Dorzun
24-09-04, 10:57 AM
I?ve been into and around 4WD?s for around ten years but can only really say I have about 4 years experience behind the wheel when I add it all up, the early days spent behind the wheel of friends 4WD?s.
I?m not really mechanically minded so I try to stay friends with those that are. (Thank god most people are happy to work for beer and/or food.) But I do know how to do things, I?m just lazy and would rather someone else loose the skin of their knuckles and get $hit in their eyes.
Unlike most, I have only become a Jeep owner in the last few years. But I?ve spent a lot of my time around Jeepers in the recent years and have wanted to own one ever since seeing ?Mork & Mindy? and the gorgeous ?Daisy Duke? cruising round in them on tellie as a kid.
I?m happy to say that I now have two Jeeps in the driveway.
A KJ Limited running the poverty pack daystar spacer lift and what I affectionately call ?The Roid?, an ?83 CJ7 running a 350 with a little lift and a few other mods.
Why ?The Roid?? I?m asked a lot.
Well the reason is that at times it can be a real pain in the arse, like most Jeeps and 4B?s but I love it all the same. It?s certainly lived up to the Just Empty Every Pocket motto that comes with owning a Jeep too.
I was actually too late in snapping up the CJ I really wanted to buy and at the time The Roid was the only real option I had when it came to what I was really looking for. After a phone call involving a bit of ?how low will you go on price, I?m flying from interstate so don?t *%# me around? came a trip to Melbourne to look it over and make sure it was worth the $$$$$
After a quick drive and a good look over all seemed fine so, I handed over a bit of cash and a bank cheque and set forth back up the Hume to Canberra.
After the long haul back it was time to get it inspected to see what I needed to get done to change over the registration. I knew there was going to be a bit, but this was to be the start of the awful part of owning an early model, modified Jeep.
The inspection uncovered most things I expected such as engine oil leaks things, and the general things that needed tightening after a while of ?off roading abuse? but it did not stop there.
I did have an engineer?s certificate, but as I was the second owner since most of the original mods, I did not have the engineers report due to it being lost. So here it started, my path to a second mortgage.
I was to get a new report which had to cover everything down to proving the factory fitted roll bar was, the aftermarket steering wheel had to be covered on the report, I was to have the exhaust ?straightened? so that it pointed straight out the back, not slightly to the left, prove that it came fitted with retractable seat belts. And that?s only a few of the things on the final list.
The feelings of joy of owning my dream 4B where starting to fade. After weighing up the sums I decided I would replace what was starting to be a tired 307 and replace it with a new 350. The old carbie was stuffed so a new holley (bad choice I know, but no-one wanted to pay for my fuel injection) was put in until the funds became available for either a Gas or EFI conversion.
So after a huge injection of $$$$$$ it was back on the road and legal. A nice feeling when they do roadside compliance checks in the state you once lived in on a regular basis.
I am now back in sydney and have pured even more dollars into it with new diffs, front lokka and there is still more planned.
You know, thinking about it I must be sick. I?m sure some strange disease you get when you buy a Jeep has infected me. Maybe it?s just the people I associate with, who knows?
It?s a Jeep Thing I guess. I don?t even bother to try and understand it, I just enjoy it.
Pics and the likes can be seen in the photo section or at my personal site
http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~epicevents/
I?m not really mechanically minded so I try to stay friends with those that are. (Thank god most people are happy to work for beer and/or food.) But I do know how to do things, I?m just lazy and would rather someone else loose the skin of their knuckles and get $hit in their eyes.
Unlike most, I have only become a Jeep owner in the last few years. But I?ve spent a lot of my time around Jeepers in the recent years and have wanted to own one ever since seeing ?Mork & Mindy? and the gorgeous ?Daisy Duke? cruising round in them on tellie as a kid.
I?m happy to say that I now have two Jeeps in the driveway.
A KJ Limited running the poverty pack daystar spacer lift and what I affectionately call ?The Roid?, an ?83 CJ7 running a 350 with a little lift and a few other mods.
Why ?The Roid?? I?m asked a lot.
Well the reason is that at times it can be a real pain in the arse, like most Jeeps and 4B?s but I love it all the same. It?s certainly lived up to the Just Empty Every Pocket motto that comes with owning a Jeep too.
I was actually too late in snapping up the CJ I really wanted to buy and at the time The Roid was the only real option I had when it came to what I was really looking for. After a phone call involving a bit of ?how low will you go on price, I?m flying from interstate so don?t *%# me around? came a trip to Melbourne to look it over and make sure it was worth the $$$$$
After a quick drive and a good look over all seemed fine so, I handed over a bit of cash and a bank cheque and set forth back up the Hume to Canberra.
After the long haul back it was time to get it inspected to see what I needed to get done to change over the registration. I knew there was going to be a bit, but this was to be the start of the awful part of owning an early model, modified Jeep.
The inspection uncovered most things I expected such as engine oil leaks things, and the general things that needed tightening after a while of ?off roading abuse? but it did not stop there.
I did have an engineer?s certificate, but as I was the second owner since most of the original mods, I did not have the engineers report due to it being lost. So here it started, my path to a second mortgage.
I was to get a new report which had to cover everything down to proving the factory fitted roll bar was, the aftermarket steering wheel had to be covered on the report, I was to have the exhaust ?straightened? so that it pointed straight out the back, not slightly to the left, prove that it came fitted with retractable seat belts. And that?s only a few of the things on the final list.
The feelings of joy of owning my dream 4B where starting to fade. After weighing up the sums I decided I would replace what was starting to be a tired 307 and replace it with a new 350. The old carbie was stuffed so a new holley (bad choice I know, but no-one wanted to pay for my fuel injection) was put in until the funds became available for either a Gas or EFI conversion.
So after a huge injection of $$$$$$ it was back on the road and legal. A nice feeling when they do roadside compliance checks in the state you once lived in on a regular basis.
I am now back in sydney and have pured even more dollars into it with new diffs, front lokka and there is still more planned.
You know, thinking about it I must be sick. I?m sure some strange disease you get when you buy a Jeep has infected me. Maybe it?s just the people I associate with, who knows?
It?s a Jeep Thing I guess. I don?t even bother to try and understand it, I just enjoy it.
Pics and the likes can be seen in the photo section or at my personal site
http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~epicevents/