Here’s an update on the Wrangler. Had her out on the beach today and had a ball. Covered in sand and salt. Upgraded her by adding lockers to the front and rear diffs… Just thought if anyone was interested I’d let you all know. I got her stuck in the mud the other day too. Not badly though, just enough to add some fun.
way to go - rip that beach up
How much was it? I’m after one.
You can get a wrangler for under 50k if you’re plugged in.
If you’re serious… I can ask my club to track down the latest deals up for grabs.
Yep, that would be great. I have access to one and it is a kind of “pool” car, but as so many people use the damn thing it’s difficult to get hold of.
I am Serious though.
(I’m actually looking for one in OK condition, but to do up).
If you are really looking then you have to set a budget first. 97 and newer start at around 300,000 NT. Older than that can be had for 100,000 - 300,000 depending on what they have done to it upgrade wise. I got this one(a 94) for 110,000 but had to fix some things so the original price of 120,000 was really what I got it for. It was a good deal I think, I am happy anyway. Since then though I have already upgraded it a fair bit. Search Taiwan Yahoo for some deals. If you read Chinese it will be even better. I don’t and I found a few to look at.
Also think about what you want to do with it. That should help you make a decision about how much to spend and what you want in it.
Just took her out today again. Mr. He and I went for a hill climb. If you know anyone who 4x4’s they will probably know about this place. It is called Kuanshi(Guanshi) and it has 6 or 7 levels. We made it to the top today. Scared the pants off of He. Anyway, will keep you posted.
Under 50 K may be pretty rough. And probably been run hard but if you are going to to then it will not be so bad. Look more for around the 100K mark if you want anything decent. Also have it checked by a mechanic you know before buying it. There are lots out there so have fun looking. Bye the way, Where are you located? Or want to buy from?
The good thing about Taiwan is that they deduct 30k per year no matter how nice the thing is, so get an old one. The newer ones are better for some reasons and worse for others… it depends on what you want to do with it. 1989 TBI (throttle body injection)… and (I think) 1991 and later have MPI (muti-port). The best… IMHO is 1989 with 1991 engine. There are no engine numbers on wranglers so swap in whatever you like… get a dirt cheap one and build it up, that way you know what you’re dealing with in the end.
rebuilt gearbox $15000
engine $20000
lockers (truetrac) $13000
still under $10000 if the worst happens.
Oh yeah.
What kind of lockers are you runnin, and how much were they?
They are both Detroit True Tracs. New they are closer to 20K each here. I got them a little used for 9000 installed, each. Where can you get a decent engine upgrade for 20K?
TBI engines are major gas guzzlers.
And they ride pretty well too…
I really liked the part with the mudhole, but going down was a bit scary. The time, we nearly slid sideways down into something which would have turned us over was the scariest part, once I realized how close we were. (I wuz supposed to look for things like that).
On another note, if any oif you are into a very cheap one, then someone left one at guanxi - yours for the taking but might be NT$100k o get it back on the road.
Good one with the true tracs man. Yeah I agree with the TBI being a gas guzzla and unreliable, 1 injector vs. 4 injectors? That one inj works four times as hard and when it fails… you’re done. Most guys who are often running at heavy lateral angles like them more for some reason.
Either way, If I were to do it again here in Taiwan I’d get an 89 with a dead or nearly dead engine and swap it out with a 91 or newer. You can get a short block for $20knt (with EFI and computer) down here. As for upgrades well make sure you don’t have the restrictor sleeve inside your airbox for about 6hp (they say more but I call BS).
There’s a dealership near my house here that has at least 15 YJs that he’s been buying from Taipower or Chunghua Telecom and redoing them. He’s got a few other strays I’m not sure where he got them but NONE of ANY of his jeeps have licenses. When I get back from Canada I plan to build another Jeep for racing. I’ll buy one from him and do it right. I’ll just throw my plates from my van on it when I need to get to the race.
If anyone is interested in these jeeps let me know because maybe we can get a smoking deal if we by a couple.
I only bought a jeep in Taiwan because they are the only decent option. I HATED them my whole life and HATE them way more now. I’ve owned a lot of rides and it was one the worst vehicles for reliability, ride quality, interior design, and ability that I’ve ever owned. The only thing (IMO of course) Wranglers are good for is impressing chicks because chicks are suckers for jeeps. My girlfriend loved it until our first ride to Kenting… the ride was so ruff that after a couple hours her breasts ached so much that she’d wince on every bump (poor girl).
Are you the guy I see in Ja Le Shui on the beach when we’re surfing? Is your Jeep black? Mine was black, too. Jeez that was another bitch I remember, strapping the boards onto the roof.
Hey sorry about all the negativity though man. Have a good time.
Jeep…Just Empty Every Pocket. 
Turkey dinner, not to go off-topic, but where did you find your terra-lows, and do you have anyone down there who’s done up a first generation Rodeo? 3.2L Sohc?
Would be looking for a Detroit/Aussie locker setup for the front on a 17spline Isuzu Corporate 10 bolt.
I’ll ask around for that and get back to you. I’ve never seen any stuff for those but I wasn’t lookin. I’ll see if I can dig up something. A friend of mine here is a Tera dealer and imports stuff.
This is stan’s jeep. When I’m not driving, I navigate for him. Nice TJ coil conversion.
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Nice pics TD. What negativity? I used to agree. Now I just have fun. Mine is not set up as well as those ones in the pics though. No deep water for me, not yet anyway. I would love to do the coil conversion but money is tight. Yes it is black and I have been on the beach but I am not sure which beach it is. I am up here in the north. It was around Linko. Anyway, thanks for the pics and keep em coming. If I get MJB out ther to take some shots then I’ll get him to put them on.
Hi, just got back from the mountains, well actually a while ago. Took her up to the top level at Kuanshi(Guanshi). It was a real muddy mess and it was great. There were a lot of others out there today and we had a lot of fun. Got some pics of the aftermath but I need to figure out how to get them on here. The jeep was covered in mud, from head to toe. The inside got some too. Those lockers were a very good investment. Now I want a better suspension set up so I can get more flex. That will come in time. Well, that’s the update. Probably off to there again tommorrow with some others.
:bravo:
someone should explain to them fools that once the water level is higher than the driver’s side window… it’s time to reconsider that river crossing…
cool photos though TD…
Yeah! This was a 3 day race up a canyon in Miaoli. The rocks were huge and many, so for a while, the only way through was down this river. The thing the (typical bonehead) organizers didn’t concider… was the fact that it was raining HARD (rising water levels). There were over 70 jeeps in the race and we were second only to this sunk Cheroke in the picture. I was white knuckling down this river about 100m behind him up to my L.P. in water thinking “wow, this is deep” and the banks on either side were too high to climb out of now 
that’s when he disappeared into a big underwater pit… I got on the horn yelling to my team that we had to turn around -waiting for the guys to pop out… The guy had power windows (smooth move) and thank god they worked underwater because out they popped one and then the other. I could never have saved them.
So we were in first place!! My team decided they’d rather show off they’re new expensive winch setup and pull the guy out intead of crossing the finish line first (which was 300m down the raod). I’ll never forgive my team for that because your team has to cross the line together. I have no idea what place we ended in.
There’s an odd thing that happens to jeeps when they get that soaked, the wipers turn on on their own, so this jeep’s lights and wipers were on underwater… it looked like it still had people in it.
If there’s anyone that has some cash to burn… we should put together “Team Whitey”. 3 Jeep minimum to make a team. You could get away with a stock jeep if you had to. Escudo, Hilux, whatever…
That’s some heavy wheeling. I am not sure that I am ready for that yet. Went out again today to get more experience and to know my vehicle a bit better though. Less mud today so easy climbs. Man I love this stuff! 