The jeep group is a strong fraternity but it has little base anymore .
Growing up we had at any given time at least 4 on the farm and they are what I learned to turn wrenches on .
All had the little F head 4 bangers and ranged from my 53, M35 right up to my father 57 CJ and grandpas willies wagon .
We didn’t call these jeeps though . They were willies or Cj’s .. any would out climb anything out there . Infact I made a lot of gas money in school from out climbing folks with V8 or I6 ‘s in theirs . The old willies were just un stoppable . You may be able to out walk them in low gear but they would still get there .
The newer jeeps out there really art anything fantastic and IMO its their name that keeps them going .
Without Mods they really IMO art anything to smile about .
So about ten years back I bit the bullet and needed a mountain rig for hunting .Did I mention we never paid more the 200.00 for one ? Now days they run 3000 for even a basket case in many places .
I about fell over at the prices . So I reverted back to my teen years and started driving the back roads looking for field ornamentations.
One night my wife was with me . We came around a corner and she said HA!!! There is one .
It wasn’t a jeep but an IH scout 800 . At first I didn’t want it . I remembered the IH from my youth and I gave those folks a lot of lip about how much better a jeep was .
Well to make a long story short I bit the bullet and pulled her out of the field for a song .
After doing a ground up restoration I can honestly tell you in compression the jeep is no where built as strong as the IH scouts . While they are lighter in the body . The scouts are built 10X better then even the old original jeeps and 1000X better then any jeep on the market today .
Recently with gas prices I found myself again in need . So I went looking for a 4X4 that would get reasonable mileage . As such the Suzuki side kicks and samurais was what I was specifically looking for .
All I could come across on the samurais was jacked up blocked and over shackled rigs . Those that I did find that were done properly were way out of my price range .
Eventually I came across a 89 side kick with no modifications . It had a rebuilt engine and interior and body were in reasonable shape so I traded my ATV for it strait across .
Interior wise ?
Well im 6 ft 1 and have plenty of leg room .
I don’t find it tippy in any way either and the turn radius is un beatable .
Now with modifications , I think they would make a fantastic off road vehicle. But mine will be a daily driver for work summer and winter . But for the mountains , ? Well my scout comes out . that’s where she shines and that’s what I rebuilt her for
I don’t have a photo of my sidekick but here is my scout . in a couple years my side kick will also be completely re done with new paint . interior , the complete ball of wax . girl cars are saabs . i dont think my wife would alow any 20 year old girl in my sidekick LOL .
modern jeeps are way over rated
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