The 1991 Jeep YJ
A Family Legacy
Some vehicles are just vehicles.
This Jeep isn't one of them.
My dad bought this 1991 Jeep Wrangler YJ new in 1991. I'd wanted a Jeep since I was about seven or eight years old, so when the opportunity eventually came for me to take it over, I wasn't exactly going to turn it down.
The Jeep has been in the family ever since.
It's been a daily driver, an off-road vehicle, a family vehicle, a high-school and college vehicle, and a whole lot of other things over the years.
It's also been through several generations of the family.
How It Came To Be Mine
My dad owned the YJ for about 13 years before upgrading to a hardtop TJ.
That's when the YJ came to me.
Eventually my daughter, Tiahna, drove it through high school and college. After that, the Jeep came back to me, and I started looking at what it needed and what I wanted to do with it.
That's where the next chapter started.
Not a full-blown restoration.
Not some massive custom build.
Just gradually bringing an old family Jeep back around and making it useful again.
The YJ Experience
One of the things I've always loved about this Jeep is how simple it is.
Take the doors off.
Take the windows out.
Leave the main top on for shade.
That's about as good as it gets when the weather cooperates.
I've never really had any interest in turning it into a hardtop Jeep with full doors and sealing it up from the world. That's not what I want this Jeep to be.
The whole point is being able to open it up and actually experience being outside.
What We Built
The YJ started life as a fairly basic Jeep, but over the years it picked up a number of modifications that made it more capable and more useful.
Under the hood is the 2.5-liter engine, backed by a five-speed manual transmission.
The axles remain stock, including the stock 4.10 gearing.
Cooling was upgraded with a full aluminum radiator and electric fan conversion(paid link) , and a stainless-steel header (paid link) was added.
The Jeep also received a Rubicon Express 2.5-inch lift kit.
For a few years, the Jeep also ran Corbeau seats.
When it came time to get serious about getting stuck rather than just looking capable, a Badlands winch joined the equipment list.
The Jeep ran 33x12.5 BFG All-Terrain tires mounted on period-correct 15x10 aluminum wheels.
It wasn't built to be a showroom Jeep.
It was built to be used.
The Soft Top Saga
The original soft top eventually needed replacing.
Over the years, I went through three Bestop tops.
Eventually I tried an off-brand soft top from Amazon (paid link) because it cost roughly a third of what the Bestop did. For about six years, it actually held up pretty damn well.
The problem wasn't necessarily the top.
The problem was leaving an old Jeep outside.
After the Jeep spent more time exposed to the weather, water eventually found its way in. The interior developed moisture problems and mold, and it became obvious that keeping an old soft-top Jeep outside wasn't doing it any favors.
That's when I added a pole-frame canvas carport.
Sometimes the best modification isn't another part bolted onto the vehicle.
Sometimes it's keeping the rain off the damn thing.
What The Jeep Means To BTB
The YJ has played a bigger part in the Bigfoot Trails Basecamp story than its age or specifications would suggest.
It's been part of family adventures, off-road stories, projects and memories that go back decades.
It's also part of the reason I look at old vehicles differently.
They aren't necessarily valuable because they're rare or expensive.
Sometimes they're valuable because your family has lived with them.
This Jeep has been around long enough to see multiple generations grow up.
That's worth more than a spec sheet.
The Jeep Today
The YJ isn't one of the primary active BTB project vehicles anymore, but that doesn't mean its story is over.
It's still part of the family.
And I'm not planning on it leaving the family.
The Jeep has gone to my son with plans to go to one of the grandchildren.
For now, it's simply a 1991 Jeep Wrangler YJ that has spent more than three decades being part of our family.
And that's exactly why it belongs here.
The Stories
The Jeep has its own stories from the years we've spent with it.
Those stories are where the adventures, problems, projects and memories belong.
This page is simply the reference point for the Jeep itself.
As more of those stories come together, they'll live alongside it here. I'm sure Tommy will take it on the trails with me and Pack Mule, and that will give the old YJ another chapter to add to the family story.
BTB Vehicles & Rigs
The YJ is one piece of the collection of vehicles that have helped shape Bigfoot Trails Basecamp.
Some are current.
Some are projects.
Some are part of the family history.
The Jeep is firmly in that last category.
It may not be the newest or fastest thing we've ever owned.
But after more than 30 years, it's still here.
And that's saying something.
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you purchase through one of them, BTB may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
I only include gear because I believe it has a legitimate place in the story—not simply because an affiliate program is available