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For a brief intro to my M1163, I followed up on a post created previously https://www.growlerforum.com/forum/g...t-a-dealership
Long story short, I bought that one.
My journey began in 1995 when I purchased a 1942 Willys Jeep (OD Green with white stars). Found it parked along the side of the road with a simple for sale by owner sign on it. Took it home that day. Used it as my daily driver in Yuma, AZ, for work and college. Absolutely loved that thing. But with over 50 years of age, metal fatigue was setting in and I had to sell her. I had always said if I could find anything comparable to that experience in a newer body that would be my dream. As a member of the Arizona Army National Guard I had plenty of time driving HMMVs, but they lacked splendor of the Willys Jeep. They were large, cumbersome, fully capable, but lacking the joy of the nimble little Jeep.
More recently, I had been considering the Mahindra Roxor. Followed them in their development here in Michigan and was waiting for their street legal ability to seem more promising. It wasn't quite what I was looking for, but it seemed the closest thing to my vision. Then about a month ago I watched a Youtube video about another one of my passions, firearms. This particular video was a review of a bullpup shotgun. In the background was the vehicle that appeared to check all the boxes. Not one mention of it in the video, but there it was... It was fantastic! It was my Red Rider BB gun, small, agile, and intimidating.
Took me about 15 minutes on google searching "new military jeep similar to Willys Jeep" to discover what it was called and the Wikipedia page that unearthed all of it's splendors. Took me a couple of days to notice there was one for sale within driving distance. My father-in-law accompanied me on my first ten hour road trip. He's a classic car collector, this was not his cup of tea, but he was very intrigued. It's hard to know what you're looking at in your first in-person contact with this thing. It's extremely intimidating. There's a lot going on in this little package. I wasn't sure I was up to this much of a challenge. But I spent more time reading this forum, went on vacation and mulled it over. Did more reading. Then returned from vacation. Clicked on a link for the dealership. A banner adorned the image of the vehicle I had just saw in person a week earlier, "SOLD!". My heart sank. I had missed my opportunity.
I called the dealership and had to leave a voicemail. Calvin, the Sales Rep called me back about an hour later. Seemed like a week. I asked if it was still available. "Yes, it is", he replied. Apparently their website had some sort of glitch. Okay, I'll be there in two days. Seemed like another week. Another 10 hour road trip to Indiana, this time with my wife, one of my high school buddies, and his wife. Made my payment. The price was fair from what I had gathered. That was a load off my mind.
I've never purchased any vehicle without some sort of instant buyers remorse other than my Willys. Even with the dreaded "as-is" sale, this vehicle was the exception. Within the span of a month, I had gone from having never heard of a thing called a Growler to owning one. From the info I had gathered in person and reading this forum, I was completely content and looking forward to everything that comes with ownership of this vehicle. I'm still astonished this vehicle was for sale at this dealership for over two years.
I look forward to sharing the experience with my friends and family. I'm not a mechanic, but I am an enthusiastic driver that enjoys tinkering. I don't own an industrial vehicle rental company with access to tools and decades of experience in every system that makes up this vehicle, but I certainly appreciate all of you who are willing to take the time and share your experience and knowledge. Feel free to dumb it down a bit. I really enjoyed the Army cartoon equipment service publications if that gives you any idea of where I'm coming from. Thank you all.
Long story short, I bought that one.
My journey began in 1995 when I purchased a 1942 Willys Jeep (OD Green with white stars). Found it parked along the side of the road with a simple for sale by owner sign on it. Took it home that day. Used it as my daily driver in Yuma, AZ, for work and college. Absolutely loved that thing. But with over 50 years of age, metal fatigue was setting in and I had to sell her. I had always said if I could find anything comparable to that experience in a newer body that would be my dream. As a member of the Arizona Army National Guard I had plenty of time driving HMMVs, but they lacked splendor of the Willys Jeep. They were large, cumbersome, fully capable, but lacking the joy of the nimble little Jeep.
More recently, I had been considering the Mahindra Roxor. Followed them in their development here in Michigan and was waiting for their street legal ability to seem more promising. It wasn't quite what I was looking for, but it seemed the closest thing to my vision. Then about a month ago I watched a Youtube video about another one of my passions, firearms. This particular video was a review of a bullpup shotgun. In the background was the vehicle that appeared to check all the boxes. Not one mention of it in the video, but there it was... It was fantastic! It was my Red Rider BB gun, small, agile, and intimidating.
Took me about 15 minutes on google searching "new military jeep similar to Willys Jeep" to discover what it was called and the Wikipedia page that unearthed all of it's splendors. Took me a couple of days to notice there was one for sale within driving distance. My father-in-law accompanied me on my first ten hour road trip. He's a classic car collector, this was not his cup of tea, but he was very intrigued. It's hard to know what you're looking at in your first in-person contact with this thing. It's extremely intimidating. There's a lot going on in this little package. I wasn't sure I was up to this much of a challenge. But I spent more time reading this forum, went on vacation and mulled it over. Did more reading. Then returned from vacation. Clicked on a link for the dealership. A banner adorned the image of the vehicle I had just saw in person a week earlier, "SOLD!". My heart sank. I had missed my opportunity.
I called the dealership and had to leave a voicemail. Calvin, the Sales Rep called me back about an hour later. Seemed like a week. I asked if it was still available. "Yes, it is", he replied. Apparently their website had some sort of glitch. Okay, I'll be there in two days. Seemed like another week. Another 10 hour road trip to Indiana, this time with my wife, one of my high school buddies, and his wife. Made my payment. The price was fair from what I had gathered. That was a load off my mind.
I've never purchased any vehicle without some sort of instant buyers remorse other than my Willys. Even with the dreaded "as-is" sale, this vehicle was the exception. Within the span of a month, I had gone from having never heard of a thing called a Growler to owning one. From the info I had gathered in person and reading this forum, I was completely content and looking forward to everything that comes with ownership of this vehicle. I'm still astonished this vehicle was for sale at this dealership for over two years.
I look forward to sharing the experience with my friends and family. I'm not a mechanic, but I am an enthusiastic driver that enjoys tinkering. I don't own an industrial vehicle rental company with access to tools and decades of experience in every system that makes up this vehicle, but I certainly appreciate all of you who are willing to take the time and share your experience and knowledge. Feel free to dumb it down a bit. I really enjoyed the Army cartoon equipment service publications if that gives you any idea of where I'm coming from. Thank you all.