Thinking of buying an 87-92 Jeep Cherokee to restore/work on

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

So, as the title says I'm thinking of having some fun this summer and buying an old Jeep Cherokee I might be able to get for dirt cheap and have some fun getting it back to full working condition again. As it stand the car's been sitting like it is in the location it's at since I fist saw it so, I figure I might think about making them an offer on it for a few hundred bucks (but nothing over $500). The paint and exterior is in really decent shape for it's age and there doesn't seem to be any rust on it from what I've seen.

I ran the idea past Hobie who's always been my go to guy for car advice and he said "hell no, stay away", but I've been looking up everything I can on old Jeeps and the parts are so cheep and available in such large quantities that it's ridiculous.

For example: My Civic Wagovan's taillights alone (the ones it came with were trashed) cost $150 for half of a beat-up OEM set to replace mine.

For the Jeep I'd be out $30 for a brand new pair from Chrysler.

The Jeep's rear end has a dent in the quarter panel, but new ones are only $55 or less from dozens of parts sites online. On the Civic Wagovan it would be $500 minimum and a trip to the junkyard for one with some moderate wear and tear. Mechanical parts for the engine, etc... are about on par with the Civic and cheaper in certain areas thanks to the sheer amount of Cherokees on the road still.

As it stands it would be something I'd like to try out so I can see how far my growing car knowledge has come from nearly 5 months ago when I first bought the Wagovan. I've always liked the Cherokee's design and it's reliability is legendary if well maintained. Plus, haven't really got much to do with my time since I got all the preventative and existing maintenance checks done on the Civic. Aside from the routine "flush radiator and change coolant and hoses along with a dying wheel bearing" deal I'm all done with anything that has to be repaired and changed out so I'm wanting to take my first foray into an American car.

So, any ideas or suggestions? From the exterior and what I've seen I'd finger it to be in the 87-92 range so I'd expect it to have some miles and just be something to screw with or DD for a bit if I ever get rid of the Civic in the future.

[Mechblue]

I think thats a pretty good year range for the Cherokee. Lots of aftermarket and information available for em. They should be fairly straight forward to work on. You'll learn a lot that you can apply to other vehicles in the future.

Don't be afraid to dive in and take stuff apart.

My dad had one and it was pretty awesome. Makes me want to get one some day.

[Hobie-wan]

The reason I said no is that MM doesn't have a full time 'real' job and he's still working some things on the wagon as it is. IMHO he doesn't need to be spreading what little money he is making across 2 older vehicles. If one has a dead reliable daily driver that's less than 5 years old, real income, and a place to work on multiple projects, then ok fine.

[jeffro11]

Without tools and a place to work on a vehicle. This is pointless. Not to mention you already have a "project". I'd do it anyways though

[noiseredux]

Mod_Man, was that you I saw talking about video games over on the autotrader.com forums?

[Flake]

The reason I said no is that MM doesn't have a full time 'real' job and he's still working some things on the wagon as it is. IMHO he doesn't need to be spreading what little money he is making across 2 older vehicles. If one has a dead reliable daily driver that's less than 5 years old, real income, and a place to work on multiple projects, then ok fine.

I think you should listen to Hobie on this one, Modders. No offense at all but you've got more important things to put your money into - like college / vocational training so you can get a better job and have more money to buy the Jeep Cherokee's with. Also if you do not yet live on your own, this too should be a goal. The ladies like it.

[dsheinem]

The reason I said no is that MM doesn't have a full time 'real' job and he's still working some things on the wagon as it is. IMHO he doesn't need to be spreading what little money he is making across 2 older vehicles. If one has a dead reliable daily driver that's less than 5 years old, real income, and a place to work on multiple projects, then ok fine.

I think you should listen to Hobie on this one, Modders. No offense at all but you've got more important things to put your money into - like college / vocational training so you can get a better job and have more money to buy the Jeep Cherokee's with. Also if you do not yet live on your own, this too should be a goal. The ladies like it.

Amen. Mod Man you should sink whatever money you are debating spending on this into money to take whatever tests you need to take to start furthering your education...

[fastbilly1]

Bad idea. Get one car working atleast 80% before moving on to the next.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

The reason I said no is that MM doesn't have a full time 'real' job and he's still working some things on the wagon as it is. IMHO he doesn't need to be spreading what little money he is making across 2 older vehicles. If one has a dead reliable daily driver that's less than 5 years old, real income, and a place to work on multiple projects, then ok fine.

I think you should listen to Hobie on this one, Modders. No offense at all but you've got more important things to put your money into - like college / vocational training so you can get a better job and have more money to buy the Jeep Cherokee's with. Also if you do not yet live on your own, this too should be a goal. The ladies like it.

Amen. Mod Man you should sink whatever money you are debating spending on this into money to take whatever tests you need to take to start furthering your education...

Well there are a few reasons I want to try going for it:

1) Cheap, cheap, cheap. Civic Wagons are expensive, parts are extremely scarce and demand a very high premium. From door seals or anything small to wheel bearings and the combined mix and match type of engine parts I need because the last owner put a CRX Si engine in it & was lackadasical in their conversion.

2) The Jeep (If I were to get it) would be worth more money as scrap or parted out and then scrapped than what I would pay for it. Parts would be very cheap and make repairs or anything I need to do quite simple, Mom agreed to let me work on it in the garage for a change so the Civic will just get parked outside. I've actually begun amassing power tools since I first got the Civic too, which will make things a lot easier come any engine work I'd need to do. Plus, I wouldn't have to register the car or pay insurance on it because I'm not going to be driving it on the roads anytime soon.

3) EVERYONE I know has some form of Jeep knowledge or has owned one at one point in the past. Even my Mom still had some old stuff from her Wagoneer in the closet she pulled out for me last night. There's a wealth of knowledge and help from a lot more people that I can get for free and I'll never have to run into the ever present "Dude, swap that shit out for a b-series/ls-vetec" Honda guys again when I need help or advice.

As for furthering my education/getting my own apartment:

1) I'm actually getting my GED in a few weeks and should be starting at my local Community college in the fall. My girlfriend has been helping me get back into the groove of studying (fuck you, math) and I'm getting prepared for it all. I've filled out all the FAFSA forms to get financial aid should I get into college and hopefully everything works out or I'm stuck waiting until next spring semester.

2) I'm 19 so yeah, not getting my own apartment anytime soon even if I had the chance. Living at home is free and has a lot of perks like the standard free food/free laundry, etc... In 2-3 years by the time I'm 21 or 22 I plan on having moved out and started a life of my own, but for now I plan on enjoying it all and not having to pay rent or any other bills aside from the random cable bill or something along with car insurance and phone.

[noiseredux]

Well there are a few reasons I want to try going for it:

1) Cheap, cheap, cheap. Civic Wagons are expensive, parts are extremely scarce and demand a very high premium. From door seals or anything small to wheel bearings and the combined mix and match type of engine parts I need because the last owner put a CRX Si engine in it & was lackadasical in their conversion.

2) The Jeep (If I were to get it) would be worth more money as scrap or parted out and then scrapped than what I would pay for it. Parts would be very cheap and make repairs or anything I need to do quite simple, Mom agreed to let me work on it in the garage for a change so the Civic will just get parked outside. I've actually begun amassing power tools since I first got the Civic too, which will make things a lot easier come any engine work I'd need to do. Plus, I wouldn't have to register the car or pay insurance on it because I'm not going to be driving it on the roads anytime soon.

3) EVERYONE I know has some form of Jeep knowledge or has owned one at one point in the past. Even my Mom still had some old stuff from her Wagoneer in the closet she pulled out for me last night. There's a wealth of knowledge and help from a lot more people that I can get for free and I'll never have to run into the ever present "Dude, swap that shit out for a b-series/ls-vetec" Honda guys again when I need help or advice.

As for furthering my education/getting my own apartment:

1) I'm actually getting my GED in a few weeks and should be starting at my local Community college in the fall. My girlfriend has been helping me get back into the groove of studying (fuck you, math) and I'm getting prepared for it all. I've filled out all the FAFSA forms to get financial aid should I get into college and hopefully everything works out or I'm stuck waiting until next spring semester.

2) I'm 19 so yeah, not getting my own apartment anytime soon even if I had the chance. Living at home is free and has a lot of perks like the standard free food/free laundry, etc... In 2-3 years by the time I'm 21 or 22 I plan on having moved out and started a life of my own, but for now I plan on enjoying it all and not having to pay rent or any other bills aside from the random cable bill or something along with car insurance and phone.

tl; dr -- I'm 19 and there's no way you guys are going to talk any sense into me.