Ford wanted a Jeep.
He admitted he knew nothing about them - just that he wanted one. And not just any old Go down to the Dodge Dealer and get a Wrangler X - He wanted a YJ. Something that he could play with. Modify. Off Road.
Something with Square Headlights.
Whilst I was in the process of moving to the Greater Toronto Area, He was in the process of finding said Jeep. He looked at several over the intervening months... and always contacted me for my opinion before he committed.
The first couple I waved him off of. "You can do better," I'd said.
I had a '90 YJ for 7 years, and I loved it. I had rebuilt the poopy little underpowered 2.5 litre engine and rigged it for flexibility on- and off-road, with a small lift kit on the spring shackles, and oversized tires. I didn't go crazy on a rebuild - but I did take the engine all the way out, stripped it, and had a machine shop go to town on it.
Then I put it back in. Solo. All in the summer of 2001. The Black Dog ran beautifully, and lives forever on Quadratec's Reader's Rigs board. I sold it in '07 as my lifestyle had changed beyond its usefulness.
I still miss the thing. But that made me the expert.
A month or so after I got to the GTA - so, mid November, 2010 - Ford had made a selection, at a price I know was pretty good.
"For that price, if there's an engine in it, buy it," I told him.
He came sailing up happily to my Brother in Law's place, and we came out to have a look.
It's an '87 4.2 litre YJ with a hard top, a 2 inch shackle lift to support 31 inch tires, and not a lot else. My first glance told me somebody had done a couple maintenacy things here and there, and that the body was what I'd expected given the fact they throw giant crystals of Rock Salt on the road in winter out here.
"Yeah, We can work with it. What do you want to do with it?" I asked Ford.
That, of course, was the first mistake.
He'd already, of course, come up with a name and a personalized plate.
Ford is a Sailor. He has a 26 foot sailboat that, at the time, was in overhaul. To date, it's nearly finished. The name he'd selected for the Jeep when all is Said and Done is The Black Joke - which, at risk of denigrating what will be a marvelous vehicle when completed - is currently fairly amusing Irony.
He didn't really have a plan; he was mostly concerned that the vehicle as a whole was an unknown quantity. How good is the engine, drivetrain, body panels, etc...
Ardy - my brother in law - heard that and just looked at the thing for a few minutes.
"Pull it in to the Garage, " he said perfunctorily.
Ardy plays with cars. At least - he used to enjoy tinkering, squeezing horsepower and street performance out of sports cars, namely an older Toyota Supra, and more recently a BMW M3.
The second mistake was bringing my engine picker with me from Alberta.
