One less beater on the roads...

"Quadradeuce" (quadradeuce)
11/12/2018 at 13:17 • Filed to: None

My parents own a 2000 GMC Jimmy that has been slowly falling apart. Despite swapping the motor with a junkyard unit, the rest of it has fallen apart to the point where it needs to shuffle on to the scrapyard, or help someone else keep their heap on the road.

The problem is, my parents live on an island in Lake Michigan, and winter has arrived early. Here’s the road conditions as I departed their house:

Stopping distances were....sketchy.

They don’t salt or grit the roads, so the 15 minute drive to the ferry was a bit of a white knuckle experience. Thankfully my truck has nice mud & snow rated tires and we made it on the ferry with a few spots to spare.

It was very windy the day before, resulting in a rocky ride through a body of water called Death’s Door. But today was calm with minimal wave action. So a smooth ride back to civilization.

And now the Jimmy is back at my warehouse while I decide how to dispose of it. The transfer case is locked in low gear, but not in 4wd. The selector panel does not light up and pushing the buttons does nothing. The parking brake is seized up and one of the brake lines has blown. Otherwise it is in remarkably good condition for a 20 year old GM product. No rust on the body or anything. Hopefully I can get them $1000 for it.

DISCUSSION (15)

WilliamsSW > Quadradeuce
11/12/2018 at 13:41

Washington Island, I take it? Very pretty up there - how do they like living on the island?

Truck looks amazingly good for being in Wisconsin for 20 years.

Quadradeuce > WilliamsSW
11/12/2018 at 13:44

Yup. They like the isolation. Winter is tricky due to the minimal ferry service. They spend a lot of overnights at our house during those months...

I am blown away by the lack of rust. Not even rusty inside the wheel wells.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > Quadradeuce
11/12/2018 at 13:44

The transfer case is locked in low gear, but not in 4wd. The selector panel does not light up and pushing the buttons does nothing.

Those always failed on Jimmies. Usually you’d only get 2WD out of them, but rarely they’d lock into 4-high. It’s even rarer to see them even get into 4-lo.

WilliamsSW > Quadradeuce
11/12/2018 at 13:54

The lack of road salt must be contributing quite a bit to that. And I’m guessing it doesn’t have that many miles on it. I would imagine someone would put a bit of labor into it and get it back on the road.

It’s been quite a few years since I’ve taken the ferry over to the island - but even in the peak fall season, it was a quiet escape from the crowds in Door County. I’m sure it’s too isolated for me in the winter though.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > Quadradeuce
11/12/2018 at 14:01

Man it has to be dead on that island in the winter. Are there even any stores open on the island off season?

Also, this would be a good candidate for a “this is your car, this is your car in salt” commercial skit

Do you live up that way as well?

BigBlock440 > Quadradeuce
11/12/2018 at 14:12

Rust free like that, somebody’ll buy that and fix it. Sounds like a couple hundred dollars in parts and a couple days labor, not too far gone for craigslist.

Quadradeuce > WilliamsSW
11/12/2018 at 14:14

I think there’s about 500 people there in the winter. You have to like your neighbors to live there, for sure.

Quadradeuce > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
11/12/2018 at 14:40

It is very quiet in the winter, with about 500 people sticking around. Most restaurants close for the winter, but a few stay open. The grocery store and mercantile are open. They have a rec center with a pool and workout room open 6 days a week as well.

I live 2 hours south in the Green Bay area.

Quadradeuce > winterlegacy, here 'till the end
11/12/2018 at 14:41

I know its stuck in low gear. When I tried to drive it up the ramps on the icy driveway, only one of the back wheels was getting power. The fronts weren’t engaging. I had to salt everything down so that the rear open diff would send power to both rear wheels. So it might be in 4wd, but there is some issue with the front diff or something.

Quadradeuce > BigBlock440
11/12/2018 at 14:43

I’ve thought about doing it myself , but the top end of the market on these is about $2k. Not sure I have the time, especially without a lift. Running new brake lines while lying on my back sounds like a terrible time.

WiscoProud > Quadradeuce
11/12/2018 at 15:38

As a fellow Wisconsinite, that is impressive. Particularly for that generation of GM product.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Quadradeuce
11/12/2018 at 16:18

Falling apart?!?!

That bitch looks clean for that era Jimmy in the rust belt. $1000 on CL and it’ll be gone.

Quadradeuce > WiscoProud
11/12/2018 at 16:47

It spent 12+ years in Milwaukee too. It’s incredible.

Quadradeuce > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness
11/12/2018 at 16:49

It’s super clean, but mechanically everything besides the engine needs work. My dad does not have a great t rack record with maintaining old cars. He thinks oil changes and brake pads are enough. I doubt he ever changed the brake fluid, and now they brakes lines have ruptured. It’s a shame .

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Quadradeuce
11/12/2018 at 16:51

Honestly, I’d replace the lines and drive the hell out of it. Easy job to do on one of those.