by Lauren Danzi

Created on: September 26, 2007

You can't kill a Jeep! This is a tale of horror, humor, destruction, and resuscitation of my first car, the 15 year old Jeep Wrangler. It was built 1988 and the year was 2003. The only thing new on it was the fresh coat of baby blue paint my Uncle gave it before he sold it to me. The Jeep was almost as old as me. I used it to take me back and forth to high school each day after picking up my friend at her house.

It was a clear but cool day when I left in the morning. I had been driving this Jeep for some time and was now perfectly able to drive standard. Still housed in the carbureted engine was the original transmission. It also had the original clutch. A light on the Dashboard reading "Brake" would light upon start up, when the parking brake was engaged. Often when I was driving the light would flicker on and off but my dad had already determined there was nothing wrong with the brakes just the light. I paid very little attention to it, this turned out to be a big mistake.

The so called "rugged" Jeep was a nothing more than a cranky child. If it was cold it stalled, if it snowed it stalled, if it rained it stalled, if a gentle breeze blew across its hood it stalled. The stalling problem occurred only in the '88 and '87 Jeep Wranglers using a certain carburetor.

I got into my Jeep and drove off. Before I even got it down the driveway it stalled. I thought nothing of it. Started the car and it tried to stall again. I didn't let it. While braking I used the method of balancing my right foot between the brake and gas at the same time while using my left for the clutch. Every time it went to stall I revved the engine harder to prevent it. When I got to my friends house on the other side of town she climbed in and the Jeep stalled off, in her driveway. I tried to start it but it wouldn't go.

"Is it supposed to be smoking?" she asked.
"That's just the exhaust." I replied, but wait the car was off? I got outside and saw smoke coming from the back end of the car. I looked inside my car and a red light reading "Brake" was lit on the dash. I had driven with the parking break on and now my brakes were smoking? In a panic I released it thinking that would some how undo the damage. It started rolling down the slight incline. I scrambled to get back in the moving car and stepped on the parking brake, Hoping there would still be enough left of it to do its job. Thankfully it came to a stopped.

Getting out a second time, I crouched down to examine the smoking back end. I peeked

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