The Daddy-mobile

It became apparent to me recently that the 350z had a significant limitation. It isn't the cargo space, Erin and I took the Z to the Tetons and Yellowstone this past fall and fit all of our stuff in it for a week and a half of backpacking and touring. It isn't the winter driving, I've driven the Z in 2 feet of snow, plowing snow over the hood to get home from work a few winters ago. That was fun :). No, the fundamental limitation of the Z is simply this - no back seat. The Z is a two seat car, great for a family of ... 2. Now, we of course have the Audi, a very capable station wagon, that has been very good to us. The Audi has been our mountain workhorse. We take it skiing and mountain biking all the time. The problem is, if one of us is skiing or mountain biking we don't have a kid compatible car. Hmm, what to do. Certainly we can't get rid of the Z, don't worry, she's staying around for a long time to come. But we needed to do something.

So, the wheels start spinning (pardon the pun) and I start wondering what the ideal 3rd (gasp!) car would be for us. Something practical would be good, something with good fuel economy, not too expensive, reliable, safe. Yea those would be good things... But... The thing is, we aren't going to be doing as much mountain biking and skiing and those sorts of things as a family for a while. Don't worry, we'll still do lots of that, but it is going to have to be separately for awhile. So, what car would allow us to get into the mountains to the places we love as a family? Well how about a Jeep. So, not safe, not reliable, not practical, terrible fuel economy... Oh well, it will be fun, right!

But to find the right Jeep. Not a Wrangler, they are fantastic, but I'd like something with a little more space, something with a hard top to be quieter and more comfortable for the little boy. How about a Cherokee. So I started shopping. I looked around for a week, driving all over Denver. Lots of junk. Finally, as I was starting to get discouraged, the perfect Cherokee shows up on up on craigs list. Good condition 4.5" lift, nice tires. Done. Well done's a relative term. It needed a few things. How about ball joints, I can do that myself. New control arms. No sweat. New rear main seal, I think I'll pay for that, I'm not into pulling the oil pan. Now that we have the mechanical issues out of the way, how about a few aesthetic and off road items... New bumpers, some fenders, a roof rack, fix the intermittent stereo speakers. Sounds easy, I can do all that myself.

Nothing is easy. Ball joints, oh my god what a nightmare, I couldn't have gotten anywhere with out Levi and David. Bumpers require grinding into the frame to install. Fenders, no sweat, except that you have to cut away acres of sheet metal to get them on (thanks Koby). Roof rack, that wasn't too bad, just heavy (thanks Russ). Fortunately I have great friends who helped out. I could not have done all this myself. Even my Mom and Kathy helped. I think the finished product looks pretty good.

A family of 3.