As many of you already know, YouTube is filled with a wide assortment of unusual and eclectic characters. You will also find many interesting people in the automotive world, as the passions that cars conjure bring out some of the extreme elements of their personalities. Another realm that features many interesting personalities is the “do-it-yourself” aficionados. In this shocking yet amusing video, a perfect storm of all three elements combine. Some YouTubers turned a classic Jeep Cherokee into a convertible, just for kicks. 

Jeep Cherokee convertible: “It had no air conditioning, so I had to make my own.”

The hardcore modification of the classic Jeep Cherokee comes courtesy of the gentlemen at the YouTube channel BackyardBroncos. With the aid of a sawzall, a hammer, and some cans of beer, BackyardBroncos went to work. First, they took the hammer and knocked off all of the badges on the Jeep. From there, they powered up the sawzall and sliced off the roof and pillars. Some parts needed some extra elbow grease to be removed, but they eventually got the job done. 

The video concluded with a trip to the gas station. Understandably, the modified Jeep Cherokee convertible garnered a great deal of attention. It even received some praise from onlookers. One of the men from BackyardBroncos responded by saying, “It had no air conditioning, so I had to make my own!”

The Jeep Cherokee convertible goes for an off-road joy ride

To celebrate their destruction of a classic Jeep Cherokee and the creation of a convertible, BackyardBroncos celebrated with an off-road joy ride. This endeavor was also aided by some cans of beer. BackyardBroncos topped off the fluids with beer — and, for good measure, poured some all over the engine. 

Give the driver credit for wearing a helmet. However, in lieu of a proper seat belt, they just put a strap around his waist. From there, the driver started the ignition and took a wild ride on a dusty road, rambling over bumps and weaving around curves. 

The joy ride was interrupted to make some more tweaks with the sawzall, as well as feeding the Jeep Cherokee convertible with more beer. After completing the joy ride, the celebration continued with BackyardBroncos completing the Jeep Cherokee destruction with a sledgehammer. Pour one out and shed a tear for the death of this classic Jeep.

The Jeep Cherokee in the video is very rare with its 5-speed transmission

If you’re a Jeep enthusiast and aficionado, the video may be especially painful to watch, for the modified/destroyed Cherokee is very rare. While at the surface, it may appear as just a normal 1st-generation Jeep Cherokee from the 1993-1998 model years. However, its rarity is due to the fact that it has a five-speed manual transmission. 

One of the good things about the stick shift versions of the 1st-generation Jeep Cherokee was their reliability. The 1st-generation Cherokees with the automatic transmission notoriously had mechanical problems. This wasn’t as much of a problem with the stick shift versions. Also, since the five-speed manual Cherokee was the base model, it didn’t have the complicated electronics system in the cabin of the other Cherokee models. The interior electronics system in the 1st-generation Cherokee was prone to failure.