Jeep Mom

by Sue
(Pocono Mountains, PA, USA)

My first love was a yellow and black 1980 CJ 7.

My then boyfriend, later to become my (ex)husband, bought it from his friend. I think I may have disliked the Jeep at first because the 4” spring-over lift made it difficult to climb in and out, the heat didn’t work, and it was noisy and smelly from the side pipe exhaust. But that old girl had a personality of her own. We could travel on quad paths, went on many camping trips, rides with the top and windshield folded down. We called her Emily. Unfortunately Emily had too many gremlins, so we asked a priest to exorcise her and she was reborn as Sophie. It kind of helped.

After that we kind of became a foster home for Jeeps. There were CJ 5’s, Cherokees, YJs and even a CJ 3A that we restored to look like a WWII US Army Airforce Jeep. We started a local Jeep club in which I was the secretary, the webmaster, and the editor of our monthly newsletter. I’ve done a lot of research on Jeep history and I’ve been involved in many rebuilds and repairs. I love everything about them.

My first Jeep, titled to and paid for by me, was a ’92 Wrangler with the Sahara package. A very good Jeep, great on and off road, but I always wanted my very own CJ.

Eventually I adopted a ’79 CJ 7. She was a black Renegade when I got her, automatic with the quadratrac transmission, and a BENCH seat in the front! How rare is that? Unfortunately the seat was in really bad shape and couldn’t be saved. In fact the whole interior had to be replaced. She got a mechanical overhaul, lift, big AT tires, and a fresh pantone orange paint job. I christened her Punkin. She was my daily driver for years, until I became a mommy and needed something bigger to haul baby gear and strap a car seat in. So now Punkin cools her heels in the garage while my ’00 Cherokee does all the running.

My son already inherited the Jeep bug, at a year and a half he points out all the Jeeps he sees...can’t wait til he’s big enough to ride in the CJ!


Larry's Comment: Sue...thanks for sharing your Jeep stories. You are a bonafide Jeep Lover!