I didn't need another Jeep; I wasn't even looking for one. If I was, I didn't know what I was looking for. I really didn't even want another Jeep. Unfortunately for me, Tech Editor Hazel has an addiction. Like some kind of crack junkie, he religiously searches out Jeeps for sale on the computer and in free print ads. You'll often find him pecking away on CollectorCars.com or Recycler.com, and when we go on road trips, he's always grabbing the free local papers to look for the best deals on some wonder of a Jeep. He doesn't have the cash to buy 'em, the space to store 'em, or a significant other who will let him have 'em, but he still looks anyway and parades his precious junk Jeep discoveries to several of us around the office. I say "junk" 'cause that's what most of 'em are. I'm convinced his key search words are "broken," "missing parts," "doesn't run," "major rust damage," and "ran when parked."
That's how all this started. During a late night writing binge, Hazel e-mailed me an online ad. This one even had a photo. It read, "'73 Jeep J-20, four-speed, 4WD, power steering, power brakes, rebuilt 304 V-8 and T-98 transmission, Edelbrock manifold, cam, lifters, and valve springs, Holley carburetor, $1,000." So I started thinking about owning a J-truck. Nowhere in the ad did it say "not running" or even "runs rough." It looked like the guy had actually spent some money on the motor and drivetrain, leading me to believe this J-truck was a driver. The T-98 mention confused me since it should have been a T-18; it said it was a four-speed, so that seemed close enough. The venerable T-18 was the only four-speed available that year with a V-8, and the T-18 and T-98 are almost identical anyway. I started crunching numbers, but there was one problem: The Jeep was in Aurora, Oregon, 940 miles away.
A few phone calls between Hazel and the seller and 32 hours later, we were on our way to pick up a Jeep truck that I hadn't seen in person, and at this point, I hadn't even talked to the owner. At first, we thought the smart thing to do would be to take Hazel's tow rig and trailer, but the lack of overdrive and slow top speed meant we'd get there a week later. I hadn't made any other smart decisions recently, so I figured we'd hightail it up in the Jp test Cherokee, JR, and I'd just drive the J-truck back.
If you look closely, you'll notice the misaligned bed and cab. We didn't catch it until the morning after the purchase. It looks as though the truck had been rearended pretty badly, causing the frame to bend. When we got home, we couldn't even give the ugly aluminum shell away, so the Sawzall and a big trashcan took care of it. Ol' George even gave us an unmatching blue tailgate without any hardware. Inside the shell is the monster auxiliary fuel tank. | 
Somehow, an AMC 304 mated to a T-18 and a Dana 20 replaced the 360, TH400 and Quadra-Trac that should have been in the '73 J-2000. The ad sounded as though the owner had spent some money on the engine. Unfortunately, it ran like a Brigs & Stratton with a gas tank full of water. We just tightened the belts and sputtered down the dirt road. | 
Our first problem only 10 miles into the trip home had us thinking we just blew $1,000. We were less than 100 yards from the hotel when it died. Luckily for us, it quit at the top of a hill. A quick push got us into the local restaurant parking lot. |