- City
- Easton
- State
- CT
Long post warning!
Well, I missed it by a few months, but I realized I’ve owned my Scrambler for 20 years – it’s an ’82 I bought in July 2005. Sight unseen from Texas via eBay. Truth is, I won’t do that again – at least without having someone from this forum check it out for me.
In terms of a retrospective, here we go:
Pic from when I first got her:
As bought per part of my post here in 2005:
Overall, I did overpay, but I got perfect frame, a nearly perfect tub (only the bed has been replaced, and somewhat poorly). A 258 w/a Holly 390, no leaks of any kind, PS, PB, 4.5 Skyjacker, 33" BFG ATs (soon to become Goodyear MTRs), new seats, decent interior, 1-peice rear axles and, the reason I bought this one, an NV4500.
So while I have little (undisclosed
) problems, overall I can drive and wheel it all I want right now, and slowly upgrade the parts and things I want. Due to some of the little issues, the seller has made good to me with about $300 in new parts, which he sent to me.I'm very happy to have a Scrambler, and I will make it "mine" in no time. I look forward to sharing much of it with you all.
It also had the aftermarket 21 gal poly tank – which really didn’t fit Scramblers with the 4” drop – more on that later.
Spoiler – the NV4500 needed a rebuild – we pulled chunks of carbon fiber cages out of it, but she always ran and drove. Also, turned some 6-sided barstock on a lathe to create a nice shifter that you can put a wrench on on the bottom at the same time. Got a large shift boot to cover up the opening in the tunnel, and round white Hurst shift knob.
Since a computer crash some years ago, I lot a lot of pictures that were not backed up from 2005 – about 2012, so that sucks, and I can’t post them here, but I pulled some from some of my prior posts for this 20-year retrospective.
And away we go . . .
Here are some of the major or minor but, honestly, impactful, changes during the last 20 years – not including normal repair stuff and the boatloads of surface rust remediation & painting:
Editor’s note: while not always specifically mentioned, it has been my goal to keep the Scrambler stock-ish in appearance and sort of period correct. Many of the choices I have made are to this end – wheels, bumpers, and choice of winch/winch cable are some examples.
Very soon after getting the Scrambler, I added some basic, not overbuilt bumpers, front is very OE style, rear is plain with a tire carrier, but I knew 33” tires would be the max I ever put on it, and they have both served my very well for nearly 20 years. I can’t remember who made them. That twin-tube bumper that was on it was NOT what I wanted.
The springs sucked, so in short order, I swapped in a Rubicon Express 4.5 kit with the wider front springs. Sill running them to this day – I think I need new shocks, though . . .
Within a year, I purchased a Painless! wiring harness and undid 20 years of bad decisions by prior owners. I sucked at wiring back them (and am not much better now) and it took me about 16 hours to carefully take out the old and put in the new. At the same time, I put in a stainless dash from that guy who used to make them on eBay. It’s very well made, and I had to get rid of the mangled mess that the original dash was. Drilled 2 holes for round 12v ports – not a lot of options back then. The carbide hole saw bit capable of drilling SS cost a lot more then the ports. Sometime, you want what you want – I did NOT want to undermount the ports, and spot where the factory radio goes was begging for power outlets.
Back in 2012, since my 258 was down to zero hot idle oil pressure, I was going to do a rebuild and add EFI, but soon realized that a 4.0 swap was the way to go. So, I’ve been running an OBDI 4.0 from a Grand since then, and have zero regrets.
Sometime around 2008 I sourced an ’86 CJ-7 D44 from a Jeep junkyard in Providence, RI. It was on eBay, but with no shipping. As I recall, I paid $250 for it, and picked it up with a 2-hour drive each way. Not wanting to deal with air lines, during the rebuild and 4.10 gears, I put an Ox-Locker in it. It has been flawless all these years. Side note: I sold my AMC 20 for $225 – so major score.
At some point early on, I scored a set of 5 perfect condition white wagon wheels (not Jeep wheels) for $41 – again, no shipping, so no other bidders. Happened to be driving by to visit the in-laws at the time the auction was over, so it just worked out. Put on some Toyo M/T’s 33x10.5 (CJ’s need narrower tires – I’ll die on that hill) tires and ran them for the next 15 years. Amazing tires. Still have the wheels and tires in the shed, but they are not really safe anymore. Another side note – I sold the AR aluminum wheels that came the jeep for about $200 – so anther score
Like many others, I need tunes, so I put in the obligatory Tuffy center console with radio slot, and after a few radios, I settled on one with a built-in 40 watt amp, which in addition to the front speakers drives the Pioneer TruckRider speakers behind the seats – but not in the way when I remove the bulkhead and put in the rear seat. I’ve got satellite radio hooked to the aux port, but will let that go for Spotify the next time it is up for renewal.
As my little babies became little kids, I wanted them to ride with me on the road – but a Scrambler with a hoop and lap belts is not officially safe. So, I had my guy build me a cage for inside the half cab, using some YJ cage parts and DOM. That got me 3-point seatbelts. Tied to the frame with RockHard (I think) parts). I also added some rock sliders, for both off-road, but also for side-impact protection – they are tied to frame in 3 places with gusseted supports.
Maybe 12 years ago, I waited for a good price on a Warn 8000 winch. It’s been a great fit for my Jeep and the wheeling I do. Honestly, a lot of winches are faster, maybe better, and synthetic rope is great, but this is what I have and it works great, so it stays.
More recently, a few years ago, I was on the hunt for some slot mags, and found a set of four real Renegade slots local to me. Sourced the fifth (yea, I can’t be that guy with a mis-matched spare, sorry) from someone on this board. I really tried to get them presentable, could not, and in the opposite of a score, it cost me more (a lot more) to have them all professionally restored at shop that does that kind of thing. BUT, they are my single favorite cosmetic improvement to the Jeep. When my mechanic (only works on Jeeps and is possibly the best off-road driver I have ever seen) said “you’re not going to wheel those sweet new wheels, are you” reality hit, and I put on some BGF A/Ts and not my fav Toyo M/Ts.
During a wheeling trip a few years ago, something crapped out with my fuel sender and the mess of hoses for the terrible return/evap system – you know, with the squid up under the diver’s side rear, and I was spilling fuel out unless I was at about ¾ tank or less. That was the final straw, and so I found a factory 20 gal. tank, bought all the needed parts, and since I could not find a decent skid plate, purchased a Crawler skid plate – pricey, but 1) I could not find an OEM, and 2) sometimes, you get what you pay for – it’s beefy.
See D44 pic above
As I got older, I wanted more light sometimes, despite doing the headlight relay upgrade and using more modern bulbs. I paid too much for some reproduction SEV Marchal fog light covers, and modded them to fit some modern rectangular LED lights. This is one of those little details that makes me happy.
See frontend pic above
I ran Mastercraft Rubicon seats for about 15 years, but got tired of them, and bought and restored some early YJ seats (there was some welding involved) with CJ skins. I think they look great.
See pic above
Bonus little upgrade:
I run convex mirrors on both sides – this is a game changer. Flat glass mirrors on a CJ suck – trust me on this mod.
NEXT POST: some pics of my time with the Scrambler
Well, I missed it by a few months, but I realized I’ve owned my Scrambler for 20 years – it’s an ’82 I bought in July 2005. Sight unseen from Texas via eBay. Truth is, I won’t do that again – at least without having someone from this forum check it out for me.
In terms of a retrospective, here we go:
Pic from when I first got her:
As bought per part of my post here in 2005:
Overall, I did overpay, but I got perfect frame, a nearly perfect tub (only the bed has been replaced, and somewhat poorly). A 258 w/a Holly 390, no leaks of any kind, PS, PB, 4.5 Skyjacker, 33" BFG ATs (soon to become Goodyear MTRs), new seats, decent interior, 1-peice rear axles and, the reason I bought this one, an NV4500.
So while I have little (undisclosed
) problems, overall I can drive and wheel it all I want right now, and slowly upgrade the parts and things I want. Due to some of the little issues, the seller has made good to me with about $300 in new parts, which he sent to me.I'm very happy to have a Scrambler, and I will make it "mine" in no time. I look forward to sharing much of it with you all.It also had the aftermarket 21 gal poly tank – which really didn’t fit Scramblers with the 4” drop – more on that later.
Spoiler – the NV4500 needed a rebuild – we pulled chunks of carbon fiber cages out of it, but she always ran and drove. Also, turned some 6-sided barstock on a lathe to create a nice shifter that you can put a wrench on on the bottom at the same time. Got a large shift boot to cover up the opening in the tunnel, and round white Hurst shift knob.
Since a computer crash some years ago, I lot a lot of pictures that were not backed up from 2005 – about 2012, so that sucks, and I can’t post them here, but I pulled some from some of my prior posts for this 20-year retrospective.
And away we go . . .
Here are some of the major or minor but, honestly, impactful, changes during the last 20 years – not including normal repair stuff and the boatloads of surface rust remediation & painting:
Editor’s note: while not always specifically mentioned, it has been my goal to keep the Scrambler stock-ish in appearance and sort of period correct. Many of the choices I have made are to this end – wheels, bumpers, and choice of winch/winch cable are some examples.
Very soon after getting the Scrambler, I added some basic, not overbuilt bumpers, front is very OE style, rear is plain with a tire carrier, but I knew 33” tires would be the max I ever put on it, and they have both served my very well for nearly 20 years. I can’t remember who made them. That twin-tube bumper that was on it was NOT what I wanted.
The springs sucked, so in short order, I swapped in a Rubicon Express 4.5 kit with the wider front springs. Sill running them to this day – I think I need new shocks, though . . .
Within a year, I purchased a Painless! wiring harness and undid 20 years of bad decisions by prior owners. I sucked at wiring back them (and am not much better now) and it took me about 16 hours to carefully take out the old and put in the new. At the same time, I put in a stainless dash from that guy who used to make them on eBay. It’s very well made, and I had to get rid of the mangled mess that the original dash was. Drilled 2 holes for round 12v ports – not a lot of options back then. The carbide hole saw bit capable of drilling SS cost a lot more then the ports. Sometime, you want what you want – I did NOT want to undermount the ports, and spot where the factory radio goes was begging for power outlets.
Back in 2012, since my 258 was down to zero hot idle oil pressure, I was going to do a rebuild and add EFI, but soon realized that a 4.0 swap was the way to go. So, I’ve been running an OBDI 4.0 from a Grand since then, and have zero regrets.
Sometime around 2008 I sourced an ’86 CJ-7 D44 from a Jeep junkyard in Providence, RI. It was on eBay, but with no shipping. As I recall, I paid $250 for it, and picked it up with a 2-hour drive each way. Not wanting to deal with air lines, during the rebuild and 4.10 gears, I put an Ox-Locker in it. It has been flawless all these years. Side note: I sold my AMC 20 for $225 – so major score.
At some point early on, I scored a set of 5 perfect condition white wagon wheels (not Jeep wheels) for $41 – again, no shipping, so no other bidders. Happened to be driving by to visit the in-laws at the time the auction was over, so it just worked out. Put on some Toyo M/T’s 33x10.5 (CJ’s need narrower tires – I’ll die on that hill) tires and ran them for the next 15 years. Amazing tires. Still have the wheels and tires in the shed, but they are not really safe anymore. Another side note – I sold the AR aluminum wheels that came the jeep for about $200 – so anther score
Like many others, I need tunes, so I put in the obligatory Tuffy center console with radio slot, and after a few radios, I settled on one with a built-in 40 watt amp, which in addition to the front speakers drives the Pioneer TruckRider speakers behind the seats – but not in the way when I remove the bulkhead and put in the rear seat. I’ve got satellite radio hooked to the aux port, but will let that go for Spotify the next time it is up for renewal.
As my little babies became little kids, I wanted them to ride with me on the road – but a Scrambler with a hoop and lap belts is not officially safe. So, I had my guy build me a cage for inside the half cab, using some YJ cage parts and DOM. That got me 3-point seatbelts. Tied to the frame with RockHard (I think) parts). I also added some rock sliders, for both off-road, but also for side-impact protection – they are tied to frame in 3 places with gusseted supports.
Maybe 12 years ago, I waited for a good price on a Warn 8000 winch. It’s been a great fit for my Jeep and the wheeling I do. Honestly, a lot of winches are faster, maybe better, and synthetic rope is great, but this is what I have and it works great, so it stays.
More recently, a few years ago, I was on the hunt for some slot mags, and found a set of four real Renegade slots local to me. Sourced the fifth (yea, I can’t be that guy with a mis-matched spare, sorry) from someone on this board. I really tried to get them presentable, could not, and in the opposite of a score, it cost me more (a lot more) to have them all professionally restored at shop that does that kind of thing. BUT, they are my single favorite cosmetic improvement to the Jeep. When my mechanic (only works on Jeeps and is possibly the best off-road driver I have ever seen) said “you’re not going to wheel those sweet new wheels, are you” reality hit, and I put on some BGF A/Ts and not my fav Toyo M/Ts.
During a wheeling trip a few years ago, something crapped out with my fuel sender and the mess of hoses for the terrible return/evap system – you know, with the squid up under the diver’s side rear, and I was spilling fuel out unless I was at about ¾ tank or less. That was the final straw, and so I found a factory 20 gal. tank, bought all the needed parts, and since I could not find a decent skid plate, purchased a Crawler skid plate – pricey, but 1) I could not find an OEM, and 2) sometimes, you get what you pay for – it’s beefy.
See D44 pic above
As I got older, I wanted more light sometimes, despite doing the headlight relay upgrade and using more modern bulbs. I paid too much for some reproduction SEV Marchal fog light covers, and modded them to fit some modern rectangular LED lights. This is one of those little details that makes me happy.
See frontend pic above
I ran Mastercraft Rubicon seats for about 15 years, but got tired of them, and bought and restored some early YJ seats (there was some welding involved) with CJ skins. I think they look great.
See pic above
Bonus little upgrade:
I run convex mirrors on both sides – this is a game changer. Flat glass mirrors on a CJ suck – trust me on this mod.
NEXT POST: some pics of my time with the Scrambler
