There have been a few I was seriously interested in, but they had either slipped through my fingers, I didn't call in time, or they weren't as described once seen in person. I kept going though. On Sunday, I saw a great 1995 Sahara up on Craigslist in Virginia. By the time the owner got back to me (within 4 hours of it being listed), he said someone was already coming in the morning to see it, and was 99% chance purchasing it. As such, the morning came and he notified me the Jeep had been sold. Yet as Sunday night turned into Monday morning, another Jeep popped up. Same year and condition, and only 40 minutes from my area vs 4 1/2 hours in Virginia. I couldn't believe it. I called right that morning around 9 am, and within an hour, we set up a visit later that evening.
I knew the moment I saw it in his garage that it was the one. I had as great feeling just from the listing and his phone call, but in person I just knew.
1995 Jeep Wrangler Sahara
136K miles
Hard & soft tops
Hard doors
Fog lights
It's in pristine condition; garage kept for over half its life. Body is in fantastic condition, very minimal rust in usual spots a Jeep would get it, the interior looks like no one's even sat on the seats! Truly a gem that I found in the Philly area. The seller said it was his father's prized possession; he died suddenly of Cardiac Arrest 2 years ago at the age of 54. It's been very sentimental to his son, and he's only put 2K miles in 2 years on it since his father's passing. They just bought a boat, already own a few cars, have kids, and his wife said it was time to let go. He didn't want to sell it, but after talking to me on the phone and meeting me in person, his wife said I was the right owner, and for him "not to cry". It's amazing to find other people so passionate about certain cars.
It's not the dark green rugs/console, but that's something I'm not too eager to change right away, but it'll come down the road. It does come with ONE original rim, the others were replaced when his father had it. He doesn't think he kept them, but will let me know if they are found by his step mother at their property. Also will need to be on the search for half doors.
I can't remember if I ever really described why I've wanted this car before, so I'll give a bit of background on why I'm building this Jeep.
I'll be 26 in July, and I saw Jurassic Park at the age of 3-4. It's a very nostalgic and personal film for me. I can relate so much of life to the film, and it drove my extreme obsession and fascination for palaeontology. I remember the film explaining the story of the mosquito in amber, and I yelled out, "My name's Amber!". It just hit me so deeply and it held on tight. I now work as a Fossil Preparator at a major and very historic museum (Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University) in Philadelphia. Just today I was airscribing in our Edmontosaurus field jacket; the teeth battery are very thin in this one layer of matrix, so I've been slowly shedding off the sandstone so they can be properly removed and added to the collection. We have a beautifully articulated turtle Basilemys (last time I checked) in our lab right now as well that's incredibly intact. I've also worked on Tyrannosaurus, Pachycephalosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Dreadnoughtus, and a bunch more that I can't think of right now. Jurassic Park completely shaped who I am as a person, my passions, and my life.
I will be finishing the title-change and paperwork this Sunday or Monday, so by next week I'll have my Jeep! I luckily have a lot of Jeep friends and car guys that have already volunteered to help with the build.
This will be JP 48. Any LOST fans out there? I was going to do one of the other numbers, but saw all were already taken. 48 was important in the show - also being a combination of the first two numbers - so I snuck that little bit in!
I'll have better photos once I get it later this week. I cannot believe I found this Jeep before Jurassic World opens. What luck
