Wherein I Locate My Old Jeep, Regret Selling It, Concoct Reasons to Buy it Back, Decide to Move On

Do you search for your old cars? We do. Frustrated at work today I broke out my Google-Fu to see if I could locate pictures or listings or some hint of life of the 1991 Jeep Wrangler I, as a dumb college kid, sold to another dumb high school kid back in 2002. With the suspension converted from leaves to coils, a full-float rear axle (“why are there hubs on the back wheels?”) and ARB lockers front and rear, it’s the kind of vehicle you’d expect to show up in a picture or forum post somewhere.

I didn’t find it there, but actually on a for sale listing in Moscow, Idaho. The site almost looks like an ebay/craigslist scraper posing as a dealership/listing site, as there’s no date on the ad…but the layout and pictures all seem pretty intentional, so maybe not. The youtube walkaround is seven months old, though.

I’ll give the seller points for adding a winch, on-board air, meatier tires and beefing up the front axle some. They were always on my wish list.  The 4.6L stroker motor is an awesome addition, though I wonder what motivated it, given how potent the Mopar reman 4.0L motor I dropped in at 65k miles was. Minus triple points for converting to an automatic, though. $7,000 sounds like a freaking steal for what you’re getting, though.

Between the automatic and almost-certainly-not-smog-legal-in-California motor, I’d have to work my rationalization skills to the brink to even consider buying it. (These days, my most likely Wrangler purchase is a different one). I guess I’m just happy to see it still out there, mostly intact, getting used properly. Jeep was my first car and presided over some of the best times in my life. Selling it was a dumb move, but did set off a chain of events that led me here.