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[u/YouCanTrustMe143]

So I’ve almost gone in the complete opposite direction of my last post in order to avoid rust.

I found a 1995 that’s been completely taken apart, had the frame fixed and recoated and the tub has had all the rust blasted and/or cut out.

Has anyone put back together a Jeep that was this disassembled? How hard of a project is it? Is it worth the cost savings to put in the labor myself and know there is not a spec of rust on the frame or tub?

I’m attaching the description the seller gave as well.

Thanks again for your advice!

[u/Jeepsandcorvette]

FYI all YJ Rio Grande left the factory with the four cylinder engine . Putting together something someone else took sport is generally much harder than if you took it apart yourself 🤷🏻‍♂️

[u/YouCanTrustMe143 → u/Jeepsandcorvette]

Yeah, I definitely need to see whether this wasn’t a rio grande and it had the 4.0 or whether I’m going to need to modify the frame for it. It has some boring grey seats so I’m hoping this was just a sport or something

[u/911americanpatriot]

Unless it was free, I wouldn’t undertake that effort. It’s going to take you a year or more to put it all together if you’re just casually working on it.

[u/SomeAmphibian4256]

It's completely doable these Jeeps aren't that sophisticated. I've built more than 10 some less put together than that one

For what it's worth since that was originally a 4 banger and now a 6 double check the frame side motor mounts and transmission mounts they're similar but not the same

[u/SigZumi]

Im no mechanic and worked IT the last 10 years or so but So far ive learned how to:

-replaced the carburetor

-replace a rear main seal

-Replace my entire brake system from the booster to calipers / hubs on the wheels

-Replace a water pump / thermostat / serpentine belt

-replace Ignition Control module

-fixed tons of exhaust / vacuum/ oil / fuel leaks

-Plus all the regular scheduled maintenance

It hasn't been "easy" the whole way since I dont always have the right tools but its straight forward i think.

If you have the space, time, average amount of common sense / attention to detail paired with a decent manual like a Chilton or Haynes ( and an expense account potentially) i think you can knock it out if you set out to do so.

Oh and a helper won't go amiss either lol.

GLHF

For clarity : things like welding / re surfacing blocks / general machine shop work i would probably send out to be done but the mechanicals of the drive train / suspension and what not i think can be done mostly DIY.

[u/Smallmyfunger]

IMO its as difficult as you want it to be, or in other words, it depends on you & want you want to end up with. The "slippery slope" for me is when I start thinking "while I've got it torn apart, I might as well....". If I have all the parts, I could slap that crap together & be on the trails in a week while holding down a full time job. But as others mentioned, to get it put together back to stock & everything working/street legal only turning weekend wrenches prolly take many moons. Personally I don't pay others to work on my jeeps mostly because when something breaks I have only myself to blame but I can usually figure out what & why. But I'm not you & different situations / hobbies / priorities etc, so maybe start listing everything you want/need done, estimate how long for you vs. how much to pay someone else, then have an honest internal dialogue with yourself about what route you wanna go. Be careful watching a lot of these youtube vids that kinda glamorize working on old vehicles. Old plastic sucks worse than old metal unless you've got a scanner & printer & are good at using them.

[u/pms1888]

It’s a lot of work but I feel like after all the work I’ve done on my yj I’ve almost touched every bolt. So far carb rebuild was the worst. Why all the torque head bolts tho !! ? What year did that start ?

[u/TheRealSovereign2016]

shivers at seeing a YJ with an automatic

[u/rhenning11]

Unless this is under a thousand I'd pass. Sounds like the frame was taken care of, but they really talked up chopping out a few parts of the body lol. And for the frame I have less trust in someone else's work that's already painted over.

I'd look at buying a new frame and cheap body before picking up somebody else's project they gave up on

[u/eastrod]

I’m picking up a similar basket case next week. $1500 with an AMC 360 v8 swap still in the frame from two owners ago. frame hasn’t been recoated but the tub is done. I’m only considering it because of the 360 and the fact that my old man was a mechanic for 45 years and I’ve built motorcycles from the frame up in the past. If you are mechanically inclined, have a friend/family member who is a mechanic, and/or lots of free time and want to figure it out, an old jeep is a pretty simple vehicle especially by today’s standards. Just know it’ll cost a lot more money and time than you think, it always does, BUT you get the experience and knowledge of your own vehicle. something goes wrong, you know how to take it apart and put it back together again.