YJ Headlights

[Lager]

I don't consider the YJ a joke at all. It was the first Jeep to be called a Wrangler and the square headlights fit the styling of that time. The YJ also had a front axel disconnect (vacuum and wasn't very reliable when they got old) and that feature was brought back with the JL's (electric).

My first Jeep was a black 88 YJ and it was so much fun to wheel.

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[JL_Confidential]

My first foray into Wranglers. So I have a soft spot for the YJ.

 

[Jeffery]

My 87, try to control the jealousy….

 

[JeffCj7Jl]

My first Jeep was a 95 YJ. I‘d get another one if I had a bigger garage

 

[Grand Lake Special]

I am sure they wanted the YJ to be different when it was rolled out.....It got alot of grief from the purists... I also suspect that since all their cars and trucks were going with the square light s it allowed them to standardize parts across the fleet. I loved my 95 yj and just got rid of it for my 2020JL......

 

[95YJ]

You guys be nice. Original owner of this '95 YJ with under 65K miles on it. It was the wife's daily for about two years and then we started to trail build it.

 

[roaniecowpony]

The first time I started to notice and appreciate the Wrangler was back in the 80s, and it was because I would see 2 different styles on the road, the CJs and YJs and it was because of the different headlight shapes. I loved the look of the round headlights and couldn’t imagine why Jeep changed them to rectangular. Needlyto say I cheered when they brought back the iconic round shape. Is the YJ considered a joke now? Kinda like the “new coke” debacle?

The CJ was not a "Wrangler". Most Jeepers felt betrayed when they introduced the square headlights. I remember the cat calls.

 

[cosine]

i love all the models that jeep had offered in the wrangler line up. also the willys and cj too.

 

[Philly_]

Love the YJ’s. Used to think they looked funny because of the square headlights, but they just work for that particular Jeep and era. I even like the YJL quadratec built. I think the JL pulls it off because the moved the marker lights back to the fenders and it gives a much better modern-retro vibe than the JK’s had. I never liked the JK’s much and felt it was a big step down from the TJ’s, but a JKU was my first Jeep.

 

[mwilk012]

Square headlights, leaf springs. No thanks, wouldn't own one if you paid me.

 

[multicam]

So square headlights are heresy but stretch the wheelbase and add two doors, and that’s okay? Jeepers that think this way need to get their priorities straight. At least the YJ was never offered with two wheel drive (cough ... JKU).

The YJ was an awesome Jeep that was 100% needed at the time. Like the JK unlimited did for the wrangler brand, the YJ did the same for Jeep back then too. It expanded the market by creating a new looking Jeep, one that appealed to more buyers with more “comforts” with new priorities. It shed the past and moved the brand forward. There’s so much talk about Jeep evolving too much. Without the evolution the brand would have been dead decades ago. The YJ is a classic now and deserves a place in Jeep lineage.

100% agree. The YJ is absolutely a classic. The first wrangler. Headlight geometry be damned

No. The YJ was a great Jeep and perfect for me at the time. I have to laugh when people complain about the steering of the JL, they need to drive a YJ for some perspective! The JL is rock solid on the highway. The YJ was... a seat of your pants adventure ride. However this was back in the days of 55 MPH speed limits (with some rural 65 MPH stretches). The YJ made 55 feel like 75 and 65 feel like 95. Saved me from a ton of speeding tickets. 55 MPH in a topless YJ was a blast!

The only thing about the YJ was the square headlights. Nobody liked them then and nobody likes them now. But we didn't throw the baby out with the bathwater. We still bought YJs. We still look back fondly to the YJ. And we still groan about the square headlights.

To me it's the TJ that was the red headed stepchild. They were made much more like cars but were still very much Jeeps. It just wasn't right IMO. It wasn't until the JK where that started feeling right and it really got dialed in with the JL.

“The only thing about the YJ was the square headlights” I don’t get the obsession with the headlights. Who gives a fuck? It’s a jeep.

Also- couldn’t disagree more about the TJ. Aside from its transition to coil springs, the TJ was the last pure jeep. Correct number of doors, small size, etc.

I’ve wasted lots of digital ink on these forums lambasting the JK because I’ve always felt it was an abomination that was only corrected by the JL. I believe the JL is what the JK should have been in 2007... I can elaborate if it isn’t self-evident enough just by looking at the boring-ass JK.

 

[mwilk012]

So square headlights are heresy but stretch the wheelbase and add two doors, and that’s okay? Jeepers that think this way need to get their priorities straight. At least the YJ was never offered with two wheel drive (cough ... JKU).


100% agree. The YJ is absolutely a classic. The first wrangler. Headlight geometry be damned



“The only thing about the YJ was the square headlights” I don’t get the obsession with the headlights. Who gives a fuck? It’s a jeep.

Also- couldn’t disagree more about the TJ. Aside from its transition to coil springs, the TJ was the last pure jeep. Correct number of doors, small size, etc.

I’ve wasted lots of digital ink on these forums lambasting the JK because I’ve always felt it was an abomination that was only corrected by the JL. I believe the JL is what the JK should have been in 2007... I can elaborate if it isn’t self-evident enough just by looking at the boring-ass JK.

Is it a Jeep though?

TJ's are the best that Jeep ever made.

 

[Jeffery]

Square headlights, leaf springs. No thanks, wouldn't own one if you paid me.

Liar.

 

[mwilk012]

Liar.

You'd have to pay me quite a bit, and I would throw it under a tarp. Never.

 

[Jeffery]

So square headlights are heresy but stretch the wheelbase and add two doors, and that’s okay? Jeepers that think this way need to get their priorities straight. At least the YJ was never offered with two wheel drive (cough ... JKU).


100% agree. The YJ is absolutely a classic. The first wrangler. Headlight geometry be damned



“The only thing about the YJ was the square headlights” I don’t get the obsession with the headlights. Who gives a fuck? It’s a jeep.

Also- couldn’t disagree more about the TJ. Aside from its transition to coil springs, the TJ was the last pure jeep. Correct number of doors, small size, etc.

I’ve wasted lots of digital ink on these forums lambasting the JK because I’ve always felt it was an abomination that was only corrected by the JL. I believe the JL is what the JK should have been in 2007... I can elaborate if it isn’t self-evident enough just by looking at the boring-ass JK.

I skipped the JK entire evolution for exactly these reasons. My TJ’s turned into rusty trash. This JL might, but for now is pretty nice.

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