Guess I qualify as a lurker as well.
As with some others here, I have virtually had Jeeps my entire life. My first two loves were a white CJ7 and the brown haired country girl driver.
The orange Charger her cousins drove wasn't bad either.
I remember the first time I saw a Scrambler. My dad and I were at a Winston-Cup race at North Wilkesboro, NC and it was sitting in the parking lot. It was white. From the front I thought it was a CJ7 and went running to it screaming to my dad "hey, this is just like the one I want from Duke's!" I was 9 years old. Then I stopped when I saw it from the side. I was confused.
What the heck is it??? My dad explained what it was to me and I was hooked from there. It looked so freakin' cool. I have wanted one ever since.
My parents and grandparents drove Jeeps. I got it honest.
Here is a list of the Jeeps I have personally owned over the years (I am 34 currently):
- 97 TJ sport (deemed a lemon by Chrysler 1.5 years later)
- 99 TJ sport (free replacement from Chrylser for 97)
- 01 TJ sport (solar yellow came out and I had to have the new color for some strange reason. lift kit, bumpers, winch and tires)
- 03 TJ Rubicon (cost of building up my 01 was higher than buying Rubicon and swapping over the lift kit and tires from 01. when I sold it for the next, it was insane. 36s, full cage, flat belly, etc. etc.)
- 06 LJ Rubicon (wanted the longer wheelbase because it resembled a Scrambler. mild lift and tires, winch and bumpers. still kick myself for selling it)
- 07 Rubicon unlimited (current vehicle built nicely)
- 76 CJ7 (frame off resto-mod with original 304 rebuilt. real head turner)
Within this timeframe, my ex-wife had two Grand Cherokees that I mildly built. I have also owned numerous other cars / 4x4s but always came back to Jeeps. I will say my brief stint with a '65 Scout 80 made me like Jeeps even more!
I virtually stumbled across the CJ7. I told myself that the only CJ I would ever own would be a Scrambler, nuff said. But, if the right CJ7 came along with the original 304 in it, I would consider it. Years and years went by and no Scrambler or CJ7 made it to my garage.
One day, my ex-wife tells me her hair dresser and her family are in need of some $$ and had a Jeep to sell. Since they knew how much I knew about Jeeps and how many I had over the years, would I help them sell it. I of course was more than willing to help out. I was told it was a Wrangler that ran but with some issues.
Great, this should be fun to try and sell.
I grabbed my camera and drove to the guy's house and walked with him out to his garage. There sat a '76 CJ7 with the original 304 still in it. Not the greatest of shape but certainly MUCh better than any I have ever laid eyes on. He had taken it on trade for a boat he had for sale and never touched in in 3 years since. I asked what he felt was fair for it, and needless to say it was mine a few hours later. I probably paid about $500 too much but they needed the money more than I did.
Why am I here versus the many other sites? I want to learn as much as I can about Scramblers so when I buy one I am fully educated. My issue is that I must sell the CJ7 and/or my Harley V-Rod first. To be honest, I havn't tried really hard on the CJ7. I absolutely love it and have spent 4 years of blood, sweat, and tears building it. If I can't have a Scrambler, there is no other CJ I would want but this one. HOWEVER, if the right Scrambler came my way, I have enough pics of the 7 to remember him by.
So there you have it. I can help anyone with TJ or JK questions. Also, I know quite a bit about the early CJ7s, especially concerning what makes them different from later 7s. Some of you with multiple CJ8s, if you need some extra room in the garage, I have a shorter CJ7 we could trade!
my name's Michael Thank you for welcoming me to Jeep CJ-8 Scrambler Forums
