To "build" my KJ or not - at a cross roas

[paullgj]

I'm at a crossroads here - whether to "build" my 2007 KJ into an offroad vehicle, or plunk down some change and buy something new with more ground clearance and skids. Plans for the KJ include OME suspension, UC arms, brake lines, skids, tow hooks, and some off-road tires - maybe we're looking at $3,000-4,000 investment, and the vehicle is mine, no payments.

My hang-up is the KJ reliability - I seem to be going through a window regulator a month. I know, it's warrantied now for 3 more years, but it's still a hassle. Another potential problem is that it's stick shift - I've got bone spurs in the left leg from a lifetime of hiking, shifting gears could become painful in the future, but I am a manual guy off-road.

Whatever I do, this will be my last vehicle, I'm 65 and need an off-road travel machine for the Appalachians, Texas, and the U.S. SW. I'll never go back to Mexico driving a personal vehicle.

The other two vehicles I'm considering are 2 dr Wrangler (very expensive for what you get, thin sheet metal, and not much room), and GMC Sierra SWB regular cab (right now $6,000 discount - I used to own Chevy SWB's for years).

I'm very strongly leaning towards doing a major build on my KJ, starting this summer.

Gene, Brownsville, Texas

 

[tommudd]

I say go for it,
but then the only drawback I see is your concern over the manual ******

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Keep the KJ. JK won't be much different comfort wise, and for what your plans are, a KJ is perfect.

 

[Dave]

I like the part where you said "the vehicle is mine with no payments" so in that case I think you should do the mods.

Dave

 

[Ry' N Jen]

I'm very happy with our decision to dump some hard earned cash into our KJ's suspension.
It's a blast to drive and very capable off road (I want lockers now though!)
In the long run, it is more cost effective to modify the vehicle you have then to
go out and purchase another vehicle with a little more ground clearance.

 

[J-Thompson]

I would sell the KJ and get the wrangler
you can buy a JK Sahara do a BB and some 33's and go places that the
KJ could never go

How ever I am currently in a situation where I have a quite modified TJ that I drive less than 5K miles a year
I spent close to or over $8k just in mods and dont use it near enough to justify that kind of money
1 option I am looking at is selling the TJ and buying a WK ,Grand
Lift ,lockers ,tires ,Bumpers ,skids and sliders
yeah I will drop over $20K to buy a used rig with 50K on it
sure I will drop another $6K in mods but it will be functional
that is I will be able to drive it with my wife and kid and our "stuff"
so maybe moding your KJ is an option......

 

[boebr1]

why not just go pick up an old blazer for $500, put a tow bar on the front of it, and tow it around behind your kj? parts are cheap, any neighbor's kid that likes cars could work on it, most of it's stock parts are already more heavy duty than most upgrades for the KJ. you can trim the fenders and run 33inch tires. lift it 4 inches and trim fenders and you cun run 36's, bigger if you do major cutting. the v8 powers the big tires fine.
my window regulator broke, and i'm broke, and they won't warranty it. I put the glass up, had someone help hold it up while holding a block of wood under it, inside the door, drilled two small holes, and ran 2 drywall screws through the sheet metal into the wood. window hasn't fallen down since... kids have learned to live with it

Edit: figure out how much money you need to spend on the KJ, and remember that it's going to get harder to drive as your leg bothers you more... figure out what else you can do for the money... maybe a trade it for an A/T KJ, and then build that up. Maybe buy an old 1960's scout, swap in chevy drive train... lots of ways you can go, but it does sound like you really need to consider what's going to work for you in the future. if 3 years from now, that KJ and it's M/T are just too much to deal with, but you have already built it, your going to take a huge loss on the work you did. some old beater that is more capeable in stock form, getting towed behind you might be the cheapest way to do it.

 

[paullgj]

Gonna build it

Well, thanks for the comments. I actually went to both the Jeep and GMC dealers to see what kind of deal I could get on the Wrangler and GMC respectively. Turns out, not too good, 'cause neither one wanted to take the 6 spd manual KJ in on a trade. I did drive the Wrangler automatic. While I really liked the seating position and the ride, it was sluggish compared to my standard shift Liberty. The GMC with the big V-8 was like a rocket, however.

So I'm slowly going to start to build. First will be the OME struts and rear springs/shocks, then tires. I'll be posting a lot asking for advice each step along the way.

Thanks.