Jeepster Commando

B_Skurka said:

I've gotten into a couple minor fender benders, but never anything bad. Ditto my wife, brother, sister, etc.

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Me too...

I've dented up my first few vehicles (but it took me years to do so).

Like the vehicle pictured, I wish I didn't have any fender benders with my:
1970 Olds Cutless SS
1970 Monte Carlo
1972 Olds Delta 88
1977 Dodge Royal Monaco (although this car could total any of the aforementioned without barely a scratch).

Just glad I passed on the '72 GTO (455, 4 speed...) as that was going to be my first car. I'm sure I'd be dead now.

I just hate to see an inexperienced driver get a classic/one-of-a-kind/cherry older vehicle when I think about their capabilities (as well as the other kids in the parking lot)

bczoom said:

Just glad I passed on the '72 GTO (455, 4 speed...) as that was going to be my first car. I'm sure I'd be dead now.

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Brian........Stop over sometime & I'll give you a ride in mine so you can see what you missed ! GTO 455/4 It's NOT going to be my son's 1st car !

Tom, nice car, [FONT=&quot]the new GTO’s are made downunder now, the last one just rolled of the assembly line, untill 09. http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=116031[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Bob my sentiments are similar to others that post safety concerns for you daughter. A good modern car with all the built-in safety features that are well engineered compared to any botchily fitted so-called safety features in my view are a must for our kids. One day you might rue the fact that you never done as much as possible for her safety. I known you can’t rap kids in cotton wool all the time but good safe cars are a must for inexperienced kids. Just this once see it my way and you will not just make my day, but you will always, no matter what happens, be able to say there was nothing more that I could have done, no wish this wish that syndrome tearing you apart.[/FONT]

Vin, I do agree that a modern car is a much safer vehicle. However I also look at the fact that we have more modern vehicles here that she would have access to. Should she need to run into town to school, the grocery store, or to a sports practice, she would take her little Jeepster. Should she need to drive on the interstate or travel any reasonable distance, she would take one of the new vehicles.

When I was 16~17 I had a Triumph TR-6 and it was smaller, lighter and faster than any Jeepster. I moved up to a Mazda RX7 GSL. Not much bigger, and only marginally safer. I did have access to larger vehicles and for certain things my parents would make me leave the fun car at home to take the larger/safer vehicle. That would be what I would intend to do.

Now I also want to point out something about this Jeepster and my daughter. She is 11 years old now. There is a lot of time for the situation and circumstances to change. This could end up being her perfect car, it could also end up being more trouble than it is worth. But only after we dig into it and play with it will we find all that out.

Below are a few more photos of what I have gotten myself into. I plan to leave the engine stock unless there comes any need to change things. It has a manual choke that is not operational. That will probably be replaced. The carb needs to be rebuilt. There is surface rust where the paint has been worn through and the quarter panel on the passenger side under the door has rust thorough. The interior plastic trim pieces adjacent to the rear seat have both been broken, they will be replaced with fiberglass aftermarket reproductions.

The JEEPSTER is now at home in my driveway!

I departed the house about 5:30am to drive to Crawfordsville, IN to pick it up. The trip was uneventful but this was the first real towing experience I've had with my VW Touareg. I have the 6 cylinder Touareg, its rated to tow 7700#. I had a hard time believing that, but now towing a car for several hours at 75mph on the expressway as well as at highway speeds on the rural roads I am sold on the VW as a tow vehicle. It did use its gears liberally adjusting to hills, but it pulls a loaded trailer much better than my V8 Mercury Mountaineer.

And the BEST news of the day is that I made it back home in time to watch my daughter play in her first volleyball match at her new school. I didn't do a dance when she scored her first point for her new team, but I did scream and yell loud enough to embarrass her. But hey, that is what parents are supposed to do! Right?

I may post some photos later, but I've got a few things to do this afternoon so I haven't taken any yet. And I'm flying to Las Vegas for a week so it may be a while before I get around to photos.

We did take a little drive around the neighborhood with the top down. There are a lot of things to fix, but it runs pretty well, drives well, and seems to be pretty sound.

B_Skurka said:

And the BEST news of the day is that I made it back home in time to watch my daughter play in her first volleyball match at her new school. I didn't do a dance when she scored her first point for her new team, but I did scream and yell loud enough to embarrass her. But hey, that is what parents are supposed to do! Right?

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Yep, as long as the yelling and screaming is not directed at the game officials.

NO No no! The yelling and screaming was when she scored her first point with her first serve playing for this team (she is in a new school this year so this is the first time she'd played on this team, last year she played against this same group of girls who are now her teammates).