Looking for previous owner 79 Cherokee Chief from Texas

[jeepskater433]

Welcome to the site, looks like your cherokee will be in my neck of the woods before you even see it but as big as Houston is, I highly doubt Ill see it at all, post some pics when you get a chance

[raingram70]

It's been a while....

Since my last post, it's been a bit of an adventure with a bittersweet ending. I FINALLY got a chance to take some time off last Thanksgiving to take the train (I highly recommend this rather than air travel if you have the time) to Texas and pick up my Cherokee. At this time, it has had a full MSD 6AL ignition installed with the billet distributor, Doug Thorley Tri-Y headers, all new ProComp radials, and a custom exhaust with a 3 chamber flowmaster (it's still loud). It needed a little ball joint work but otherwise for maintenance it got the full work out, because nobody wanted us stranded in our rig on the highway between Texas and New Hampshire. My wife was blown away. She loved it. I can't believe I kept it a secret for more than two years, but this is why I did all this (thanks unending to my step dad for all the help, even though he insisted on a dress up kit for under the hood....).

What I haven't mentioned is this was an effort to take the long way home and just experience a little more life before it was taken away. My wife had been diagnosed with PNET, which stands for Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors. Her's had metastasized to her liver before diagnosis, and it turned out that she was on a time clock. After we had been on a train for a while, she stated that she seemed more uncomfortable than normal, but just took an extra painkiller and blew it off. By the time we had been in Houston for a few days, it was obvious something else was going on. So we loaded up the Cherokee on Thanksgiving day and headed north. Over the course of the trip, her discomfort was turning into honest pain, but she bore it extremely well, and while it took 5 days to make a 3 day trip, we got home safely, the Cherokee never missing a lick. This was December 3rd, give or take. Over the next few weeks, she progressively got worse and worse, and her time on God's Earth ended on New Years Eve, 2013. The reason I bring this up isn't for sympathy or anything like that. It's more of a message of warning. Get out. Hit the trail. We had no warning when we took that trip that she had 6 weeks to live, even though she was a cancer patient. The end came so fast that we didn't even know she was actually dying until 3 days prior to her passing, which was barely time enough for her family to say goodbye.

I should also mention that even with all the suffering and pain she was going through, she still managed to have what she called the best vacation we had ever had together. And that old beat up Cherokee made it possible. I will love and miss my sweet wife forever, and that Cherokee will be treasured for the rest of my days.

[Strode]

Wow. Thanks for sharing that, very sorry for your loss.

Sounds like you're doing good with your rig. Get the window working?

[j10jim]

I am sorry for your loss, but I am glad that you gave her the vacation of a lifetime and that you got to enjoy that time with her and without all the other distractions that come with the day to day we live in. It's great that the two of you got to experience that time together.

Jim

[243]

I am certainly sorry for your loss, she was lucky your were right there with her!

[jdaniel83]

I'm so sorry for your loss, but thank you for sharing your story and your message. And as others have said at least you got to spend quality time together towards the end.

[raingram70]

Thanks everyone

Thanks to all of you for the kind words, they are very much appreciated. So get out there guys/gals, hit the trails, see something new, or visit an old spot you love!!!

Yep, the window works great now!! As I'm sure most of you guys already know, it's in how you hold your mouth when you turn the key, and if it's thursday or not. Otherwise the switch won't make proper contact.