hmm, this thread is pretty stale, maybe its my turn:
In the late 60's my dad was getting out of stock car racing (pit crew west coast stuff, not Nascar), and growing up on a farm he wanted to give offroading a try. His dad was a Ford guy, his brother's various Ford/Chevy guys, so he ventured slightly out of the mold and special ordered his 71 Jimmy 350/350/205/3.73 blue/black CST. In its first year of life the top came off and he was racing it, trail running it, daily driving it etc.
When it was barely 2 years old Dad slid through an icey intersection and was Tboned. The Jimmy was a total, but with the new body style on the lots the insurance company couldnt replace the 71 with even a 72, so Dad paid himself to rebuild it (worked at a body shop at that time). The driver floorboard still bares the wrinkles.
It had a frame swap with a short wide pickup for a while and became a lowered tow vehicle (wierd how the blue Jimmy towed its own frame-now pickup'ed to the races) until the racetruck was rolled, scrapped, and the Jimmy went back into 4X4 duty once again. A new racetruck was built (68 super short wide GMC) and while towing it when I was one and a half, we jackknifed in bad weather, beating up BOTH quarters a bit, but none the worse for wear.
Dad daily drove it forever-my parents were married and it was the getaway car-when I got my Eagle Scout in the mid to late 90's it was my present. Its seen better days, and I regret parking it in the shed at Dad's house in 99 when I started college and figured out I couldnt afford the fuel.
It'll be a shame when we swap the slightly rusted tub for a 72 Jimmy tub with factory A/C, all those bends, twists, and memories will only live in the scrap book albums. ...but I cant wait for that day to come. Right now my priority is getting it out of the back of the barn and usable again.
Erik
from summer of 96, trip to Surrey, BC:
as Dad daily drove it, circa 1985 with the original soft top (top pic is a Bestop):
I still need to get Dad's box of pictures and albums. There is some great early 70's action shots of the Jimmy.
edit: sorry for blurryness, I have no scanner and these are digipics of actual photographs. When I get Dad's photos, I'll see if my sister will do some scanning for me.