My new $375 Briarwood

Specs -
1991 XJ Briarwood trim. Blue with tan leather interior.
4.0, Auto, 242
Tow package with heavy duty cooling (2 row radiator!!)
No sunroof (I'm ok with that)
No ABS (very happy about that!)
Off road package (skidplates)
Power windows, locks, seats, cruise, tilt, and cup holders!

Straight body - ZERO rust! Paint is crap. Interior is OK - all leather is in nice shape. Needs a headliner. Driver's seat has a broken bracket underneath somewhere. Fuel gauge doesn't work - stays on empty with the warning light on.

215K total miles - approx 60K on rebuilt engine and trans. It runs very good.

Dad's neighbor was going to sell to pick-a-part for $200. Offered them the $200 and they said come get it. It had been sitting in their driveway for about 4 years. They were the original owner. I found the original coupon book for recommended services from Orange Coast Jeep in the glove box.

Total investment so far to get it to my house in Phoenix -
$200 - vehicle cost
$105 - one way airline ticket to LAX
$45 - oil and filter, air filter, couple bottles Lucas injector cleaner
$25 - 4 qts ATF, radiator cap, wiper blades
$0 - freebie - old battery out of the Jeepspeed - 2009 Optima Yellow top
$0 - freebie - 4 decent Wrangler AT-S 30/9.50/15 on late model ZJ wheels - take off from a customer at 4 wheel parts headed for the dumpster

Put in the battery and she fired right up. Took 4 qts of ATF to get it to register on the dipstick. Old oil came out very thick even though it was hot. The owner was a dog breeder and used the XJ to store bags of dog food, so the interior has a bit of a funk - vacuumed it good and it is much better.

Loaded up the stock lace wheels into the back and hit the road. Great power. Suspension is waaaayyyy soft and it really needs shocks. Few clunks and thumps which I suspect will work themselves out as I replace all the rotted bushings and engine and trans mounts.

Ran nice and cool - only time it got close to 210 (didn't quite get to 210) was climbing the grade outside of Indio and I was pushing hard in 95 degree weather. I really expected cooling problems based on the mud that I cleaned out of the reservoir and the brown gunk that is in the radiator. It will get a full flush this weekend.

Not a single problem in the 410 miles that I ran it. Overall mileage was just over 21mpg.

Pics when I get home tonight.

niiiice. good find and good job on the maintenance before you set off. most people dont think of doing that.

Awesome deal. Maybe it is just me, but I can't say I'd have the gusto to drive a car 450 miles that has been sitting for 4 years. Nice find!

Well my history with XJs started with racing them in the early 90's. My first was one that I built from a totally bare body shell and built into a daily driver. I put about 100 miles onto that one then hooked up a trailer and drove it from San Diego to Seattle. You need to have some adventure in your life! My new girlfriend was even brave enough to make the trip with me this weekend.

No tech issue here, moving this to Non-Tech.

Nice deal though, congrats.

Nice catch!

Wow, sounds like a great buy! Wish I could get a rust free XJ for that kind of money around here.

*Jonathan said:

Awesome deal. Maybe it is just me, but I can't say I'd have the gusto to drive a car 450 miles that has been sitting for 4 years. Nice find!

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I drove 550 miles to buy my M54A2, having never worked on one in my life, then fixed it and drove it home... broke down halfway and fixed it again, drove it the rest of the way home. It's been a massive money pit learning experience, I strongly suggest doing something like this at least once in your life, just bring cash and water/food/camping gear/tools/a friend to drive a backup vehicle and clear the calendar for a few days.

Pix ??

Good luck finding anything rust-free in Canada, and $375 is hard to beat.
... now let's see some pics.

wow almost bought a 92 for $1500... I gotta see what a $400 briarwood looks like! Wait, It actually cost you $200!?! sweet!

I didnt think ABS was optional on the brairwood's.

Left my camera in Cali. While I'm waiting, here is one my girl got on our trip home.

Passed smog today! I think I have a failing fuel pump though - it is screaming!

sorry to hear about the fuel pump-- you do know that's terminal, right?

you should cut your losses and just sign the title over to me now, before it infects your other vehicles and starts an epidemic-- I'll be right over to get it out of your hair!

Nice score!

Anyone know any good products for cleaning up oxidized paint? Spent about 30 min on a 6"x6" corner of the hood with some Maguires paint cleaner and it barely touched it.

Problem is, it's the clearcoat, not the base/color coat. They were notorious for failing from around that period of time. I kept my '92 waxed, but it still failed miserably. I had it painted last year, single stage from Maaco. Even though it's a cheap paint job, it never looked better. But now it lives in the garage.....

I'm thinking wet sanding and buffing might be the ticket. Or, sand it out and go with a blue/gray/black camo pattern (leaving the wood on of course).

I think you got the best briarwood paint choice ever... if only it was in better shape.

The only combo I like more than the royal blue + woodgrain would possibly be the late-model deep metallic red (chili pepper red? not sure) with woodgrain. I don't think such a combo was ever available.

I think you need a waggy 4 light front end to go with that!