I have this disease...

...where I buy vehicles on a whim. I'm sure a few (most) of you suffer from the same disease.

So, surfing CL at work (midnight to noon bleh), I find this Cherokee. I've been eyeballing Jeeps for awhile. It's a 1991, 5 speed, 2 door Sport, 4L. The only rub is it's 2WD. I run over to the dealership after work and look and drive it. It drives nice. The clutch and gearbox is smooth and it runs great. The guy said the A/C worked but it wasn't cold on my drive. The body is in great condition and has just been resprayed. I looked pretty thoroughly for rust and only found a tiny bit on the lift gate. I offered $1200 but the lowest he would go was $1300. Deal...

Yeah, I know its a neutered Jeep but I plan to swap in all the 4wd components since 2 door, 5 speed, 4wd Cherokees are hard to find. Maybe a small lift and bigger tires. I just wanted something to poke around in the dirt in...

Here are some dealership pics:

Nice - I love it when you can find something rare enough to be interesting, but specific enough that youre likely the only one in a 10 mile radius who appreciates it.

I have opposing thoughts. Lower it a smidge and Rallycross it.

In reply to 4cylndrfury:

I was worried it would be gone by the time it took me to drive over there. That always seems to happen to me hahaha...

That would have dissolved back into the earth up here by now.

One other issue I forgot to mention is the gauge cluster doesn't work. Its a Sport, so it has no tach just a GIANT gas gauge and lots of idiot lights. The speedo works but the gas gauge is inop. The guy told me they tried a different cluster to no avail. He said they narrowed it down to the BCU. I'm skeptical... Seems like a bad ground or corrosion on the PCB connector...

I'd be concerned about rust on the lift gate, as they are fiberglass before 1997. I have a 2 door, 5 speed, 4WD 1989 that has been completely eaten up by rust. Down here, they all seemed to be beach vehicles at some point in their lives, so they all rust here.

Good to see that you have one with the HO engine instead of the slightly older Renix engine.

You're probably dead on about the cluster, as all of these old Jeeps seem to have failing wiring harnesses. I mean, we are talking about 21 year old wiring here.

In reply to Derick Freese:

Yeah, I KNOW it has to have rust somewhere. The gate had been repainted and had some small chips under the paint I could see. I didn't open the hatch though...

I've heard horror stories about the Renix engine management system. I really had no idea that 1991 was the start of the HO engine.

A quick Googles revealed that the instrument cluster crapping out is one of the "features" of older XJs. Those were the most common fixes. I hope its a simple fix...

Check for rust at the rain rail above the cab. Lots of them start a bubble at the very top of the 'A' pillar where the rain rail slopes up. Catch it before it gets worse.

That's a pretty nice Jeep still for $1300. Nice buy

My rust was cleverly covered in bedliner then painted body color. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary at first glance, so I didn't look hard. I pretty much failed at buying mine, but I bought low. As a matter of fact, do you want it for parts? I'd happily let it go right now for $500. I'd even deliver it to you.

In reply to Derick Freese:

Hahaha! That bad? I'm sure mine has a whole ton of rust somewhere. There is no way that Jeep is rust free... I'm sure I'll be driving to work one day and something major will fall off...

As tempting as your offer is, I don't have room for 2 of my vehicles as it is. One other project (S10 Blazer) lives in the parking lot at work. I have a single car garage that my Mustang lives in. I have NO idea where I'm going to park the Jeep

The 2WD is only an issue if you really plan to go off road. I've had both 2x and 4x cherokees (one a grand cherokee), and the only time I really needed the 4x was when I lived in Canada and didn't feel like shoveling snow to park. I'd just pop in 4x and push through the snow banks to create a nice private parking spot.

W/ 2x you have fewer things to break and should get better gas mileage.

In reply to fromeast2west:

Yeah, I'd like to take it on some trails but I think as long as I don't get too crazy it should be alright... I bought it to convert it to 4wd since all the parts just bolt in but I'll probably drive it like it is for a bit...

A 2 door, 5 speed, 4wd was what I was really after but I couldn't find one for less than $5k and 1500 miles away...

get a good selectable locker (or a Detroit if you're man enough) and some tires and you will go places lesser 4X4's won't be able to go.

Its a Sport, so it has no tach just a GIANT gas gauge and lots of idiot lights.

Let's all take a moment to salute those many geniuses who work in auto company marketing departments.

"Sport" meant "base" back in those days. Mine is a Sport, but it has a tach.

Stealthtercel wrote:

Its a Sport, so it has no tach just a GIANT gas gauge and lots of idiot lights.

Let's all take a moment to salute those many geniuses who work in auto company marketing departments.

Biggest fuel gauge ever!

In reply to Derick Freese:

I think it was to make the cheapskates feel good hahaha...

I'm glad its a stripped down Jeep. Hand crank windows! Woohoo!

Manual windows are the way to go. It seems like window regulators are an issue with these. My manual windows only go half way down. It's nice that there are a ton of these in junk yards. The woman that runs my local U-Pull calls that tiny yard Wal-Mart for Cherokees, and she's not far off, as they always have about a dozen in a yard with only about 200 cars.

Ironically, I found the driver's side window only goes half way down on mine. But like you said, these are everywhere in junk yards. I love simple, tough vehicles that litter junk yards. Cheap parts galore!

I wasn't able to drive it home since I couldn't find anybody to come with me. My buddy gets back tomorrow and I'm itching to get it back home and go over it with a fine-toothed comb.

I've spent the past few hours looking at goodies. Lifts, engine stuff, bumpers, etc. I can't leave anything alone LOL

DrBoost wrote: get a good selectable locker (or a Detroit if you're man enough) and some tires and you will go places lesser 4X4's won't be able to go.

X2. I have seen trucks with a posi and decent tires go far....

I was looking at lunchbox lockers... They are pretty cheap but effective. I'm pretty sure the truck has a Dana 35 rear end. Not the strongest by any means but lots of aftermarket support. Tons of used parts on CL as well...

wow that is clean, I would consider it a score despite not having 4wd.

Crank position sensor, get one and put it in your glove box. (11 mm Socket and 12 inch extension needed to replace it) otherwise just enjoy it :)

Edit, looks like you still have a distributor, so scratch the crank position sensor, you won't need one

The condition is what caught my eye alone with the 2 door, 5 speed combo. The sales guy said they resprayed it because the clear coat had burned off but I'm sure its hiding some cancer. I kinda wish the paint was crappy because I wanted to do a flat OD green with flat black rattle bomb paint scheme.

Oh yeah, it was marked at $1995 but they dropped it $500 because the gauge cluster crapped out. It also has 225k on the clock.