# Took a Jeep ride



## squerly (Aug 17, 2012)

I've been working on a 1988 Jeep Wrangler, trying to make it as dependable as an old Jeep can be made. For those who aren't familiar with Jeeps, all you have to do is look at them wrong and they break. (With a 28 year old Jeep it only takes a glance. ) It's not a bug-out vehicle as I don't plan on going anywhere when shtf, but getting around the property, to town and traversing the old logging trails is necessary for our survival, and the Jeep has some outstanding abilities. Turns on a dime, climes up mountains and trees, able to leap tall buildings... 

The goal is dependability but if it looks nice then that's OK too. Today, it looks a whole lot better than when I got it and it runs a bunch better as well. The engine has 105K on the clock but aside from an small oil leak, it's in good shape. Even though it's a 6 cylinder it was pretty slow going up some of the local mountains. A couple of months ago I changed the .307 gears to 410's, which has made a world of difference both on the trails and street as well. 

I've done a bunch of stuff to it over the last 6 months and lately I'm feeling pretty good about it getting me from point A to point B. Yesterday I drove it our to a place called "Pickens Nose". The road to PN is an old State road, washed out in a bunch of places and pretty rough. Jeep ran great. Below are some pictures. 

The first one is a pic of some lunatic that I found when Googling "Pickens Nose". I put his pic up so that you can get a better view of how far "UP" and "OUT" this chunk of rock is. I wanted to get some pictures for my scrapbook so I walked out on the end of the rock and... OK, that's BS. Actually, I crawled out to within a couple of feet from the edge and that's where I clicked my pictures. Mine aren't as good as his but then again, I'm not anywhere near as crazy as he is either.


----------



## LastOutlaw (Jun 1, 2013)

Squerly, I can relate. 3 years ago I bought some land in the mountains with a small hunters cabin on it. We decided that it was in our best interest to get out of suburbia a little over a year ago. Closer to the mountains seemed like the smart move towards being paid off and becoming self sufficient. Before we moved I bought a 1976 chevy K5. It was rough. needed a few things fixed and new tires but the motor and transmission was sound. I fixed the odds and ends and put on the new tires so I had something to get in and out of the mountains in without tearing up my tacoma. My gal hates it. It is not pretty, not shiny, heater doesn't work yet or the AC but I love it! It is the most fun vehicle to drive around in up there. Short turn radius, excellent traction and I can remove the roof. (Which has remained off for the last year) BTW... the land up there looks just like your photos!
Enjoy your jeep! It will bring you many many hours of enjoyment!


----------



## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

Jeeps can get like that while others never seem to have any troubles. I've only had three, a '69 Jeepster, '79 CJ7 and a '94 XJ. The Commando wore out parts, CJ did require some dickering but the XJ never had any troubles, since I had it that is.

I had a number of friends that had the old MJ's and those, you wanted to have at least two, for parts. Anytime folks wanted to go out on excursions on someone's mountain or farm they needed a day or so to fix something before they could go. Don't remember all the CJ issues, but do remember needing to buy lots of parts at different times. The Commando just plain wore out stuff, or it broke. Hard to find some parts for it, so I had two sitting up on blocks. I bought the XJ with about 225k on the clock. The fellow I bought it from had dumped several thousand dollars in it a few times and for some reason just never ran right. I never had a single complaint. Ran like an old Jeep, maybe that is why he thought it had problems?

The Commando I bought in 1984, it had less than 70k on it but being a NE PA vehicle, had a lot of cancer. Bought it as a plow vehicle, it had a really nice full tilt Fisher hydraulic plow. It was my first auto tranny vehicle and part of the reason it needed parts. An old shower stall, some bondo and a couple rattle cans of flat white and from a distance, it looked really nice. Took it to the scrap iron pile with a torch and welder when I got it. It took some long pieces of angle iron to find something solid but something like the back leaf spring supports were going to outlast anything else. It had the basic Jeep conveniences, broken heater, fan breaks and you had to bundle up and leave the windows down to plow, but when it ran, it ran like a top and went anywhere. If you could get it running and rolling, it never let me down. Until the next storm and you had to start it again.

The CJ finally succumbed to upstate NY conditions and literally fell apart. I remember driving in town one day and heard a grinding, like metal on the road. Pulled over and the back quarter had fallen off and was dragging by the tail light wires. What a fun vehicle to drive, less than 55 MPH anyway. Soft top off, doors off, windshield down, no roll bar. It was like being on a motorcycle with 4 wheels. The lap belts weren't just for show and you didn't need a law to tell you to use them.

he XJ I lifted 3" for beach driving. Gutted it and outfitted it for that specific purpose, surf fishing. It was reliable as you could wish for and I would take it anywhere without a worry. It sits with 275k on it, waiting for a new owner. I used to like to torment the H2 folks or those with big fancy Jeeps. I told them the old Cherokee would go places theirs wouldn't. They would get riled up some and list off all the things theirs could do mine couldn't. I would just chuckle. Told them I paid $375 for mine, not $60k or better. I wouldn't think twice about bouncing off trees and if it does get hopelessly stuck, I can just take the plates off and walk away.

I have been in some of the new "'Jeeps". Like the new pickup trucks, they are not what they are supposed to be anymore. Sure are fancy though and do about everything but laundry for you! Maybe they can now? The days of taking a utilitarian vehicle to the creek with a bucket to muck out the inside seem to be gone. They get a scratch on them and folks freak out and head to the body shop. A scratch or dent used to just add to the patina.


----------



## bacpacker (Jul 15, 2011)

Awesome pics. Is it in North or South Carolina? Looks kinda like an area south of Ashville Ive been to.


----------



## LastOutlaw (Jun 1, 2013)

My son is in Oregon. He was raised to work on vehicles and drive the dog crap out of them. He was raised in the racing world. Motorcycles mostly but cars as well. My Bad. Anyway... he seems to prefer the older cherokee with the square corners. He says he gets much better traction in it (especually in the snow) than the cjs. Says he can go where they can not.
Me.... I'll stick with my old K5.... dependable and lots and lots of parts available from the trucks.


----------



## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

We built Jeeps and wheeled them hard for years. We have got so busy with life and work to build them during the week and break them on the weekends. Squerly I don't know if you're a member over at Jeep Forum but there is a lot of good info over there. Naekid was a mod/admin there I don't know if he still is or not.


----------



## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

The start of Double Whammy


----------



## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

Doe skid


----------



## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

My wife making Rattler trail look easy!


----------



## Starcreek (Feb 4, 2015)

If I'm not mistaken, isn't Pickens Nose in north Georgia? At least it rings a bell. N. Georgia is my old stomping ground.


----------



## squerly (Aug 17, 2012)

Well DAMN HashBrown, you're a maniac! Guess we know where all your disposable income goes (or went). 



Starcreek said:


> If I'm not mistaken, isn't Pickens Nose in north Georgia? At least it rings a bell. N. Georgia is my old stomping ground.


Pickens nose is in NC, about 5 (+-) miles from Standing Indian Campground. Georgia line is not far from where I live and a couple of weeks ago we hit some trials out there as well. Very nice scenery along the river and then on up into the mountains.


----------



## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

What a nice looking rig Squerly! May I borrow it for the weekend?


----------



## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

You hill folks have all the fun places to drive! Not much for trails in central NC. I had the beach though. Pull the Cherokee up to a spot, back towards the water and open up the back. Put a few poles out, get the Martha Stewart padded chair and put on a pot of coffee. Wait for something to batter up and fix for lunch while just sitting, enjoying the Outer Banks. The puppy got to run like a demented nut up and down the beach in the surf, biting at the waves. Then digging for gold or other treasure in the sand. Still plenty of water to drive through, the back roads had many deep holes. One of the reasons I lifted it, so I wouldn’t get water in the doors. While climbing rocks and all seems like a lot of fun, I’d have spilled my coffee. I’d rather putt along in 3rd low looking for the perfect hole or cut to toss a line or two in.

There was sand and salt not mud to wash off. Hope for a rain on the way home or drive it over the sprinkler a few times did the trick. And who doesn’t enjoy cleaning the poles and taking apart reels to clean and lube them up for the next trip! I guess y’all had your fun too after a trip. Taking off broken stuff and replacing it while beefing it up so it didn’t happen again. We both have the fun of shopping before the next trip too! Your toys were just a tad more expensive than mine. Not that there aren’t expensive poles and reels. I’m more of a middle of the road guy. Know better than to buy the cheap crap, and too cheap to buy the expensive crap. I'd be afraid to use a $30 reel for fear of breaking it. I'd also be afraid to use a $600 reel for fear of breaking it!


----------



## squerly (Aug 17, 2012)

hashbrown said:


> What a nice looking rig Squerly! May I borrow it for the weekend?


lol. uh, no.


----------



## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

hashbrown said:


> We built Jeeps and wheeled them hard for years. We have got so busy with life and work to build them during the week and break them on the weekends. Squerly I don't know if you're a member over at Jeep Forum but there is a lot of good info over there. Naekid was a mod/admin there I don't know if he still is or not.


Yup ... still admin over at JeepForum.com ... I just have so little time on the computers lately that I'm not posting as much anymore.


----------



## squerly (Aug 17, 2012)

A couple of days ago some friends and I ran around some new trails over in Georgia. Good fun!


----------



## hashbrown (Sep 2, 2013)

Looks like a fun day squerly!


----------



## TimB (Nov 11, 2008)

squerly said:


> A couple of days ago some friends and I ran around some new trails over in Georgia. Good fun!


Whereabouts? Bunch of us used to go to Tellico (10 yrs. or so?) before it closed. Several of my friends have expressed an interest in going somewhere again.
My old toy ('88 Samurai w/ 1.8 Toyota engine-trans, 6" SPOA, 2" body, 35" BFGs, Calmini shackle reversal, 9500 lb. MileMarker winch)-


----------



## squerly (Aug 17, 2012)

TimB said:


> Whereabouts? Bunch of us used to go to Tellico (10 yrs. or so?) before it closed. Several of my friends have expressed an interest in going somewhere again.
> My old toy ('88 Samurai w/ 1.8 Toyota engine-trans, 6" SPOA, 2" body, 35" BFGs, Calmini shackle reversal, 9500 lb. MileMarker winch)-


Hi Tim! We went through Dillard and then left on Hwy 76. From there I'd have to have some help finding the way back in. The trail dead ends at the river and you have to come back out the same way you went in. Then we took another trail that ended up by Scaly Mountain. Not aggressive wheeling, just a neat trail and a couple of river crossings.

Most of us are new at this and just learning what our Jeeps will/can do. We'd love to have you come along but from the looks of your setup you will probably get bored with the trip.  As for Tellico being closed, not sure about that. We took a trip to Tellico a few weeks ago and had a blast!


----------



## TimB (Nov 11, 2008)

Haven't been to Tellico in 10 yrs. or so but had heard it was closed down (except for Trail 1 which was basically the road between Tellico Plains and Murphy). Glad to hear it's back open. :2thumb:
I haven't had the Sammi since '09. Had bad knees and could hardly get in and out of it. Had an offer on it and took it. Wished many times since that I hadn't, especially since I had both knees replaced in '10 and can pretty much do anything again.
I just might have to start getting my stock '00 Durango 4x4 up to snuff.


----------

