Frame-Up YJ Build Is Your Winter Time Inspiration For Spring
Some restorations could cost as much as buying a brand new Jeep. But the build is what makes this YJ worth it.
There’s a point in time when the project car ends up being treated better than the daily driver. It definitely doesn’t happen at first. And that’s the case here for Brian Green. According to HeraldTimes, Green is a Jeep enthusiast based out of Indiana. Several years ago, Green and his father in law bought an old YJ to fix up for fun.
We all know how the process of a build like this goes. “I’ll get to that soon,” you might say. It’s easy to put off some work on a car that’s nowhere near ready to drive. But at some point, the urge to complete – and protect – a project starts to take over. The final 50 hours of a build almost always span a shorter time period than the first 50 hours. Next thing you know, the “project” car is now the garage queen and receives all the attention.
The YJ was in rusty shape, and about what you’d expect for a $1,000 vehicle. A nut and bolt disassembly down to the frame commenced soon after purchase, and the build took on a life of its own. On the trailer below, you can barely even recognize it as a Jeep.
Green mentions, “It’s pretty far from what it was originally,” with essentially the hood and windshield being the only remaining original parts. The article sadly doesn’t delve into the mechanics too deeply. But we can see some substantially beefed up front and rear axles. As for power, this YJ being a 1991 would have the updated 4.0 inline 6, and with 190 horsepower would be enough for any build. An estimate top speed of about 70 from Green seems to confirm this.
And now for Green, this once rusty Jeep is now a winter-stored, climate controlled joy. But he doesn’t have to pamper it. Part of the build was to use as few electronics as possible, and seal the necessary ones away. “I could drive it under water. There’s nothing on it to fail,” Green states. He follows up with the more likely use of this YJ; afternoon cruises and sunny weather. These pictures actually show it in a rare form, with the soft top on.
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Photos courtesy of Herald Times
