the public highway (hole in windshield and other unknowns, plus the cooling system is probably dry?).
. Yes, I'm a bit afraid that once I get my '85 Mustang back on the road (hopefully by the end of this weekend) I'm going to run into some items wanting to lay down on me from sitting up so long (oh please don't let it be the heater core 
). 
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