Quote Originally Posted by gbaumann View Post
I much prefer discussion of mods and seeing how we are all getting the parts on and then reviewing them. That said, I take this personally Timmy. When I was a teenager I laid under a Chevy Blazer with my brother and got it up high enough to stuff 44" monster mudders under it. Those were the days when you were cool if you had a Rancho suspension. Multiple shock towers were all the rage. I hand wired the Aris (Aeres?) light bar and installed a row of KC Daylighters. Yes, I'm 47 years old! As I've previously posted we had several GM muscle cars over the years and I have hundreds of hours of engine building and auto restoration under my belt. We even pulled a '51 willys out of a barn in connecticut and restored it to military specs - right down to getting a NOS flat four from Sarafan Auto in New York (Kaiser Bill may have heard of them, they sold military surplus). It was a body off restoration. I'll post a pic if I can find one (and scan or take a pic of it!). I'm the last guy who deserves to be referred to as a "loser" because I can afford to walk into a Jeep dealership and buy and AEV truck from the floor. I know - I didn't do that. I bought the truck and have been making changes over time. And no - I won't put a snorkel on it because I won't take it in 4 ft. of water. I know I fit into the "other" category in your post. But let's go a little easy on the folks that buy them pre-built and pay the premium. They may be quite knowledgeable and capable but able to or need to prioritize their time differently. I think a dealer AEV could be a great cross country overland vehicle because it's serviceable at so many dealerships. Now, if you want to go after the guys who buy Porsches or Ferraris to compensate for something I'll join right in with you!

You're same age as my older brothers. I helped one do all the work on his CJ7 back in the mid eighties I was about 8-9 at the time. Then when I was 16 I bought a Willy's Cj2 I found for sale for 200 bucks. I drove that for like a summer and winter before it fell apart-- not illegal for road use but what the cops don't see won't hurt them. For awhile.