RR of the Day: Meet Blowby
Ever own one of those vehicles that just won't lay down and die? No matter what hell you march it through, the thing keeps on going. Such a vehicle is our RR of the Day today, a 1988 Jeep Cherokee named Blowby. The name comes from the ute's habit of leaking oil out of the top end that sputters right up into its airbox. Cute. Flickr member Tremulane bought the Jeep for $500 and spend an additional $250 fixing her up. Can you tell where the money went? Well, some went to actual repairs, but an investment was also made in some Krylon Olive Drab paint to cover up the rust and some white paint to make a few stars described as "geometric triumphs" by Blowby's owner. To this day Blowby motors on, apparently much to the chagrin of its owner who is waiting for it to die of natural mechanical causes. His story is terrific, follow the jump to read the history of he and Blowby in his own words.
If you'd like to see your own ride featured here, simply upload photos of your ride into our Flickr group. We select one image to highlight each week day, and on the weekend let you vote for the RR of the Week. Detailed instructions can be found after the jump.
"Meet Blowby, a 1988 Jeep Cherokee. I bought this thing for $500 years ago for no rational reason. I was bored and kept justifying it by saying "I'd be crazy not to!" as my friends shook their heads. It has a 5-speed manual transmission, high/low gears, and 4WD. I couldn't refuse. I nursed the thing home, fixed the brakes (sledgehammer, prybar), fixed the exhaust leaks (tig welder, cursing), and cleaned it up a whole lot (rain). In thousands of (unforgiving) miles, including oil changes, I've put about $250 into this thing for maintenance and repairs. This beast is glorious.
"The paint is...not a factory job. Or even slightly professional. Blowby used to be blue, but the color was faded and falling off everywhere...It couldn't get any worse, so I figured I'd pay homage to the Willys Jeeps of olde with a custom paint job. I bought 8 cans of Krylon Olive Drab, taped everything up, and just sprayed. The stars are a geometric triumph--highschool math finally paid off--I sat there with some string, a pen, and a ruler, and somehow got everything lined up. The, ah, wheels are "custom" as well (one can of black Krylon). They were a gift from a local guy who didn't want to drag them all the way to the trash.
"The motor is 2.5 liters of glory. When all four cylinders are firing, she purrs like a walrus. Blowby got its name from its valve guides...When the top end gets tired, oil can slip past and sputter up into the airbox--blowby. When I pulled the head off, I'm pretty sure a family of possum scampered out. I hit it with a full can of carb cleaner, painted it red (lipstick on the ol' pig), and threw it back on. The blowby problem was mostly solved with a few changes of clean, heavy oil, but I added that custom, ah, oil catcher just in case...You could put a bullet in this motor, and it wouldn't die. I've tried.
"One time I left a wrench on the battery while I was monkeying around on the thing. When I began driving around, the wrench slipped down and got caught in the serpentine belt--shredded it to threads. When I pulled over and lifted the hood to see what all the smoke was fussing about, the wrench was melted and glowing...Took it to work the next day, grabbed a new belt on the way home. No prob.
"I moved to NYC two years ago, and it just didn't seem like it was worth the hassle of selling. I held onto it, figuring it would die soon enough and I could just get rid of it, guilt-free...Since then it's been on Martha's Vinyard, all over the north east, Brooklyn for months, up near Canada...The damn thing won't die. Snow, rain, dirt, mud, jumps, running into things...No matter what I do, it just won't die. It currently lives in the woods of Connecticut--Nobody I know there will let me keep it where the neighbors might see! I mean, what's the problem?
"The silver car is my father's mint-perfect 993. It's like you're looking at twins."
How to submit to RR of the Day:
Create a Flickr account if you don't already have one. Search for and join the group called 'Autoblog RR of the Day'. Upload up to three photos of your ride to your own account at a size no larger than 450 pixels wide if possible and include as much information about it and yourself as possible. Even if your ride is sweet, it will not be chosen if there's not a lot of info accompanying it. Click on each photo and just above the picture it will say "Send to group". Click that and select the Autoblog group. You're done, that's it!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
menice 3:30PM (10/03/2006)
??ok i just dont know what to say. good investment i guess. not sure if "just 'cause it's $500. " is good reason to buy, but an impulse is an impluse and we've all bought on impulse.
bet you never had any buyer remorse.... no mention of milage... hope you get another 100K
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ohmy 3:22PM (10/03/2006)
..... I love this Jeep.
I had a 98 Cherokee that I traded in so that my wife could get a Subaru, Should have traded in the wife instead, I miss the Jeep every time I see one of these on the road, don't ever part with yours.
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Sean 3:26PM (10/03/2006)
When is the next RR poll so I can vote for this thing! I love it!
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phil 3:31PM (10/03/2006)
I had a friend who wrecked his cherokee through not one, but two solid cement columns with steel rebar. The thing still runs. That is how tough these Jeeps are. Jeep was foolish to cancel these SUVs.
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scargo 3:41PM (10/03/2006)
I like how all their cars have matching fender stripes.
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tambo 3:51PM (10/03/2006)
"FREE CANDY" might be more appropriate than that star on the side door.
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Hamud 4:09PM (10/03/2006)
500 dollars??? For a tough car like this?? Almost for free, heheheh.
Great car, has my vote for RR of the week.
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Tim UF 4:14PM (10/03/2006)
any truck that literally eats wrenchs for lunch should never be gotten rid of!
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jon 4:37PM (10/03/2006)
The XJ Cherokee was just about the best Jeep made. We have a 1999 Limited along side our 06 Commander and it's almost like new with only 66K on it. It will no doubt see 266K if we keep it that long.
With so many parts available out there you can keep these on the road forever. We have the 4.0L which is the best engine they ever made.
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dave 4:33PM (10/03/2006)
If DCX would just listen to the rabid fandom of current/ex-Cherokee owners, they'd be in much better shape ... everyone I've even met who's owned one swears by them. I've never been lucky enough to drive one ...
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Ryan H 4:40PM (10/03/2006)
That's a Jeep alright, and I love it. The only thing I'm dissapointed with is that the front bumper and fender flares are still all attached. :D
Side note: Does this Jeep remind you of the Top Gear episode with the Toyota truck the guys couldn't destroy?
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goush 4:40PM (10/03/2006)
I think that is the old GM 2.5, they are bullet proof, put 200,000 of HARD miles on one in a S-10 and couldn't kill it.
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alex 4:40PM (10/03/2006)
aww.. we already had a jeep
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SleighBoy 5:28PM (10/03/2006)
Ahh, 2.5L, the ol "Iron Duke" / "Tech 4". My 87 Chevy Celebrity sedan clocked 210,000 miles on its' Duke before the head gasket went. Ran like a champ and got ~27 MPG right up until the very end.
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epp_b 5:34PM (10/03/2006)
I think I enjoyed the story more than I did the vehicle. This guy's a good writer!
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CaptSnuffy 8:59PM (10/03/2006)
Awesome.
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jmoney 11:09PM (10/03/2006)
Jeep! You've got my vote for RR of the week, and it's only Tuesday. I had a 95 wrangler 4.0 and sold it with 175,000 miles. The only things I ever fixed were the exhaust manifold and a muffler and cat. converter. It's still on the road today with a relative. Jeep had the best engine and drivetrain on the planet.
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Bill Maher is an Idiot 11:28PM (10/03/2006)
Cute story. Junk truck.
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JG Hitzert 12:15AM (10/04/2006)
I got a 98 Cherokee along with my wife when we married five years ago. I had a Wrangler at the time, with the Iron Duke pushrod four. The four liter six has some balls but the low end on that 2.5 was pretty remarkable. Sold the wrangler when I got a MINI.
We still have that Cherokee and it has about 120k on the odometer and the only thing I have done to it is brakes, tires, air cleaner and oil. Great car. It's good to see I have another ten years I can bang the thing around.
I have to agree with the comment made earlier though. DCX should have evolved the marque, much like the tj. The brand loyalty and cache of a classic can make you a bunch of money. Can you imagine how cool an updated version would be with a diesel power plant. The rock crawlers would be amped.
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That One Person 11:58PM (10/03/2006)
Personally, I wouldnt buy a car for $500. But I read these stories of people buying old Jeeps like this for pretty much nothing. I wish I found a good deal like that when I was looking for a car. I dont care if there were holes in the floor...I would drive it.
I bought my Regal last summer (spent too much) and its close to dying. Gotta love mid-90's W-body GM vehicles.
This Jeep is definitely getting my vote...
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