February 22, 2011
He did it again. Why didn't anybody warn me?
I knew going into this relationship that Matt was a "Jeep Man," but I didn't fully comprehend what that meant. He was likely born with the "Jeep Man" gene, and it manifested itself full force when he was 15 and bought his first Jeep, a 1971 Jeep Wagoneer. He had saved up the $500 needed to buy this beast by aerating lawns:
He spent his nights working on the Jeep, lifting it, putting in a new interior, etc. so that it would be ready for when he turned 16 and could get his driver license.
He then owned a blue 1984 Jeep Cherokee Pioneer (no pictures available).
After some wheeling and dealing (buying and selling a couple non-Jeeps) he had saved up enough to buy his first CJ, a 1971 Jeep CJ5, for about $2,000. The first day he had it, his rear axle (a Dana 44) blew. Within a week or two of getting the axle repaired, the Jeep's hood flew open on the freeway when Matt was on his way to school, shattering the windshield and putting a big crease in the hood. (Matt had been working under the hood the night before and must have forgotten to latch it--apparently this happens to many a Jeep folk--once.) After getting to school, Matt was so bummed about the damage to the Jeep, that he couldn't bear waiting until after school to start fixing it. His friends offered to take him to breakfast first to try to cheer him up, and on the way to breakfast, the engine (a Dauntless Buick 225 V-6) blew. The crippled Jeep coasted to a stop just past a freeway overpass, and Matt's friends pulled over to see what had happened. Matt was so upset that he shoved his Jeep over the sidewalk and down the hill into a field below and pelted it with a few rocks. After the stoning, Matt drove the Jeep back up the hill in 4L using only the starter, attached it to a friend's truck with a tow chain, then steered it home behind his buddy's truck.
Matt felt like he was in over his head and was a bit apprehensive about telling his dad about all of the problems the Jeep was having, especially after he had warned Matt about all of the problems that could arise from owning an old truck. But to Matt's relief, that night, after hearing what had happened, Matt's dad calmly said "Well, what's a new engine going to cost?" Matt was so so excited to know that his dad was on board with his Jeep dream that as soon as his parents went out that night, Matt began dismantling the Jeep. By the time they got home that evening, the entire interior had been stripped out and parts were scattered all over the driveway next to the house. Matt spent the next several months rebuilding the Jeep piece by piece. Matt also fabricated many of his own parts (including the dashboard) to save money. The next summer, he towed the Jeep to his grandpa Vandermyde's house, where his grandpa had a big garage that he had offered to let Matt work on the Jeep. Every day after football practice, Matt went to Neilson's Frozen Custard and got a "QRB" (quart rootbeer float) and headed to his grandpas to do some bodywork. Once that was done (which required fixing the dents Matt's stoning had caused), Matt and his grandpa painted the Jeep. The color: Viper Red. Here's how it turned out:
At 19, Matt left home to serve a 2 year LDS church mission in Argentina and had to sell the CJ5 to help pay for the costs of his mission.
I'll admit, I was not much of a fan of this monstrosity. It was so high that I had to leap up to get into it, and I'm surprised I never broke my ankle jumping out of the thing. It was also loud. Really loud. One of the previous owners had installed a Corvette engine into the Jeep, and I'm not kidding when I say we set off car alarms everywhere we went. But Matt loved it, and Tanner loved it even more. I made Matt sell the Jeep a year later when we got pregnant with Kaden. But the buyer was the brother of one of our good friends, so Matt knew she would be well taken care of. ;)
Ever since selling the thing though, Matt has been scouring the market looking for his next Jeep. There was one in particular that caught his eye, a 1985 CJ7. It was in great shape mechanically, and it had no rust anywhere. And the paint--Viper Red. The Jeep was in decent shape cosmetically, but it needed a bit of TLC. One thing Matt loved about this Jeep was its potential. Matt hates seeing untapped potential being squandered, and thought he could help this Jeep reach the full measure of her creation. Matt haggled with the seller for a couple weeks about price, and was a bit hesitant to buy another car that we didn't need unless he got the perfect deal. But there were a couple things that pushed him over the edge.
Back in November we went to St. George for Thanksgiving, and Matt took Tanner four-wheeling in the desert. When Tanner woke up the morning after we got back to Los Angeles, the first words he uttered were "Daddy, can we go four-wheeling today?" Matt was touched by his son's request, but also saddened that he had no apparatus with which to go four-wheeling. A few days later, Matt went to dinner with our bishop (Dennis Barrett), and Ryan Orme, and towards the end of the evening the conversation turned to parental philosophy. Over the course of their discussion the bishop gave what Matt found to be very sage advice: "80% of being a parent is just creating memories." When Matt heard that, he turned to the bishop and said "Bishop, I think I just bought a Jeep." That evening Matt called the seller of the Jeep and said he was ready to resume price negotiations.
The next morning, as Matt and Tanner headed to the car for a Home Depot trip, Tanner turned to Matt and said "Daddy, where's the big Jeep?" Although Matt had sold his '84 CJ7 a year earlier, he was sure Tanner remembered it. Tanner loved that thing. While at the Home Depot, Matt had another call with the seller and gave his final offer. After some further deliberation, the parties struck a deal, and Matt said he would pick it up later that day.
Matt didn't know how he was going to pick it up because I had a prior engagement and couldn't help. Less than an hour later, serendipitously (Matt's word, not mine), my uncle Bill Hamilton and cousin Mike Hamilton called and said they were in Los Angeles for a few hours for a layover and wondered if we wanted to get together. Matt told them he had just the thing for them to do :) So they all drove out to meet the seller, and Matt drove the Jeep home.
Matt and Tanner have spent night after night over the last couple months unleashing that untapped potential Matt saw in his new Jeep. The first thing Tanner wants to do every morning is go see the "Big Red Jeep". It has become the love of their lives. I know what you're thinking, but I'm not jealous. I am so glad that they have this project to share together. Tanner absolutely loves picking up and opening new packages of Jeep parts and can't wait until Matt gets home so they can go work on "Tanner's and Daddy's Big Red Jeep." Here are a few pictures to show you their progress:
When we were driving through St. George from Salt Lake a few days ago, Matt stopped at a paint shop to buy some paint for the Jeep's steering column and serendipitously (again, Matt's word, not mine) ran into the owner of something else that Matt has had is eye on for the last several months. Stay tuned for more information on that later. If that purchase materializes, Matt will undoubtedly attribute it to the Jeep. "But for the Jeep, I would not have been in that paint shop looking for paint for the Jeep's steering column, and had I not walked into that paint shop at that time on that day, I would not have run into him."
Apparently "Jeeps are never finished" so I will likely have many more pictures to post of this hot, Viper-Red little number. So, stay tuned . . .
One final thought. As we were eating lunch earlier today, Matt was pondering aloud and asked why boys seemed to be born already knowing that Jeeps were awesome. After some deliberation, Matt posited "There must be Jeeps in Heaven."
Back in November we went to St. George for Thanksgiving, and Matt took Tanner four-wheeling in the desert. When Tanner woke up the morning after we got back to Los Angeles, the first words he uttered were "Daddy, can we go four-wheeling today?" Matt was touched by his son's request, but also saddened that he had no apparatus with which to go four-wheeling. A few days later, Matt went to dinner with our bishop (Dennis Barrett), and Ryan Orme, and towards the end of the evening the conversation turned to parental philosophy. Over the course of their discussion the bishop gave what Matt found to be very sage advice: "80% of being a parent is just creating memories." When Matt heard that, he turned to the bishop and said "Bishop, I think I just bought a Jeep." That evening Matt called the seller of the Jeep and said he was ready to resume price negotiations.
The next morning, as Matt and Tanner headed to the car for a Home Depot trip, Tanner turned to Matt and said "Daddy, where's the big Jeep?" Although Matt had sold his '84 CJ7 a year earlier, he was sure Tanner remembered it. Tanner loved that thing. While at the Home Depot, Matt had another call with the seller and gave his final offer. After some further deliberation, the parties struck a deal, and Matt said he would pick it up later that day.
Matt didn't know how he was going to pick it up because I had a prior engagement and couldn't help. Less than an hour later, serendipitously (Matt's word, not mine), my uncle Bill Hamilton and cousin Mike Hamilton called and said they were in Los Angeles for a few hours for a layover and wondered if we wanted to get together. Matt told them he had just the thing for them to do :) So they all drove out to meet the seller, and Matt drove the Jeep home.
Matt and Tanner have spent night after night over the last couple months unleashing that untapped potential Matt saw in his new Jeep. The first thing Tanner wants to do every morning is go see the "Big Red Jeep". It has become the love of their lives. I know what you're thinking, but I'm not jealous. I am so glad that they have this project to share together. Tanner absolutely loves picking up and opening new packages of Jeep parts and can't wait until Matt gets home so they can go work on "Tanner's and Daddy's Big Red Jeep." Here are a few pictures to show you their progress:
 |
 |
| Before |
 |
| After |
 |
| Before |
 |
| After |
 |
| Before |
 |
| After |
When we were driving through St. George from Salt Lake a few days ago, Matt stopped at a paint shop to buy some paint for the Jeep's steering column and serendipitously (again, Matt's word, not mine) ran into the owner of something else that Matt has had is eye on for the last several months. Stay tuned for more information on that later. If that purchase materializes, Matt will undoubtedly attribute it to the Jeep. "But for the Jeep, I would not have been in that paint shop looking for paint for the Jeep's steering column, and had I not walked into that paint shop at that time on that day, I would not have run into him."
Apparently "Jeeps are never finished" so I will likely have many more pictures to post of this hot, Viper-Red little number. So, stay tuned . . .
One final thought. As we were eating lunch earlier today, Matt was pondering aloud and asked why boys seemed to be born already knowing that Jeeps were awesome. After some deliberation, Matt posited "There must be Jeeps in Heaven."
