I'm a long time XJ guy who's been on a rabid search for a decent condition Grand Wagoneer to cruise around town in on the weekends. I've searched and struck out locally in Salt Lake on a lot of rusted rigs and other that need thousands in exterior work. Then there's the eBay auctions, I've bid and lost many a truck all of which I never even saw other than on pics.
Fast forward to Memorial Day weekend. I lost yet another eBay auction and was frantically searching the corners of the Internet for a rig. I found this 1991 in a warehouse in the little boom bust oil town of Vernal in Eastern Utah. The story goes, the guy who owns the Ford dealer has 4 warehouses of restored classic cars he just buys, restores a bit, and parks. Now he's trying to sell a bunch.
The truck is an August 1990 manufacture 1991 model. It was originally bright white, now it's been taken down to the sheet metal on the exterior and painted the current cream color. The woodgrain, as you can tell, is brand new. Visually there's some scratched chrome that I may have redone in the future but otherwise it's mint. It's a rust free rig from Amarillo, TX and still has the original dealer paperwork in the glove box. It looks like it was auctioned off in the late 2000's in CA before the Vernal guys got it and repainted it.
What's also original is every single mechanical component. It runs well, not great. I've been replacing consumables so I can feel a bit better about things I know are going to go soon. The interior is pretty mint. Carpet has UV damage but is pretty stain free. Drivers seat has cracks but it will last a year or two more.
Here's what I've replaced so far:
-New reupholstered leather center seat
-New battery cables
-New Hella H4 housings on upgraded headlight harness
-New headlight switch
-New starter relay
-New starter
-New Accel coil
-New ignition computer on driver fender
-New Hankook whitewalls
-4 New Bilstein 4500 shocks
I think the carb might need a rebuild and I have a new fuel pump. It does not like the gas being mashed. I've stalled it once on the freeway and when it's really cold in the morning it needs to be babied. The accelerator pump diaphram looks new so it's not that.
I love it, my poor 2001 lifted XJ is feeling very under utilized. I also drive a 2013 Hyundai Azera day to day.
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