One of the worst financial decisions I’ve made is buying my first offroader: a 2001 GMC Jimmy. I bought it because I was in desperate need of transportation as I had just sold my E55 AMG and crashed my motorcycle. I saw the ad on Facebook Marketplace and I was meeting the owner the next day. I paid $2000 for it. My dad thinks it’s too much, but $2k for a coffin is reasonable. Plus, this one came with a beer, so I consider it a good deal.

This thing was a death trap. I realized it was as soon as I got on the freeway. I had never been so scared to drive in a straight line in my life. It didn’t have sloppy steering, my GMC was passed that; it wouldn’t go towards the direction I would point it at. It felt like the steering rack was built out of slinkies and attached to the front wheels with rubbur bands. The fact that I had 33” tires, airbags in the back and a long travel kit in the front didn’t help, but the real problem was the steering gears and linkage were old and worn out.
But with time, I got used to it. It only became scary at “high speeds” (over 50mph in this car), and I was never going that fast unless I was in the desert, where suddenly the steering felt perfect. I have no scientific explanation as to why a loose steering rack on the road feels good on sand, but I could tell that offroad is where the Jimmy wanted to be.

It was powered by a 4.3L V6 called the Vortec. Legends say that the Vortec V6 is basically an LS engine from the Corvette with 6 cylinders instead of 8.
I was younger and had no consideration for others so, naturally, I straight piped it: It sounded insane. Of course, my dad hated it but, in his defence, he’s getting old… I loved it. That engine was a beast; 250lb-ft of torque was always nice to have under my right foot.
When I bought the car, it was holding on by the skin of its teeth. One of the engine mounts was ripped off clean, and the other was holding on by a thread. The transmission mount was in really bad shape too, so the whole powertrain was staying in place thanks to the raw willpower of the Jimmy, who simply refused to die.

This car came with an automatic transmission from the factory, but mine was swapped for a five-speed. The job must have been done in a junkyard because the gearbox was in the worst shape I have ever seen a working gearbox. Let’s go through the gears together :

First gear worked fine (hallelujah).
Second gear would grind if you didn’t double clutch.
You couldn’t get into third if you were over 3000rpm.
Forth wasn’t under third; it was a little to the right.
Fifth is rarely used if you valued your life, so it still worked relatively well. (Besides the occasional grinding noise when you didn’t double clutch.)
Reverse worked correctly, but because the gearbox was swapped, the gear knob wasn’t original. So I had no idea where Reverse was. Let’s just say I had an interesting time backing out for the first time.
It took me some time to understand and get used to the inner workings of the gearbox. But after a bit of time, I became one with it and didn’t need to think about any of that to drive smoothly.

And smooth it was. The 33” tires and the lift kit made me feel like I was driving on marshmallows, but additionally, the seats were perfect for me. I was incredibly surprised by how comfortable I was. I didn’t have AC so I always had my window down and the window ledge was at the right height for my arm to rest on; same for the centre console. The steering wheel was big but thin in hand, plus it had little grooves for your fingers.

This car is not on the road anymore, and that’s probably best for everyone’s safety. But I miss this bucket, and I wish I had the time and the money to fix it back when I owned it. It was like my old pair of jeans. Everybody tells me to throw them away because they have holes and they look used. But I still have them; they’re in my cupboard right now. It’s the pair of jeans I wore when I had my motorcycle accident. It’s a token of this day and it holds the memories I’d like to keep. This GMC Jimmy is my washed-up, used, ripped pair of jeans. It’s not perfect and it sure isn’t like it used to be when new, but the attachment I built with it is strong. It’s the first car I jumped (I got all four wheels off the ground!). I got stuck in the desert with it and I had no battery on my phone, but it still got me home safe. After work, I’d offroad as high as I could up the mountain, and I’d listen to music while drinking beers on the tailgate overlooking the valley.

So no, I’m not going to get rid of my jeans. And yes, they will stay in my cupboard until I’m ready to part away with them. I just wish I could have put Jimmy in my cupboard, too.

Max