I am looking trade my 2001 Jeep TJ for an off-road Jeep TJ project.

Tired of having your wife nag you about that Jeep project in the garage that you are always working and spending money on but never quite seem to finish? Do you need a good daily driver rather than a never-ending project? Are your children growing up and need a vehicle of their own? Are you in a situation like this or do you know of a friend who is? I have got an idea for you.

I am in the market for someone’s unfinished TJ project to trade my unusual looking and nice running 2001 TJ for. Reason being, I purchased a used Jeep to chop up and make into a dedicated trail rig, but the Jeep turned out to be too nice to cut apart, so I made it into a customized daily driver. I was hoping that my wife would want to drive it when I finished it, but she really wants a 4-door sedan instead. So now I would like to trade my nice TJ for something I can build into a trail rig. That is why I am hoping trade my clean Jeep for someone’s non-working Jeep TJ project, plus a little cash to make an equitable trade.

I am searching for a 1998 or newer Jeep TJ with automatic transmission in working or non-working condition. I envision that I would like to build a really heavy-duty trail rig and I would like to a TJ project as the basis.

About my Jeep:

2001 Jeep Wrangler TJ, 2.5L Engine, Automatic Transmission, Air Conditioned, Dual Air Bags, 65,500 miles

The Jeep’s paint is something that looks different and is functional. The coating is SEM urethane truck bed liner, custom tinted and sprayed both inside and out. As we live in West Texas, any excursions off-road usually result in severe scratches to normal paint due to Mesquite trees and brambles. The textured urethane surface helps resist scrapes and scratches and disguises any that may occur. The inside is coated in the same urethane material, providing an easy “hose out” interior that can be readily rid of mud, blood or beer - perfect for hunting trips!

As for a hunting Jeep, this would be a nice one. This Jeep rides so much smoother than the old leaf spring Jeeps. It climbs the trails and hills like a mule and has the unique look to turn heads when you drive into town. The paint scheme was designed to be catchy and unlike anything else. It is also makes a pretty good camouflaged hunting vehicle. Besides, everything works with this Jeep; the heater heats, the air conditioner cools, the top is new and you won’t have to fix anything.

This is also a perfect car for a high school or college student in that the four-cylinder engine provides more than enough zip around town and down the freeway, but maybe will keep a kid with a heavy foot from excessive speeding tickets (well, maybe). The Jeep gets noticed everywhere, quite unlike anything else on the road. Everybody notices the paint and fenders - perfect to cruise around and pick up chicks.

The front fenders are custom-made by me to create a retro WWII jeep look. The fenders are made of 1.25” steel tubing and 16-gauge sheet metal that create a very strong fender. The lower portion of the fender flairs go all the way down to the bottom and flair out slightly to provide a “mud flap” at the bottom, giving a bit more protection from mud and rocks. Nobody has fenders exactly like these.

The tires are new BF Goodrich 31” x 10.50” All Terrains. These tires are larger than a standard Jeep and provide exceptional road control with good off-road traction. I had BFG tires on my last Jeep and have found them to be long wearing, extremely resilient to punctures and provide excellent traction on rocks, mud and sand.

I have installed a new Bestop Supertop with matching doors and side windows. The doors and windows are brand new and scratch free. The roll bar and seat covers are also new, match the top in color and are also made by Bestop. We installed the seat covers because the original Jeep seats were cloth seats, which work fine for an enclosed car or truck, but when used on a Jeep, they get wet. As we mostly drive the Jeep with the doors off, the cloth seats always got wet when it rained or soaked with dew when left out over night, resulting in wet fabric and consequently, a wet butt. Add a little trail dust and dirt and you now have a wet, muddy butt. Vinyl seat covers allow you to easily wipe the seats clean and dry, something you can’t do with cloth.

With fuel at around $2.50 - $3.00 a gallon (looking as it is going to stay that way for the next couple of years) every mile that can be stretched out of a gallon of gas helps. The 2.5 L Jeep engine gets around 18 – 25 mpg (approximately 22 - 30% better gas mileage than a 6-cylinder engine), that kind of gas savings can have a real impact driving back and forth to work every day. In addition, both the 4 cylinder and the 6 cylinder Jeeps have the same size (20 gallon) fuel tank, so with the 4 cylinder getting 22 - 30% better fuel mileage around town, it also gets 22 - 30% more range out of each tank of gas.

Fuel range may not be important when driving in the city where gas stations are plentiful, but extended range can have a great impact when driving off-road for a couple of days in the wilderness with no gas stations around.

In addition, the 2.5 L has proven itself to be a very long life motor; my father has the 2.5 L 4-cylinder in his 1996 Jeep Wrangler with over 200,000 miles on the odometer and the engine is still running strong. My best friend has a 2.5 L engine in his 1990 Jeep Wrangler and he has over 120,000 miles on his Jeep, and his motor is still running strong. Long engine life and good mileage make this Jeep very economical to own.

How did I come to own the Jeep? As I understand it, the family that originally owned my Jeep lived in Ohio and had a teenage son going to college in Dallas, Texas. The son was using the Jeep while at college and somehow put the Jeep into a ditch. The damage was not extensive, but the Jeep needed some work. For whatever reason, the Jeep was not repaired but instead the insurance company issued a check to the out-of-state owners, who quickly purchased a replacement vehicle for their son (an auto insurance adjuster friend of mine told me this happens all the time). Anyway, the opportunity for me to purchase the Jeep at an auto auction came up so I bought it.

My Jeep has a Texas Salvage Title. As I understand it, all vehicles that are purchased back by an insurance company must, by law, have a salvage title issued to them, regardless of the vehicle’s true damage.

The repairs I made were as follows: the dents were removed from the right side body and the hood, the windshield glass was replaced, and the damaged front fenders were replaced with tube fenders. The body and interior were repainted and a new Bestop soft top was installed. The roll bar was replaced with a roll bar out of a Jeep Rubicon that a friend had removed from his Jeep when he made his into a rock crawler. The airbags and corresponding components were replaced with genuine Chrysler/Jeep factory parts.

A quick note about the repairs I made to the airbags. Airbags seem to have some mystique to them, but they are only parts, and like all parts they are replaceable. Once deployed, the following airbag components must be replaced: the drivers & passenger airbag canisters and corresponding cover panels, the Airbag Control Module (ACM), and the steering wheel clockspring. There really is nothing complicated about the airbag system. If you follow the factory repair manual instructions the airbag system can be repaired good as new.

My Jeep has since been inspected and certified by a Texas DOT state inspection station and deemed roadworthy.

One underestimated advantage of purchasing a vehicle with a salvage title is that they (salvage title vehicles) are now a lot cheaper to register and license. Reason being, most states, including Texas, are now requiring that the licensing tax on used vehicles be based on the average retail value (Kelly Blue Book) for the make and model vehicle. This means it is no longer allowable to say that you bought a used car for only $100 (to avoid paying the high state tax). Instead, the local tax assessor’s office will simply look up your vehicle’s blue book value and charge you accordingly.

However, with a salvage title vehicle, you can legally state that the purchase price you paid is much less than average retail for a similar vehicle, simply because your vehicle has a salvage title – thus, you pay much, much less state tax. As an added bonus, you can continue to pay less tax every year you own the vehicle (that is if your state requires a yearly licensing fee).

In addition to the afore mentioned repairs, I have also completed the following maintenance items on my Jeep:
1. All U-joints have been replaced in the front axle and both drive shafts.
2. One front wheel hub was found to be leaking and was replaced, the other has been cleaned and repacked with grease.
3. All the brakes are new and the brake system has been flushed and filled with new fluid.
4. All four shocks have been replaced with new high-pressure nitrogen units.
5. The oil in both axles, as well as the transfer case, has been changed.
6. The transmission fluid and filter have been changed and the bands adjusted – not because there was anything wrong, just proper maintenance.
7. The power steering gearbox is new (due to leaking seals in the old gearbox) and the power steering fluid flushed and the fluid changed.
8. Mileage limited maintenance items such as spark plugs, plug wires, rotor, cap, serpentine belt and air filter have been replaced as per the maintenance manual.

To view a slideshow of my Jeep pictures:

http://img329.imageshack.us/slideshow/player.php?id=img...9/1174230838i3i.smil
If you have any questions, or would like more detailed pictures, call or email me.

If you know someone who might want to trade, please give him or her my phone number or email address.

My Jeep and I are located in San Angelo, Texas.

Jordon Reif
gravreif@cox.net

325-947-1269 (home)
325-224-1483 (work)
325-374-3822 (cell)