Back in 1938, the original brief for a 'light reconnaissance vehicle' resulted in the development of the Willys Jeep, with 368,000 being built during World War 2. The spiritual successor to the Willys Jeep was the Jeep Wrangler. Its bloodline can be traced directly back through various guises, through the CJ series, right back to its illustrious military forebear.  

Launched in 1997 the TJ model was the second generation of the Wrangler series, and reintroduced the classic round headlight grille.  Instead of the outdated leaf spring suspension system on earlier Jeeps, this updated Wrangler featured a modern coil-spring suspension, front and rear, based on that of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, for better ride and handling.  

The engine was the same 4.0 litre AMC Powertech straight 6 also used in the Jeep Cherokee. 

It appears the Jeeps first owner kept it from first registration in January 2003 until 2016 when it had covered 27,000 miles.  The second owner decided that he wanted to create a more “rugged” look, and then once started decided to go the whole hog! 

This resulted in a bill for £12,936.15 with more than 40 different upgrades and improvements, and a whole new look. What was a very competent off roader from the factory became a fully equipped rock crawler that wouldn’t look out of place climbing the cliffs in the Canyonlands of Utah!  

The first thing to note in the history file is there is a well stamped Service book, containing 10 stamps up to 35,058 miles, so it was serviced just 19 miles ago. There are also plenty of old MoTs on file that corroborate the particularly low mileage of the Jeep along with various bills stretching back to 2006 for usual maintenance. 

There is, more importantly a list stretching to two pages that shows the 42 items that were added during the off road upgrade, together with cost for each part.  The original Owners pack is present, with Operators Manual and all the other books.  There is a current MoT valid until 7th November 2022.

The inside the well-appointed standard Sahara tan interior also received plenty of upgrades and customisation.  The Sahara specification features air conditioning, power steering, electric windows, radio cassette and rear privacy glass as standard. First upgraded item to note is the Sparco Evo XL race bucket seats which may have had full harnesses fitted, but now have standard 3 point seat belts. The dash area is mostly factory stock, with the exception of an additional switch panel ahead of the gear stick.  

This has three buttons to control the ARB compressor, and the air pressure actuated front and rear Dana differential locks.  The tan carpets are clean and unmarked protected by equally clean mats on both sides, a sure sign that there hasn’t been much mud action in the past.  The door panels area equally smart, with no marks or damage.  

It’s in the rear cabin that the biggest changes are evident.  The rear interior has been removed including the rear seats, replaced by an additional spare wheel mount.  There is a mounted Hi Lift jack and socket that would be necessary to lift the Jeep high enough to change a wheel.  The rear is accessed through the swing out lower section, complete with mounted spare, and that releases the lift up tail gate section.  There is plenty of space for hiking and camping equipment or any sports equipment.

There is a sturdy roll hoop and rear cage fitted which is remarkably unobtrusive.  It should be possible to remove the roof and rear cab section as one by undoing a few bolts which would turn the Jeep into an excellent summertime open top cruiser.

As you can see in the photographs this Jeep has serious on-road presence. The black paint is in good condition with no major scuffs or marks. The wheels are graphite metallic American Racing AR136 15 inch wheels that are 10 inches wide, fitted with TSL Bogger Super Swamper tyres.  These are a massive 35 x 14.5 inches and will provide more than enough traction to climb curbs on the school run!  To keep them within the lines of the Jeep there are Teraflare wheelarch extensions that widen the look of the Jeep.  

The extra ground clearance has been achieved with a Teraflex 3” lift kit with flex arms, and a further 1” body lift kit. Up front there is a 9.5ti WARN winch that cost £800 which has 9,500lbs pulling capacity which should be enough to heave the Jeep out of anything!  The bumpers are also WARN upgrade parts. To add to the impressive spec there is a deep water wading kit with an engine breather kit with a Safari full height snorkel system.

Under the bonnet most is stock jeep, with the torquey 190hp straight six engine linked to a manual 5 speed gearbox.  There is the option of 2 or 4 wheel drive, and low and high ratios controlled by a lever on the transmission tunnel.  The ARB compressor is mounted under the bonnet along with the deep water wading breather system.  A quick glance at the underside photographs will clearly show the extensive work that has turned this Jeep into a serious off roader.  

With massive ground clearance (don’t worry there are side steps!) this is truly a go anywhere vehicle. The differentials are Dana Airlocker 30 and 44, both fitted with 4.56:1 crownwheel and pinion, which together with the compressor cost over £2000 alone.  In first gear and low ratio this will allow the Jeep to crawl over anything smaller than a house!

The engine ran sweetly when we visited, and the Jeep manoeuvred easily, thanks to the essential power steering.

This uncompromising off roader needs to be seen to be appreciated.  If it’s cool off roader style you want this Jeep has it in spades.  We didn’t take it off road but we are sure this is a seriously capable machine and would hold its own at any 4 x 4 meet.  In its current specification perhaps it wouldn’t be comfortable on long journeys or the daily commute; some stock wheels or tyres might be required.  

But rest assured that wherever you wanted to go there’s not much that could stop you getting there and as we all know getting there is half the fun!