Blucifer’s Origin Story

Blucifer is my second Jeep. I’ve always liked off-roading, backroads, camping, and choose-your-own-adventure trips. My first Jeep made sure that wasn’t going to change.

The Jeep that started it in Qatar

When I worked in Qatar, my company vehicle was a 2010 Jeep Wrangler with a small lift and 33-inch tires for desert life. It consumed my weekends, and there were plenty of getaway adventures.

That Jeep started out black. By the time I was done in Qatar, it had a matte Sahara tan textured paint scheme, a Bestop fastback-style soft top, and the gear to make a proper desert camp: wind barriers, a grill, a tent, a shovel, and shade. It was the perfect vehicle for escaping the big-city life of Doha.

When my contract ended, I knew I’d have to find another Jeep stateside.

Finding Blucifer

In 2017, I was back in Texas. A few coworkers had Jeeps, and I was still looking. They were expensive, so I waited until the right opportunity came along.

As my luck would have it, although it definitely wasn’t the Jeep owner’s luck, a coworker’s Jeep broke down. The engine was knocking, and the quote for a replacement was around $5,500. She didn’t want to fix it, but she still owed quite a bit on it and needed another car.

I offered $10,000 for the broken Jeep. Since she owed more than that, I told her that if she made a deal on a new car, she could use the Jeep as a trade-in and I’d buy it directly from the dealer. We handled it as an “in-and-out” arrangement. After state tax and title fees, I was a little over $11,000 into it.

No problem.

I think it was around Thanksgiving 2017 when one of my sons and I picked it up from a Jeep shop in Temple, Texas. He was visiting, so we went together. I actually drove it onto my trailer with the engine knocking. Lol.

We got it home and unloaded it into the garage. I wanted to tear into it immediately, but I gave myself a few days to mull over the plan.

It was a stock-ish, basic Jeep: manual windows, no cruise control, cloth seats, a manual transmission, 33-inch Pro Comp tires on 17-inch wheels, and an old soft top that barely zipped up.

Replace it, rebuild it, or LS swap it

There were a few ways to fix a bad engine: replace it, rebuild it, or LS swap it. I wanted the LS swap, but that wasn’t an overnight decision. The easiest path was rebuilding the 3.8L already in it.

Of course, that meant tearing it down, dealing with the damage, and replacing bad parts with good ones. The warranty would be my own personal wallet.

After my son headed home, I pulled the 3.8L and put it on an engine stand. The clutch was worn out, so that went on the list too.

The engine had spun a rod bearing. From what I could tell, it had been low on oil, and the oil-pressure warning hadn’t come on until it was too late. Between the oil leak and the sending-unit trouble, the previous owner had some bad luck. Without that, I probably wouldn’t have had the opportunity to buy the Jeep.

The bearing damage had ruined the crankshaft and one connecting rod. The cylinders had some light damage, but nothing I thought was too worrying for a quickie rebuild.

I cleaned the block as best I could with brake cleaner, cleaned up the lifters, camshaft, and five good pistons and rods, and started looking for a machine shop to grind the crankshaft.

I struck out locally. I could take it a couple of towns over, about an hour each way, or I could buy a turned crankshaft with matching bearings from O’Reilly Auto Parts. A refurbished crank was around $250.

Great deal. One problem solved.

A minivan piston to the rescue

Next, I needed a connecting rod and piston. That took a minute. Then I remembered this place called eBay, where you can find all sorts of random-ass things for a reasonable price.

It’s a flea market, or fleaBay, that you can shop in your underwear while watching The Office.

I searched for a Jeep 3.8L connecting rod. Nothing. Then, in a stroke of brilliance, I remembered that the 3.8L was in Dodge minivans too. Jeep people love making fun of the whole “minivan-powered Jeep” thing.

I changed the search to “Dodge minivan connecting rod” and immediately found a used piston-and-rod assembly for $50. Exactly what I needed.

I wasn’t blowing the budget on new V6 minivan engine parts. We reuse things that still have some life left around these parts. eBay to the rescue with a clapped-out minivan piston and rod.

The wheels of the hooptie build were in motion.

The garage rebuild

While I waited for the well-used piston and rod, I ordered the rest of the rebuild parts: rings, gaskets, seals, an oil-pump rebuild kit, and a fresh clutch. All of this stuff was about $750 all in. Significantly less than the $5,500 shop quote, if you can do math.

Of course, that didn’t include my labor. My version of the labor budget mostly involved keeping the beer flowing and hoping work magically happened.

The parts arrived, and it was game on. I dingleberry-honed the 3.8L in my garage at home. Sure, there was a Sunnen engine hone at work, but that was too nice for this engine.

After another round or two of cleaning, I assembled it. I didn’t know whether it would have oil pressure or whether there was hidden damage I hadn’t found. I took what I knew and put it together as best I could in the garage.

I didn’t finish by Christmas. I had a vacation to Qatar planned, using miles I’d accumulated during my two years overseas, so the Jeep resurrection paused for two weeks while I went back to doing desert things.

A deadline and a pile of bolts

When I got back, the dealership handling the paperwork was asking for an inspection so they could finish the registration. I told them to give me two weeks.

That turned into a rush to finish the engine, install it, and get everything back together.

Remember the beer teardown, the two-week vacation, and the fact that this was my first Jeep engine rebuild? Yeah. I’d forgotten what I’d done, so reassembly felt like my first time working on it all over again.

The whole time, I was thinking, “Who took this bolt out?”

Oh, right. That was me. Drunk Joe.

Eventually, it was back together and running. After a quick 50–60-mile test drive, it passed inspection, the paperwork got finished, and everything was legal beagle.

The first trip out

Blucifer’s first outing was the 2018 Austin Jeep People Polar Bear Run at Hidden Falls. It was a local Jeep event with charity raffles and plenty of wheeling, day and night.

With a fresh rebuild, I wasn’t ready to take him into the Level 4 stuff on the first trip. I did some basic trails and rode with a friend for most of the weekend.

Not many people know this, but if you tent-camped overnight at Hidden Falls below freezing and survived, they had a special sticker for you.

Guess who has one of those stickers.

How long did it last

Want to know how long that garage-rebuilt 3.8L lasted?

It had another 75,000 miles on it when I pulled it and traded it for labor. Tons of oil pressure, no oil consumption, and really no issues through all those driving adventures.

There’s a lot more to tell, including the modifications that came later, but we’ll end this storytime here.

Stay tuned for more Jeep excursions and experiences.

More from the garage

Teardown, parts and reassembly from Joseph’s photo collection. Select a photo for a closer look.