The next guy that claims "green (or orange) paint doubles the price"

[ovrszd]

Last "appropriate" (best for the job) engine Jeep put in the Wrangler was the old straight 6, NOT a V6. I made sure to snag one of the last ones made, a 2006. Can't stall that engine...come to a really rough spot in the trail, put it in 1st gear (manual transmission, of course!), don't touch the throttle and it will idle up and over any obstacle. No V6 with a manual tranny can do that. So now Jeep has gone back to the straight 6 - but with twin turbos. Double the horsepower and torque of today's 4 cylinder and V6 engines. The new engine is currently available in the new Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer and will be in the Wrangler and pickups soon. All V8 engines (the hemis) will be discontinued. Diesel engine is already discontinued.

Last of the good ones....
View attachment 777137

I have an '05 with the 4.0L. Last of a dying breed.

 

[ovrszd]

None of the guys I would trail ride or rock climb with were running the old straight 6. It's been 25 years since then, but I believe most of them were running GM 60° or Chevy Vortec v6's, but I also remember at least two Buick v6's in the group. These guys were rock climbers, not antiquers.

I also used the term "Wrangler" generically. These were mostly later CJ's.

You are referring to the 4.2L 6cyl. A distant, distant cousin to the H.O. 4.0L 6cyl.

 

[WinterDeere]

You are referring to the 4.2L 6cyl. A distant, distant cousin to the H.O. 4.0L 6cyl.

Yeah, I think so. Was never a small-block guy myself, let alone v6's. Nor was I ever a "Jeep guy", but I ran with them in my Bronco and an old Ram Charger I worked on with a buddy.

I remember something about that GM 60° v6 bolting right up to the bell housing on the old CJ's. I also remember a few of them had a Buick v6 that the rest all seemed to envy.

My little clique all thought it was funny, these dorks drooling over little v6's in tiny CJ's and Wranglers, until we'd get into a tight spot in the woods or a narrow crevice. Then those Jeep guys would zoom right around us, while we're trying to figure out how to get the bigger trucks thru. The "rivalry" was purely fun, we all got along great. There were many times when we each had a chance to return favors to the other, as various obstacles or trails favored one over the other.

Here's what I was running, at the time:

 

[Creamer]

Yeah, I think so. Was never a small-block guy myself, let alone v6's. Nor was I ever a "Jeep guy", but I ran with them in my Bronco and an old Ram Charger I worked on with a buddy.

I remember something about that GM 60° v6 bolting right up to the bell housing on the old CJ's. I also remember a few of them had a Buick v6 that the rest all seemed to envy.

My little clique all thought it was funny, these dorks drooling over little v6's in tiny CJ's and Wranglers, until we'd get into a tight spot in the woods or a narrow crevice. Then those Jeep guys would zoom right around us, while we're trying to figure out how to get the bigger trucks thru. The "rivalry" was purely fun, we all got along great. There were many times when we each had a chance to return favors to the other, as various obstacles or trails favored one over the other.

Here's what I was running, at the time:

View attachment 777202

Which Buick - the 3800?

 

[jyoutz]

Last "appropriate" (best for the job) engine Jeep put in the Wrangler was the old straight 6, NOT a V6. I made sure to snag one of the last ones made, a 2006. Can't stall that engine...come to a really rough spot in the trail, put it in 1st gear (manual transmission, of course!), don't touch the throttle and it will idle up and over any obstacle. No V6 with a manual tranny can do that. So now Jeep has gone back to the straight 6 - but with twin turbos. Double the horsepower and torque of today's 4 cylinder and V6 engines. The new engine is currently available in the new Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer and will be in the Wrangler and pickups soon. All V8 engines (the hemis) will be discontinued. Diesel engine is already discontinued.

Last of the good ones....
View attachment 777137

I have had 3 Jeeps: 1 with the I6, and 2 with the V6. I was originally disappointed that Jeep discontinued the I6, but I drove the I6 for 270K trouble free miles before trading. I traded the first V6 Jeep with 290K miles, and my current V6 Jeep is barely broken in with 130K miles. None of these engines needed significant repairs and all were good off road.

 

[stumblinhorse]

I have had 3 Jeeps: 1 with the I6, and 2 with the V6. I was originally disappointed that Jeep discontinued the I6, but I drove the I6 for 270K trouble free miles before trading. I traded the first V6 Jeep with 290K miles, and my current V6 Jeep is barely broken in with 130K miles. None of these engines needed significant repairs and all were good off road.

Bad oil pressure sensor on my JK 3.6l pentastar. A lot of work to fix.

 

[jyoutz]

Bad oil pressure sensor on my JK 3.6l pentastar. A lot of work to fix.View attachment 777218

It happens. So far so good in my experiences.

 

[ovrszd]

Yeah, I think so. Was never a small-block guy myself, let alone v6's. Nor was I ever a "Jeep guy", but I ran with them in my Bronco and an old Ram Charger I worked on with a buddy.

I remember something about that GM 60° v6 bolting right up to the bell housing on the old CJ's. I also remember a few of them had a Buick v6 that the rest all seemed to envy.

My little clique all thought it was funny, these dorks drooling over little v6's in tiny CJ's and Wranglers, until we'd get into a tight spot in the woods or a narrow crevice. Then those Jeep guys would zoom right around us, while we're trying to figure out how to get the bigger trucks thru. The "rivalry" was purely fun, we all got along great. There were many times when we each had a chance to return favors to the other, as various obstacles or trails favored one over the other.

Here's what I was running, at the time:

The old 4.2L was not a V6, it was inline. Same for the 4.0L later engine.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Just remember that "Jeep" should be pronounced with the Hispanic pronunciation of the "J" sounding like an "H".

I have had 4 in my lifetime.

A '64 CJ5
A '75(or'76?) CJ7
A '90 Wrangler
And a 2000 Wrangler (after Chrysler wrecked them)

They got progressively more "sissyfied" over the years. The 2000 was for the wife. The new Chrysler engine (4.0L 6) was all top end, no bottom end grunt like the old Jeep 4.2L-6. They made the car wider, longer and heavier (by model year 2000), but at the same time, they made the brakes smaller.

That '64 would go anywhere. Should have kept it. Same with the '75, but by then you had to start ordering it with the "options" to do it. 90 was the last straw for me, every single useful offroad "thing" had to be ordered as an option. And the 2000, I told the wife to get a bunch of pink "Barbie" stickers and plaster the sides of it, so no one would ever think it may accidentally be an offroad vehicle.

Don't elk and deer hunt in the rough stuff anymore (in AZ), so no longer really need one. I'd still like to have my old '64 back. Or always liked the 3B's, just slightly modified from stock.

Anyway....

 

[Hay Dude]

Making them wider was to cope with NIHSTA issues, insurance and lawsuits from rollover lawyers.
I had a ‘76 CJ-5 that was noticeably tippy. One of my high school classmates was an emerging downhill skier. She rolled her newer than mine CJ-7 and lost her left leg.

My ‘78 CJ-7 Golden eagle had a 304 V-8 which I shamefully added a 4 barrel carb and some other performance items. It would burn rubber for 200’ or more with it’s 3 speed on the floor. It rusted badly due to previous owner never rinsing off the bottom. I plowed snow with it until its final days when the floor was replaced from an old street sign I cut to fit the 2’ gaping holes in the floor pan. Would love to have that thing back.