Hi everybody! I haven't been posting much lately as I've been super busy with my musical career, including a trip to NY to do music direction for an off-Broadway show. That was a lot of fun but now I'm back to my more normal routine. A couple months ago my oldest step-daughter got her drivers' license. I turned her loose in my 1998 Jimmy which I had rescued from blown lower intake gaskets. I put about 20,000 miles on it in the past three years. I put a lot of time and work into it. I fixed just about everything on it from the transfer case seals to the gas filler neck to the heater controls. It was a classic example of just about every common problem with these trucks and I fixed them all.

Last month she was driving it and came around a corner too fast and lost control. She went into a skid and hit a tree. She was just fine but the Jimmy is toast. I'm really glad that she was in a good, sturdy truck for her first accident. Attached are a few pics of the damage:




I'm going to miss that truck.

 

Sad to see the Jimmy beat up, but they are tanks; glad to hear she's ok, even if a little shaken up I assume

 

Thank god shes ok. but that jimmy should be fixable. ive done much worse on mine and came out ok. Doesnt look like it hurt the frame. Maybe a rad cradle,fender,hood etc....be ok.

 

Looks fixable to me! Glad she is okay though!

The hood looks to be just the fender, bumper and mirror.

 

Do you want to sell parts?

 

glad that your daughter came out ok. dont scrap her that just looks like a bump you should be able to fix her up with a little help from your local junk yard

 

I could fix up the Jimmy but I have too many other projects to worry about it right now. There are a lot of little problems with it that make it not very desirable to fix up. A hood, fender, inner fender, bumper, and core support could get it back on the road but there are some other issues I don't feel like working on. The axle engagement collar for the front axle needs to be replaced because the front axle isn't locking in properly. The vacuum tank is full of ATF and needs to be cleaned out well or replaced. There's a problem with the brake transmission interlock solenoid that I just bypassed temporarily. It's got about 230,000 miles on it and I don't feel like doing any more work to it so I'm just going to get rid of it. If anyone wants any parts feel free to hit me up. I'll probably hang onto it for another week or so. If anyone in the area wants to buy it I'll sell it for the scrap value, which is around $300.

 

OK, I've changed my mind. I shopped it around and found out just how little scrap cars are going for in my area and decided to slap a couple parts on it from the junkyard. A buddy of mine needs a cheap ride and this one will suffice for his purposes. When I do get it put together I'll take some pics and show you all how the reconstructed Jimmy comes together.

 

Here are the results of my junkyard rebuild of my 1998 Jimmy:



I grabbed a fender, right headlight, and bumper from a '99 Bravada. My buddy Alex and I got the parts at the wrecking yard and then my cousin's fiancé Dan and I put it all together. I'm going to give the truck to my friend Dave whose '93 Jimmy is dying the death of a thousand leaks (coolant, oil, tranny fluid).

My truck will live to see another day and serve a deserving, loving new owner.