How you got into 4 Wheeling

I grew up playing sports such as soccer, track and bicycle riding with my family. They instilled in me a great love and respect for the outdoors and sports that has continued to grow with me through the years (Thanks Mom and Dad).

I am now a total Automotive lover and love doing anything outdoors. In addition to Vehicles and Fab work, I still love to mountain bike, hike and play sports.

Since I was a little child, I always loved to see those really jacked up Jeeps and 4X4's driving around town. I just could not take my eyes off of them. Well all those years gave birth to a bug, a virus you might say that sat dormant for years, growing and growing until one day the virus took over my body. I had to have a 4x4, I had to drive a 4x4, I had to feel the dirt and mud flying up from beneath the tires. But as always it wasn't that easy. I was just a young kid, 15 or 16 I guess, and had no money to fund such a dream. So the years passed and I did things to appease the beast growing inside -- buy a 4x4 it said, I could afford a '77 Buick Skylark. Com'on buy a 4x4, I could afford a '85 Buick Century; Oh lets buy a 4x4. Instead I bought a Nissan Sentra -- until the day came that I could finally afford my dream and let the urge out.

All this goes to one fact, I finally became a proud owner of a Jeep -- a 1993 2-wheel drive, 2dr, Metallic Green Jeep Cherokee! Hey it was not the off-road 4x4 monster that I wanted but it was a start. Until YES, YES, Finally! Finally the day had arrived. I became the proud owner of a 1998 4x4, 4dr, Gun Metal Blue Jeep Cherokee!

Since my Purchase of the Jeep, I have gained a ton of new, good friends who have been more than helpful in my search to fill my 4x4 Madness. Top of the list would have to be Rob Underwood. Without him I probably would never have dug deep and made that finally purchase. So Rob, thanks for all your help and being a great friend.

Then there are some other good Jeepin' buddies Scott Roberts, Lonnie Tromba and John Herr. They have instilled in me a new found pride in my love of 4x4's.

of course since then it has been all down hill and now I can not leave my Jeep alone :)
 
I bought a 84 Cherokee with a 4 inch lift and 33's with the GM V6 in it, got it for 600 bucks, wheeled it for probably 3 months (I was only 16) then parted it out and bought an 89 Cherokee Limited with the 4.0, leather interior, real nice, bought the 6.5 rough country lift, kept the 33's from the 84 on it, took the doors off, became this...
http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/47/l_c4d0d131a64efd7a9ab67d652b6009a4.jpg
http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/2/l_0ccea13114dc9653962349fc9f393bac.jpg
lots more time and fixing and some more lift led to this
http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/46/l_84da9c4c5954b7693e31102fa1074ef2.jpg
which after a drunken night and some encouragement by idiot friends led to this
http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/128/l_3455dc817b8c468e8586cf1da4d858fb.jpg
The intentions were to give it the general lee paint job, but being that we were drunk we didn't think to do the roof first lol. Sold it not long after, have had a few other jeeps since, also had an 87 k5 on 38's and a 78 k10 on 44's but always had a thing for the XJ's
 
I got into 4wheeling as a method to get to places to hunt and Fish.

When I was growing up my dad and i got a 68 Jeep DJ5 Mail jeep for $100

it was 2wd with a GM 153 4cyl but had a factory d44 and posi. so I took the POS power glide out and installed a SM420 4sp.

with low granny gear (7.4:1) i crawled nice and for the most part took us every where we need to go

but soon that was not enough and the addiction began

1964 J200
1972 CJ5
1984 J10
1990 XJ
1996 XJ
1988 MJ
1989 MJ
1997 TJ
1998 XJ
1989 wagoneer
1978 Cherokee
1985 J10

..........
 
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