moorencompany
Colorado Swine Enthusiast
For those with short attention spans: Bought a piggy as my first car when I was 14 (2004). My dad, @zornff, worked his ass off to make it epic for me to drive all through high school while I pretended to work on it with him. Sold the pig to @mtnsurfer when I went to college (2008) and he put in some serious work to keep the piggy looking phenomenal and running clean. Fast forward 13 years later (2021) and I bought the piggy back from @mtnsurfer! After a 13-year hiatus, I got my first car, a piggy, back.
For those with nothing better to do: I've attempted to put my entire history with this pig into a single thread. I'm sure I missed a few things here and there but it's the closest I can get to honor the heritage of the divine swine that we all love and to say thank you to both @zornff and @mtnsurfer for all of the TLC (and $$$$) that they've put into this rig. But first, a photo.
1976
- @zornff buys his first piggy and was hooked for life.
2004
- @zornff convinces me that having an Iron Pig for a first car would be awesome.
- Bought the 1978 FJ-55 from Ron Korsen at Rocky Mountain Cruisers near Denver, CO
- @zornff and I made the trip to Denver to pick up the piggy and drive it home. Since I was 14 at the time, @zornff was driving and I was in the passenger seat wondering what the hell I was doing with this loud, old, rusty, slow and heavy car as my first vehicle.
- About 2.5 hours into the 5 hour drive, the motor blew. "Great, I thought, happy new car day to me!"
- We had the car towed back to RMC to have the 2F rebuilt and were finally able to get the piggy down to Pagosa where the work would begin.
2005
Added a few accessories. This was the jumping-off point for the rest of the build.
- Jasper 2F
- 4" Safari Lift
- Iron Pig Off Road P/S
- Wilderness Rack
- 33" Tires
- Custom Front and Rear Bumper
2006 - 2008
- Like I said, @zornff is the real hero of the story here. I had no idea what I was doing when it comes to working on cars (still don't) and wasn't interested in spending hours in a shop when I could be mountain biking, skiing, etc. with my friends.
- The build thread is here: Fresh Pig - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/fresh-pig.116490/#post-1497476
- There were so many people here on Mud who helped him get unobtanium parts that I can't even try to list them all. You know who you are if you're reading this!
From what I can remember, things we did to the rig:
- Fiberglass front fenders
- New headliner
- Custom fabbed bucket seats in the front with an ARB Tuffy console
- Weatherstripping...so much weatherstripping
- Power steering
- Brass rear window gear to replace the plastic OEM part
- Somehow finding a rear tail light lens from south america
- Rear seat cover & visor covers from Proffit's
- New hood & grill
- Winch & lights
- $Body Work$ & $paint$
- Etc., etc.
2008
- I was headed to Indiana for college and knew that the Piggy would rust to death out in the salt-covered roads & humidity of the mid-west. It was time to sell.
- @zornff almost kept the rig for himself but it ultimately ended up in the hands of @mtnsurfer which we were thrilled about. The piggy was going to a good home, it was staying in Colorado and @mtnsurfer is a great guy. When you meet a fellow cruiser lover, you just know.
- Sale thread here: Sold the fresh pig ! - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/sold-the-fresh-pig.284413/
2008 - 2017
- @mtnsurfer starts to investigate some mild looking rust bubbles and finds out that they aren't so mild...
- He puts in some serious body work to get the piggy back to square
- His build thread here: Re-Freshed Pig - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/re-freshed-pig.773583/
- It was in a Valvoline commercial: Valvoline TV Commercial, '150 Years' - https://www.ispot.tv/ad/AqsG/valvoline-150-years
2017
- I stalk the Mud Forums and finally find @mtnsurfer and PM him to see if he's at all interested in selling the rig.
- He politely tells me that I was the 15th person to offer to buy it this year and that he's not planning on selling it anytime soon.
2020
- I reach out and PM him again.
- This time there is some interest in selling! He promises pics in the spring when the weather gets nicer...
2021
- No pics arrive in the spring but I stay resolved to stay in touch.
- It so happens that a trail race that I was running in ended in Aspen and we had an AirBNB in Carbondale for Labor Day weekend.
- I reach out to@mtnsurfer to see if I could swing by and see the piggy...AND HE SAYS YES.
- After 13 years away from my very first vehicle and from the car that I've been dreaming of since the day I sold it, there it was in absolutely KILLER condition.
- With a thorough test drive complete and a s***-eating grin across my face, I simply asked "So, are you ready to sell it?", "Yup, now's the time" he responded.
- DEAL.
So there you have it. The Prodigal Piggy is back in the family and my wife and I are absolutely thrilled. I'm still an absolute novice when it comes to vehicle repair work but I'm also someone who learns by experience so I'm looking forward to figuring things out with you all here on Mud. If you're in SW Colorado (where the pig is stored dry and warm for the winter) or in Denver (where they pig will reside for the summer) let me know!
- Chase Moore, son of @zornff, forever thankful to @mtnsurfer.
For those with nothing better to do: I've attempted to put my entire history with this pig into a single thread. I'm sure I missed a few things here and there but it's the closest I can get to honor the heritage of the divine swine that we all love and to say thank you to both @zornff and @mtnsurfer for all of the TLC (and $$$$) that they've put into this rig. But first, a photo.
1976
- @zornff buys his first piggy and was hooked for life.
2004
- @zornff convinces me that having an Iron Pig for a first car would be awesome.
- Bought the 1978 FJ-55 from Ron Korsen at Rocky Mountain Cruisers near Denver, CO
- @zornff and I made the trip to Denver to pick up the piggy and drive it home. Since I was 14 at the time, @zornff was driving and I was in the passenger seat wondering what the hell I was doing with this loud, old, rusty, slow and heavy car as my first vehicle.
- About 2.5 hours into the 5 hour drive, the motor blew. "Great, I thought, happy new car day to me!"
- We had the car towed back to RMC to have the 2F rebuilt and were finally able to get the piggy down to Pagosa where the work would begin.
2005
Added a few accessories. This was the jumping-off point for the rest of the build.
- Jasper 2F
- 4" Safari Lift
- Iron Pig Off Road P/S
- Wilderness Rack
- 33" Tires
- Custom Front and Rear Bumper
2006 - 2008
- Like I said, @zornff is the real hero of the story here. I had no idea what I was doing when it comes to working on cars (still don't) and wasn't interested in spending hours in a shop when I could be mountain biking, skiing, etc. with my friends.
- The build thread is here: Fresh Pig - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/fresh-pig.116490/#post-1497476
- There were so many people here on Mud who helped him get unobtanium parts that I can't even try to list them all. You know who you are if you're reading this!
From what I can remember, things we did to the rig:
- Fiberglass front fenders
- New headliner
- Custom fabbed bucket seats in the front with an ARB Tuffy console
- Weatherstripping...so much weatherstripping
- Power steering
- Brass rear window gear to replace the plastic OEM part
- Somehow finding a rear tail light lens from south america
- Rear seat cover & visor covers from Proffit's
- New hood & grill
- Winch & lights
- $Body Work$ & $paint$
- Etc., etc.
2008
- I was headed to Indiana for college and knew that the Piggy would rust to death out in the salt-covered roads & humidity of the mid-west. It was time to sell.
- @zornff almost kept the rig for himself but it ultimately ended up in the hands of @mtnsurfer which we were thrilled about. The piggy was going to a good home, it was staying in Colorado and @mtnsurfer is a great guy. When you meet a fellow cruiser lover, you just know.
- Sale thread here: Sold the fresh pig ! - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/sold-the-fresh-pig.284413/
2008 - 2017
- @mtnsurfer starts to investigate some mild looking rust bubbles and finds out that they aren't so mild...
- He puts in some serious body work to get the piggy back to square
- His build thread here: Re-Freshed Pig - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/re-freshed-pig.773583/
- It was in a Valvoline commercial: Valvoline TV Commercial, '150 Years' - https://www.ispot.tv/ad/AqsG/valvoline-150-years
- I stalk the Mud Forums and finally find @mtnsurfer and PM him to see if he's at all interested in selling the rig.
- He politely tells me that I was the 15th person to offer to buy it this year and that he's not planning on selling it anytime soon.
2020
- I reach out and PM him again.
- This time there is some interest in selling! He promises pics in the spring when the weather gets nicer...
2021
- No pics arrive in the spring but I stay resolved to stay in touch.
- It so happens that a trail race that I was running in ended in Aspen and we had an AirBNB in Carbondale for Labor Day weekend.
- I reach out to@mtnsurfer to see if I could swing by and see the piggy...AND HE SAYS YES.
- After 13 years away from my very first vehicle and from the car that I've been dreaming of since the day I sold it, there it was in absolutely KILLER condition.
- With a thorough test drive complete and a s***-eating grin across my face, I simply asked "So, are you ready to sell it?", "Yup, now's the time" he responded.
- DEAL.
So there you have it. The Prodigal Piggy is back in the family and my wife and I are absolutely thrilled. I'm still an absolute novice when it comes to vehicle repair work but I'm also someone who learns by experience so I'm looking forward to figuring things out with you all here on Mud. If you're in SW Colorado (where the pig is stored dry and warm for the winter) or in Denver (where they pig will reside for the summer) let me know!
- Chase Moore, son of @zornff, forever thankful to @mtnsurfer.
****ing Calirado
