Metal Masher
RCC Addict
I got this truck in 2013 and I'm just now getting it on the road. the back story is a bit long but a good read.
years ago I had a 76 Cherokee that I put tons of time and money into (10" lift, super flexy, rebuilt axles, 36" swamper, lot of body work, custom bumpers and sliders etc.) and never had it on the road and eventually sold it.
Even before I sold my 76 Cherokee I knew I was going to have another FSJ, it was just a matter of when. Well in 2013 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 him 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 (it was actually an 87). 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 replaced the front brake lines, calipers 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 before. 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.
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years ago I had a 76 Cherokee that I put tons of time and money into (10" lift, super flexy, rebuilt axles, 36" swamper, lot of body work, custom bumpers and sliders etc.) and never had it on the road and eventually sold it.
Even before I sold my 76 Cherokee I knew I was going to have another FSJ, it was just a matter of when. Well in 2013 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 him 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 (it was actually an 87). 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 replaced the front brake lines, calipers 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 before. 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.
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