As iPhones become exponentially more popular, these terms pop up with more and more frequency. Jailbreaking. Unlocking. It sounds so illicit! To the layman, these terms mean nothing and cause a lot of confusion if you don't really understand tech lingo. I'll admit, I don't understand all the tech lingo either; which makes me just the guy to put it in terms we can all understand.
Jailbreaking.
First things first: there's nothing illegal about it. Whew! You can breathe easily now. With that out of the way, what is it and why would you want to do it? Well, in the spirit of not bogging you down with tech jargon you wouldn't understand anyway, I'll explain it in terms you can understand: houses.
You live in a city. Carriers are like neighborhoods. You have At&T Heights over here. Verizon Park over there. Virgin Island off the coast a bit (see what I did there?). Sprint. T-Mobile. They're all places for you to live in Cellphonesville.
You decide on the neighborhood in which you want to live and then you have to decide on a house. Like anything else, you want a house that fits you and your needs and you can afford. A bigger house is going to be more costly to upkeep and the same can be said for cellphones as smartphones have costly data plans that they pretty much can't function without. So you review all the houses you can buy in the neighborhood you've picked out. They all look nice, don't they?
And here comes the affable cool-geek Apple guy.
He tells you that the house they provide you with will be beautiful, flawlessly designed, state-of-the-art with all the amenities and more. On top of that, you can go to them to get all of the things you want to put in your house. Apple will assure you that everything they sell for the house they made for you will fit in pleasantly with your Feng Shui. And won't that be lovely? The bedroom set will go well with the shape of the windows and the TV will be perfect in the den and the surround sound will be flawlessly set. The Nokia phones don't make those kinds of promises. You go with Apple.
It is all you ever dreamed it could be and more, your Apple home. You and your sweetheart walk around your neighborhood, looking at the other Apple homes: they're bigger and more beautiful than the rest. You laugh as you walk down Crackberry lane at their clunky houses that don't fit the neighborhood's rustic aesthetic. Not like your Apple home.
Every now and then, though, you come across an home that you're certain is an Apple house but… but it doesn't look like yours or the others on your block. You hear music blasting and realize they're having a fucking party. This homeowner has a three-car garage instead of a two like you and everyone else on your block! WTF?! AND they have a fucking pool! A pool?! You didn't even know you could put a pool in your home; Apple didn't mention that! You go inside and realize that they also have a handy skylight installed as well as a deck that connects to the balconies. None of which you have in your home. They've even knocked down a wall upstairs to the master bedroom is bigger and the master bath is nicer than yours. To top it off, these assholes even furnished their basement and turned it into a home theatre! You didn't know you could do all that in your Apple home!
Never once did you hate your Apple home, but surely you're wondering why nobody told you you could have all that in yours. Why didn't the Apple rep tell you that? You walk along paying more attention and you notice lots of things about some of these Apple homes -most of which are just like yours: beautiful and the envy of everyone- which just make them… cooler. They're painted different colors or the roof has a different sort of shingle on them. All sorts of things. Every now and then you come across a lot that has a collapsed or falling apart or burned down Apple home. Not many, but over now and then.
As you come to the edge of your neighborhood, you see some Apple homes over in Verizon Park but you also see one or two on the Virgin Island. Not only do they have a pool but they have more land and they have a POOL HOUSE! And a guest house! And waterslides and ever everyone is having a party there too! Four-car garage and it connects to the house in a better way! Why didn't you think of that configuration?? And there's another Apple Mansion off by itself. It's got freaking solar panels and is off the grid!! WTF?!
Well, let's come back to reality, assuming you're still with me. Your iPhone is that house. It's wonderful and does all you want and more. But every now and then you come across a Jailbroken iPhone. Jailbreaking allows you to customize like that house with the pool and 3-car garage and bigger master suite and home theatre in the basement. Your phone can do a ton of different things. Only the people who Jailbreak, they're not going through Apple. All of those additions to your Apple home/phone aren't approved and just like home-improvement, you could fuck something up -possibly permanently in a small percentage of cases- if you're not careful. That's like those lovely Apple homes that are falling apart.
Jailbreaking opens access to the phone's root coding and allows for it's capabilities to be expanded. The downside to that is that there's no Apple filter to insure that everything plays nice together. For the most part, a jailbroken iPhone will work as flawlessly as a regular one, but add too much and you may find some of those unofficial apps don't play nice together.
So what about unlocking?
Unlocking is like those Apple homes in other neighborhoods. Unlocking is like… instead of selling your home and moving to another neighborhood, you actually take your home with you and put it down somewhere else. Other neighborhoods might have more land for you but they don't sell Apple homes. Other phones/homes are operating off the grid, as it were. You get some of those too after you've unlocked it. There is a risk with that, depending on the generation of iPhone that you have and how you jailbreak and unlock it. An unlocked iPhone need not be jailbroken but it seems it often is. Additionally, unlocking is not required to jailbreak. Some people like AT&T just fine but they want their phone to do more. It should be noted that unlocking is a violation of your Terms of Service with AT&T.
In short: jailbreaking allows you to customize your iPhone in ways that Apple does not allow. For good and for ill; there are plenty of sites that review the unauthorized applications. Unlocking allows you to use your phone on a carrier of your choice.
Just FYI. And, by the way, that affable Apple-geek? His phone's probably jailbroken…
Friday, August 26, 2011
What to write about in the other half of my time.
Since I used to be 1 man with 2 Jeeps, that was double to write about. Now that I'm down to 1, it poses quite the conundrum: what should I write about for the rest of the time?
Everything else in the world.
Tech. Women. Fashion. Food. Places. All the things that interest a renaissance man. Beginning with tech.
Everything else in the world.
Tech. Women. Fashion. Food. Places. All the things that interest a renaissance man. Beginning with tech.
1 Man... 1 Jeep...
Well, it appears that it is now done: my XJ/Cherokee has been sold. I am going to miss that Jeep. Legions upon legions of XJ owners will attest to the fact that they're are awesome fucking vehicles. Yes, Wranglers have come to be the visual association when people hear the word "Jeep" and I don't discount that. They are truly awesome in their own right. But when you say "Go anywhere. Do anything." that was the XJ. Nowhere it couldn't go and there was nothing it couldn't do. Better power, more comfortable ride, better gas mileage, more room in the interior… and it could follow a CJ/YJ/TJ/JK anywhere.
Eventually, I'll get around to posting step-by-step pictures of some of the upgrades and repairs I did to it. I kept it completely stock. I've decided that I'll probably get another one somewhere down the line sooner or later and this time I'll get a 4x4 and upgrade it in a manner that could take more aggressive trails.
But for now, I'm just a man with one Jeep. And while you can never have too many Jeeps, one is enough for the time being for a myriad of reasons. That doesn't, however, mean that I'm not keeping my eyes open in case a great deal comes along on a Willys Truck or a 5-quarter or a Scrambler.
I'll keep you posted…
Eventually, I'll get around to posting step-by-step pictures of some of the upgrades and repairs I did to it. I kept it completely stock. I've decided that I'll probably get another one somewhere down the line sooner or later and this time I'll get a 4x4 and upgrade it in a manner that could take more aggressive trails.
But for now, I'm just a man with one Jeep. And while you can never have too many Jeeps, one is enough for the time being for a myriad of reasons. That doesn't, however, mean that I'm not keeping my eyes open in case a great deal comes along on a Willys Truck or a 5-quarter or a Scrambler.
I'll keep you posted…
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Tail light repair…
A month after I bought my XJ back in 2006, I was rear-ended by some dude who just wasn't paying attention. Thanks, pal. It broke off the colored plastic of my passenger tail light and damaged the end cap as well. The light still functioned so I just put in new bulbs and continued to drive it. I had more pressing issues at the time.
It evolved into an identifying characteristic of the Jeep but it's not like some scar that you can't get rid of; it can be fixed, I just hadn't bothered to do it. When my radiator hose sprung a leak, I had to drive my TJ for a couple of months while my XJ just sat. Once I replaced the hose and began to drive it again, I realized how much I love to drive it. To top it off, people have made comments about how much nicer the TJ is than the XJ. Since that doesn't have to be the case, I'm determined to get it looking good again.
I've been inspired by the hardcore XJlovers out there - and there are a ton of us out there. These guys have their rigs looking as good as my TJ so it can be done. I don't want to sacrifice ride quality or gas mileage for looks, but there are some things I could do. But first things first… gotta get The Chief functional. The culprit:
I took the endcap off because I was sick of it grinding into my tires. Also, the XJ is capable of looking ruggedly stylish with some very, very minor adjustments. Removing the endcaps is one of them. I've taken both of them off so it has a little balance. Here are some better views:
I'd been going to Pull-a-Part in vain to find a passenger-side tail light. Once pick-n-pull I went to a quarter mile south of one of our Pull-a-Parts had a '99 XJ that had only been on the lot a couple of weeks but, alas, they'd picked it (mostly) clean. I spent about 30 minutes scavenging and thought I'd found one but it was actually a driver's side tail light that someone had removed and discarded. Fuckers.
After calling around to some junkyards I found this:
Finally. I went ahead and coughed up the $35 they were asking. I could have gotten it for $20 at Pull-a-Part but after 3 different trips with nothing to show for it, I'm sure I've spent a good $20 or $30 on gas alone. Fuck it, they can have the extra $15. Here are my tools:
I actually didn't use the wrench. The flathead was used for prying. The Philips was used unconventionally as well. 3 10mm bolts on the outside, one small (7mm, maybe?) bolt on the inside, plus about 15 minutes and it was done.
Shitty pictures I know. One of my neighbor's car is on the right and you can see the front end of my TJ (the sexy bitch) on the left. For my next trick, I'll be replacing the liftgate supports. Should arrive in the middle of next week. Not really a repair but it needs to be done.
In terms of short term repairs/replacements, I hope to have new front and rear bumpers in the next couple of months. I'll likely just get black and stick with that color. I've also decided to remove my front endcaps as well, as I've seen some people who've done so on '97 & newer XJs and capped them with pre-'96 endcaps. I like it. I also saw a guy put pre-'96 fender-flares on his '00 XJ. They actually fit and they look good. I like that they're flatter. Plus, I'm fairly certain that I can find a good set at PnP/PaP, as they seem to have a ton of earlier XJs out there.
Until next time…
It evolved into an identifying characteristic of the Jeep but it's not like some scar that you can't get rid of; it can be fixed, I just hadn't bothered to do it. When my radiator hose sprung a leak, I had to drive my TJ for a couple of months while my XJ just sat. Once I replaced the hose and began to drive it again, I realized how much I love to drive it. To top it off, people have made comments about how much nicer the TJ is than the XJ. Since that doesn't have to be the case, I'm determined to get it looking good again.
I've been inspired by the hardcore XJlovers out there - and there are a ton of us out there. These guys have their rigs looking as good as my TJ so it can be done. I don't want to sacrifice ride quality or gas mileage for looks, but there are some things I could do. But first things first… gotta get The Chief functional. The culprit:
I took the endcap off because I was sick of it grinding into my tires. Also, the XJ is capable of looking ruggedly stylish with some very, very minor adjustments. Removing the endcaps is one of them. I've taken both of them off so it has a little balance. Here are some better views:
I'd been going to Pull-a-Part in vain to find a passenger-side tail light. Once pick-n-pull I went to a quarter mile south of one of our Pull-a-Parts had a '99 XJ that had only been on the lot a couple of weeks but, alas, they'd picked it (mostly) clean. I spent about 30 minutes scavenging and thought I'd found one but it was actually a driver's side tail light that someone had removed and discarded. Fuckers.
After calling around to some junkyards I found this:
Finally. I went ahead and coughed up the $35 they were asking. I could have gotten it for $20 at Pull-a-Part but after 3 different trips with nothing to show for it, I'm sure I've spent a good $20 or $30 on gas alone. Fuck it, they can have the extra $15. Here are my tools:
I actually didn't use the wrench. The flathead was used for prying. The Philips was used unconventionally as well. 3 10mm bolts on the outside, one small (7mm, maybe?) bolt on the inside, plus about 15 minutes and it was done.
Shitty pictures I know. One of my neighbor's car is on the right and you can see the front end of my TJ (the sexy bitch) on the left. For my next trick, I'll be replacing the liftgate supports. Should arrive in the middle of next week. Not really a repair but it needs to be done.
In terms of short term repairs/replacements, I hope to have new front and rear bumpers in the next couple of months. I'll likely just get black and stick with that color. I've also decided to remove my front endcaps as well, as I've seen some people who've done so on '97 & newer XJs and capped them with pre-'96 endcaps. I like it. I also saw a guy put pre-'96 fender-flares on his '00 XJ. They actually fit and they look good. I like that they're flatter. Plus, I'm fairly certain that I can find a good set at PnP/PaP, as they seem to have a ton of earlier XJs out there.
Until next time…
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Spring 2011 Jeep outlook.
Been an extremely long time since my last post. Some days I'm thriving, others I'm fighting to survive.
I'm still One Man with Two Jeeps. Since my TJ was purchased as a heavily modified, finished product, my focus has been planning upgrades for my XJ. I recently sprung a leak in a radiator hose, which the place where I take them for oil changes offered to do it for $75. $16 and 20 minutes later I had a new hose on there myself. It would have taken less than 5 minutes but it took some time for me to find a pair of channel lock pliers to get one of the clamps off.
That singular experience has rekindled a renewed interest in working on it. Personally, I love my XJ as much as my TJ for totally different reasons. Does it have the top-off, fun-in-the-sun capability? No. But on the other hand, it's a smooth, comfortable ride, far better on gas and that inline 6 has the giddy-up that we all know and love. And it's paid for. Unfortunately, I was rear-ended about 2 or 3 months after I bought the damn thing. This fucked the back passenger rocker-guard/end-cap, bent the rear bumper at that corner and cracked open the tail-light assembly. The tail-light is still functional, but it looked a little rough from that angle.
Recently, I just got sick of looking at that corner is such a state and I also had a sneaking suspicion that the slightly hanging end-cap was grinding into my tire. Initially, I figured to remove the cap and see if I could bend it back, but that's nonsense. I mean, taking it off was simple but bending it back? Fuck that noise.
So, I removed it and learned a bit about exterior parts removal in the process. Several YouTube videos and write-ups about how other Jeepers are modifying their rigs so I had plenty of ideas. Once the cap was off, that corner looked a lot cleaner, even with the cracked tail-light assembly. So, I decided to remove the other one as well (which was ever-so-slightly dented from a different minor fender-bender). Took a couple of minutes and pops right off with a wrench, torque-wrench and a Philips screwdriver. Now the corners match a little more.
I went to one of our pick-n-pulls (the closest to me) because they had a 98 XJ: my year though a different model. Unfortunately, they've no pictures (no way could they run such an operation and update photos) and it wasn't until I drove out there and hiked to row 83 that I learned that that someone else had liberated the tail-lights prior to me showing up. Great. There are a few others in metro Atlanta and I need to go past one tomorrow so I'll stop in to see if I'll have better luck. I don't want to order one new when I can get one for $15 or $18. I might call junkyards.
So, after taking a general evaluation, here are some of the things that it definitely needs and a few things it doesn't need but I'd like to add:
•New rear bumper.
•New front bumper:
•Tire carrier.
•Lift.
•Roof rack.
Bumpers: unfortunately, the hatch isn't closing flush due to the manner in which the present bumper is bent. It's close but I can tell the metal from the bumper is stopping it and not the contact with the rubber seals. Spinning out on the interstate across 4 lanes of traffic on a wet night and hitting the wall caused a bit of damage that needs addressing. The front is cosmetic and can wait. The rear has a functional component and is most pressing.
Tire carrier: I have always felt like Jeep tires belong on the outside of the vehicle. Plus, I want a full spare. Since I'm getting rid of the old bumper, this will give me the opportunity to install a new one that accommodates a full-spare on the back of the vehicle. It just looks fucking cool.
Lift: I've wanted to add an inch or two for a while. I have a suspicion that my leafs are sagging but it could be my coils for all I know. At any rate, I only want about an inch and a half. 2" would be pushing it. I'd like to install a stock system that is just in good shape, but we'll see. I'm not overly interested in adding bigger tires, but that would give me the option.
Roof rack: It would be nice. Extra space would be helpful as weekend trips could require a lot of clothes and gear depending on the destination. We'll see. I'll keep you posted.
I'm still One Man with Two Jeeps. Since my TJ was purchased as a heavily modified, finished product, my focus has been planning upgrades for my XJ. I recently sprung a leak in a radiator hose, which the place where I take them for oil changes offered to do it for $75. $16 and 20 minutes later I had a new hose on there myself. It would have taken less than 5 minutes but it took some time for me to find a pair of channel lock pliers to get one of the clamps off.
That singular experience has rekindled a renewed interest in working on it. Personally, I love my XJ as much as my TJ for totally different reasons. Does it have the top-off, fun-in-the-sun capability? No. But on the other hand, it's a smooth, comfortable ride, far better on gas and that inline 6 has the giddy-up that we all know and love. And it's paid for. Unfortunately, I was rear-ended about 2 or 3 months after I bought the damn thing. This fucked the back passenger rocker-guard/end-cap, bent the rear bumper at that corner and cracked open the tail-light assembly. The tail-light is still functional, but it looked a little rough from that angle.
Recently, I just got sick of looking at that corner is such a state and I also had a sneaking suspicion that the slightly hanging end-cap was grinding into my tire. Initially, I figured to remove the cap and see if I could bend it back, but that's nonsense. I mean, taking it off was simple but bending it back? Fuck that noise.
So, I removed it and learned a bit about exterior parts removal in the process. Several YouTube videos and write-ups about how other Jeepers are modifying their rigs so I had plenty of ideas. Once the cap was off, that corner looked a lot cleaner, even with the cracked tail-light assembly. So, I decided to remove the other one as well (which was ever-so-slightly dented from a different minor fender-bender). Took a couple of minutes and pops right off with a wrench, torque-wrench and a Philips screwdriver. Now the corners match a little more.
I went to one of our pick-n-pulls (the closest to me) because they had a 98 XJ: my year though a different model. Unfortunately, they've no pictures (no way could they run such an operation and update photos) and it wasn't until I drove out there and hiked to row 83 that I learned that that someone else had liberated the tail-lights prior to me showing up. Great. There are a few others in metro Atlanta and I need to go past one tomorrow so I'll stop in to see if I'll have better luck. I don't want to order one new when I can get one for $15 or $18. I might call junkyards.
So, after taking a general evaluation, here are some of the things that it definitely needs and a few things it doesn't need but I'd like to add:
•New rear bumper.
•New front bumper:
•Tire carrier.
•Lift.
•Roof rack.
Bumpers: unfortunately, the hatch isn't closing flush due to the manner in which the present bumper is bent. It's close but I can tell the metal from the bumper is stopping it and not the contact with the rubber seals. Spinning out on the interstate across 4 lanes of traffic on a wet night and hitting the wall caused a bit of damage that needs addressing. The front is cosmetic and can wait. The rear has a functional component and is most pressing.
Tire carrier: I have always felt like Jeep tires belong on the outside of the vehicle. Plus, I want a full spare. Since I'm getting rid of the old bumper, this will give me the opportunity to install a new one that accommodates a full-spare on the back of the vehicle. It just looks fucking cool.
Lift: I've wanted to add an inch or two for a while. I have a suspicion that my leafs are sagging but it could be my coils for all I know. At any rate, I only want about an inch and a half. 2" would be pushing it. I'd like to install a stock system that is just in good shape, but we'll see. I'm not overly interested in adding bigger tires, but that would give me the option.
Roof rack: It would be nice. Extra space would be helpful as weekend trips could require a lot of clothes and gear depending on the destination. We'll see. I'll keep you posted.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Kemo Sabe rides again.
The Chief was supposed to ride again yesterday, but it didn't work out. To get my XJ out of impound, I had to get a vehicle release from the police dept. You'd think it wouldn't be such a problem but that place is indeed a massive clusterfuck.
Granted, I should've shown up at 9am like I intended, but I had to take a call from an old friend and instead of shooting the shit for 10 minutes, it turned into an hour and a half. Yeah, I'm a talker. So I showed up at about 10:45 instead but I was told that I needed this year's vehicle registration. Since my Jeep was stolen twice with my registration in it both times, I'd lost the regular one as well as the copy to thieves. So I went Downtown to get a copy from the tag office and then back out to the new annex in the 'burbs. Why they refuse to locate all of this Downtown in one area is beyond me; this annex in the suburbs is new, prior to their move, it was a few miles east of Midtown. That's a long way from the tag office Downtown.
So I went back out to the new annex, waited in line for 30 minutes and the moment I walked up to the window they very kind lady said "Oh, shit... my computer just died." Turns out that the entire police dept's servers went down and they could pull any records. Fuck me. An entire morning wasted; I would rather have been doing something productive like playing MassEffect2.
This morning I was on top of it, though. I got there at 8:45am, got my release from Property/Vehicles and picked up a police report from Central Records so that the county tag office doesn't suspend my registration.
Question: My vehicle is registered with the county offices and the info is in the computer database. When I removed my XJ from my insurance after it was stolen, my insurance info was updated in the computer for my TJ and the county recognized rightly that my XJ was no longer insured. My question is... since the theft is registered in the database as well, why do I need to get a copy of the police report and take it to the tag office? Why wasn't my info updated with the theft? Why must I take a document that seems like it could easily be forged to the tag office so that they can waste trees, push pencils and have more paperwork? If we're going electronic, vehicles should all have files updated with everything relating to it. Tickets. Registration. Theft. Everything. I shouldn't have to bother with this. Yet, tomorrow morning, I'm going to have to go to the county tag office to show them proof. Geez.
After getting my release, I went and got my Cherokee. In what can only be considered divinely good fortune, aside from the flat tire (that no doubt caused them to dump the vehicle and, essentially, was the whole reason I got it back) it was in exactly the same condition as when it was stolen. They didn't even take anything out of it. It was a little messy, but I'm pretty meticulous about cleaning and was able to get it clean pretty quickly. It needs a good vacuum but that's all. I took the rim to get another tire put on it and it was good to go.
It feels good to drive it again. I'd forgotten how much I loved that Jeep. The acceleration... the quiet interior (damn, that soft-top makes you feel as if you're one with the road)... and a ton of other creature comforts that remind you that Jeep does offer some city-savvy options. It's no Grand Cherokee, sure, but I'll take my limited edition XJ any day.
I must say, though, after riding in that TJ with its 4 or 5 inch lift... I feel really fucking low to the ground! Man, I still saw over cars but many I felt low. Time to do something about that. So, among other things on the agenda, I want to finally lift my XJ. It's something I've wanted to do since I got it. Only an inch or two. Look into some slightly larger tires. I still need to get the dent in the back fixed along with the taillight. Unfortunately, Pull-A-Part doesn't have my model Cherokee on the lot.
The present list is:
•Lift
•Rack
•Driving lights
•Exterior-mounted spare
•Ignition kill-switch
•Alarm
These are unnecessary additions, mind you (except for the kill-switch and alarm; those are necessities considering the last 6 months). I have a few needs that require more immediate attention so the wish list can wait. I'll try to post all DIY projects. If someone like me can do it, anyone can...
Granted, I should've shown up at 9am like I intended, but I had to take a call from an old friend and instead of shooting the shit for 10 minutes, it turned into an hour and a half. Yeah, I'm a talker. So I showed up at about 10:45 instead but I was told that I needed this year's vehicle registration. Since my Jeep was stolen twice with my registration in it both times, I'd lost the regular one as well as the copy to thieves. So I went Downtown to get a copy from the tag office and then back out to the new annex in the 'burbs. Why they refuse to locate all of this Downtown in one area is beyond me; this annex in the suburbs is new, prior to their move, it was a few miles east of Midtown. That's a long way from the tag office Downtown.
So I went back out to the new annex, waited in line for 30 minutes and the moment I walked up to the window they very kind lady said "Oh, shit... my computer just died." Turns out that the entire police dept's servers went down and they could pull any records. Fuck me. An entire morning wasted; I would rather have been doing something productive like playing MassEffect2.
This morning I was on top of it, though. I got there at 8:45am, got my release from Property/Vehicles and picked up a police report from Central Records so that the county tag office doesn't suspend my registration.
Question: My vehicle is registered with the county offices and the info is in the computer database. When I removed my XJ from my insurance after it was stolen, my insurance info was updated in the computer for my TJ and the county recognized rightly that my XJ was no longer insured. My question is... since the theft is registered in the database as well, why do I need to get a copy of the police report and take it to the tag office? Why wasn't my info updated with the theft? Why must I take a document that seems like it could easily be forged to the tag office so that they can waste trees, push pencils and have more paperwork? If we're going electronic, vehicles should all have files updated with everything relating to it. Tickets. Registration. Theft. Everything. I shouldn't have to bother with this. Yet, tomorrow morning, I'm going to have to go to the county tag office to show them proof. Geez.
After getting my release, I went and got my Cherokee. In what can only be considered divinely good fortune, aside from the flat tire (that no doubt caused them to dump the vehicle and, essentially, was the whole reason I got it back) it was in exactly the same condition as when it was stolen. They didn't even take anything out of it. It was a little messy, but I'm pretty meticulous about cleaning and was able to get it clean pretty quickly. It needs a good vacuum but that's all. I took the rim to get another tire put on it and it was good to go.
It feels good to drive it again. I'd forgotten how much I loved that Jeep. The acceleration... the quiet interior (damn, that soft-top makes you feel as if you're one with the road)... and a ton of other creature comforts that remind you that Jeep does offer some city-savvy options. It's no Grand Cherokee, sure, but I'll take my limited edition XJ any day.
I must say, though, after riding in that TJ with its 4 or 5 inch lift... I feel really fucking low to the ground! Man, I still saw over cars but many I felt low. Time to do something about that. So, among other things on the agenda, I want to finally lift my XJ. It's something I've wanted to do since I got it. Only an inch or two. Look into some slightly larger tires. I still need to get the dent in the back fixed along with the taillight. Unfortunately, Pull-A-Part doesn't have my model Cherokee on the lot.
The present list is:
•Lift
•Rack
•Driving lights
•Exterior-mounted spare
•Ignition kill-switch
•Alarm
These are unnecessary additions, mind you (except for the kill-switch and alarm; those are necessities considering the last 6 months). I have a few needs that require more immediate attention so the wish list can wait. I'll try to post all DIY projects. If someone like me can do it, anyone can...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)