The Jeep.
The first rule of owning a...
The first rule of owning a Campee vehicle is that you must revel in your vehicles character, not try to eliminate or hide it. Instead of throwing away the total 70s barefoot chrome gas pedal, we found a key chain that matched. The second rule is to have a sense of humor. If you cant laugh at yourself, you wont enjoy it as much when everyone else laughs at you. And they will.
Cracked leather seats, stained...
Cracked leather seats, stained shag carpet (we swear its original), a butchered radio installation, and dash lenses that ride in the bottom of the dash bezel. Every accessory works except for the foglights and the cruise control. This is what temptation is all about.
Even with a beater, we were...
Even with a beater, we were thankful to get almost all of the rim pieces, inside and out. These are some of the parts which raise the cost of ownership drastically if you give in and start to improve the Jeep.
Campee was dubbed so because...
Campee was dubbed so because thats just what this Grand Wagoneer is. Its from an era thats gone, its rustic, its original, its showing its age, and those are the things which make it cool. If you try to fix it or modernize it, you just end up ruining it. Putting its name on the license plate alerts people that we know were driving the modern-day version of the Brady Bunch station wagon.
The first mother-in-law-in-the-closet...
The first mother-in-law-in-the-closet trait we discovered was that Campee had a drinking problem. Hows six mpg suck on your income? The temptation to make major drivetrain changes to rectify this were strong, but we limited ourselves to increasing the ignition timing, changing spark plugs, and installing a K&N air filter. We were rewarded with a 1.5 mpg increase. That doesnt sound like much, and its not, but the calculator said this increase was worth a $337 savings over the 7,000 miles.
Campee developed a random...
Campee developed a random stalling problem. We checked fuel delivery and the idle rpm, but didnt figure it out until we left it running in the driveway for a few minutes and it just died. Tried it again and the same thing happened. The factory electronic ignition had developed Alzheimers. We installed an MSD Digital 6 ignition in hopes we could get a more reliable ignition and perhaps improve fuel economy. Heres hoping its more reliable.
When summer rolled around,...
When summer rolled around, the smell of factory shag carpet (it does have a distinct smell) was replaced by the awful odor of hot engine coolant gushing out of the radiator overflow. The factory electric auxiliary fan took a dump so we pulled this 16-inch unit out of the garage and creatively strapped it in between the grille and radiator.
The next nasty trait we found...
The next nasty trait we found was a massive oil leak in the driveway. Most of this was automatic transmission fluid, which we hate. So we motored to the local Jiffy Lube to let them do a transmission service and deal with the leak. The engines rear main seal leaks a little, but we racked that up to character rather than making it an item to repair.
We soon realized another beauty...
We soon realized another beauty of owning a beaternot caring about its interior or exterior appearance. In 12 months, weve washed it twice and one of those times was for this photo shoot. This feature allows you to use it to haul dogs one weekend and disassembled engines the next. Missed that in the 84 Grand Wagoneer sales brochure.
Screamin deals. Theyre hard to pass up. The free Jeep body tub, the $500 running but rusty Willys pickup, the $1,000 YJ with a blown engine. These are the want-ads that we dream about.
Last year, we werent shopping for a vehicle. You probably know the routine; wed look at the classifieds, but we didnt need another vehicle and we certainly didnt have any money set aside for another one. The classifieds are just a form of entertainment. Thats when, among the $6,000 Grand Wagoneers, this $2,700 baby filled our eyes. The photo looked fine, so we couldnt help calling to get some more details. Hmmm, the owner said it runs fine, he just put new tires on it, theres no major rust or dents, and the interior is all in one piece. Currently registered, clean title. Something cant be right, so we have to go look at it. The owner was right about everything. He forgot to mention that the A/C even blew cold air, and the Jeep would pass a smog test. So we drove it home.
Twelve months later, weve put 7,000 miles on the Wagoneer and used it for all sorts of duties. But the real story is what its like to own a vehicle you dont need, didnt budget for, dont have money or time to restore, but really kind of dig.
Character Points
Wing windows
Power windows; all of which move at a different speed.
Pull knobs for foot-panel air vents.
Six-way power driver and passenger seats, which still work.
Nice ride and cush to drive.
Fan knob for A/C is missing so you have to twist the shaft.
One of the rear doors doesnt open from insideearly child safety doors.
The front seat frames are tweaked which leaves the driver and passenger practically staring face to face when you lean back in the seats.
Nonfunctional gas gauge.
Timeline
February
Purchased the Grand Wagoneer. Gas gauge quit working so we started a log to track miles. Realized the Wagoneer was a grand gas guzzler knocking down 6 mpg!
March
Exxon Valdez cleanup crew showed up to inquire about the spill evolving in the Wagoneers parking spot. Had Jiffy Lube do a tranny service which cured most of the fluid leakage. Also found that it burns and/or leaks about one quart of engine oil every 700 miles.
April
Changed spark plugs, advanced ignition timing, and installed K&N air cleaner in an effort to improve fuel economy. Up to 7.5 mpg: oh boy, a 25 percent improvement! A convincing argument that numbers lie.
May
The Grand Wagoneer finds its calling in the family as the dog car.
June
The overheating begins. The auxiliary electric fan thats supposed to turn on with the A/C or when its just too hot has died. A much larger electric fan we had left over from a project is adapted to fit behind the grille.
July
Lovin that A/C!
August
We realize the front axle doesnt engage when you move the switch to 4WD. We wonder if this electronic switch was the first of its kind and curse AMC just at the thought.
September
The ignition dies. Cant stand to put another factory electronic box on. Hopeful that well get better gas mileage, we install an MSD Digital 6 box. No increase in mileage and we had to knock the windshield washer reservoir off the fenderwell to mount the ignition, but the engine runs now.
October
Off to Jiffy Lube for an oil change.
November
Gas gauge makes a reappearance, but doesnt last more than a couple weeks.
December
Blower motor quits blowing, effectively disabling the heater and windshield defroster. The motor is OK, its the wiring, the relay, or the switch. A peek at the wiring under the dash scares us into dressing warmer and wearing gloves when we drive Campee.
January
Damn that heater.
February
Wishing we had windshield washer fluid.
Rules for owning a Jeep you dont need
a Develop a sense of humor.
If something falls off or quits working, think of it as added character, not as something else you need to fix.
b Resist the temptation to make major modifications. An extra vehicle isnt fun when it becomes another project vehicle.
c Only do maintenance and needed repairs. If you break this rule, itll lead to breaking rule number 2.
d Dont wash it. Washing it leads to caring about it too much which leads to restoring it.