Jeep Wrangler Forum banner

Black TJ build

5K views 55 replies 6 participants last post by  Farmertom 
#1 ·
Hi all,

So 10 years ago now I was working in Canada and traveling around the US. When my visa's ended I needed to sell the car I had. The potential buyer took it to a garage to be checked out, and gave me her ride... a white TJ, no top. And I spent 3 days driving around the glorious Utah desert in it, and loved it.

10 years later I'm now settled back in the UK with a wife and kid, and 2 years ago I decided now was the time to get one. I eventually got a billet silver 02, put on a ome 2.5" lift with t-case drop and 33's. Its amazing the difference a good set of wheels makes. I loved it, but the more time i spent on it, and the more time looking around these forums, I knew that I needed one little different.

With the kid and a dog, I was struggling in the summer with no a/c. And getting them both in the back with a soft top was proving a PIA! And black is my colour... so... new peramiters: Black, hardtop, A/C and id like an auto if poss.

I sold the 02, but kept the wheels and tyres. I will attach a pic of my old ride bellow...
 

Attachments

See less See more
1
#2 ·
So with the 02 gone, I eventually tracked down a stock 2003 sahara with all of the things I needed and only 53500 miles.

And boy does the black look goooood :D

I had some problems with it. Rear left brake light kept fusing out, a high pitched whistle from the engine and massive shaking at 45mph and above! Ive fixed it all apart from the whistle, which is proving a challenge even to the garage i took it to!

Anyways, I needed to get my 33's on it. So I got a set of RT OffRoad 1.75" coil spacers with bump stops. This was the first big thing I had ever done myself to any vehicle... I was bit nervous but got it done and felt very accomplished. I drove the 33's on that set up for several weeks and did not have a single problem. Only on road though.

Pic upto this point below: Stock, with 1.75" coil spacer and 33's...
 

Attachments

#3 ·
The reason I got coil spacers was to get my 33's going until I get a proper lift on. The stock wheels the TJ came with were way out of line and the tyres quite worn.

I have some time off mid-november, and want to put the lift on myself, so I have to wait until then. I don't want to complicate things engine wise, so I'm thinking a 2" lift and a body lift. That will give me 3.25" of lift, which I think will be just right. Im still tempted by the ome 2.5" lift again, but don't want to have problems with any workings in the TJ.

Got the bl on 2 days ago: 1.75" coil spacers, 1.25" bl, 33's, and its looking good :D I think a proper 2" lift will be just right...
 
#5 ·
And thats as far as I've got so far. Im running without a spare since the bl was put on, need to decide on what bumper/carrier I'm going to run with, but next will be the lift in November.

I had a broken sway bar which I replaced yesterday and at the same time I put another spacer (16mm) in the same left side to level out the front. It was sagging due to old springs.


So from here, what i would like to do:

Short term:
Suspension lift... prob a 2" lift, still need to decide which one.

Rear bumper... not keen on the practicability of swing out tyre carriers, so thinking about the Exogate, then i can chose a nice bumper when I'm ready.

Engine whistle noise... get it fixed, its driving me mad! Its been traced to a damaged thread where sensors would normally sit in the exhaust manifold.


Long term:
Front bumper... no idea yet. I think its hard to find one that makes a TJ look great.

Retractable step... I like the electric step, will help the wife and kid to be able to get in.

Adding colour... maybe like to run some orange or yellow through it. Just subtly, like suspension, diff cover etc... only underneath. Might mean a change of wheels to some fake headlock's and an orange rim guard. Gulp £$. Don't tell the wife!


This is my daily drive. I like the look of a black, lifted TJ's that are simply moded. So I won't be going over the top with rock guards and the like. I like the simple look... so I'm not to sure about running orange highlights through the truck. I don't want to make it too showey, look at me stuff (I'm already driving a TJ :D). So i will see where it takes me...

Might be quite an intermittent thread, between the farm and the kid I don't get much time at the moment.
 
#6 ·
Looking good!! I've got the 1.25" body lift and OME 2.5 suspension lift and 33's, I'm really happy with that. If you do go with the OME lift they have different spring options if you running heavier bumpers with winch etc. Just a thought if you plan on replacing the bumpers. Google "Old Man Emu International Application Catalogue". It their full range of suspension setups for different vehicles. By the way my TJ whistles a lot too only at certain revs. I know my headers have a crack in them but I'll check out my O2 sensor too, Thanks!!
 
#7 ·
Hi all, little update on progress...

Got the engine whistle fix, thankfully! It was quite embarising: http://www.wranglerforum.com/f210/manifold-whistle-but-which-one-1870169.html

So, ive been looking into bumpers but there is very limited choice here in the UK. I would love a set of JCR off road bumpers, they were very helpfull with shipping costs etc, but even without import duties the shipping almost trippled the original price! So I tried to track down some Warn bumpers, but there are non instock here except the tyre carrier. I was almost left with Bestop, which i find abit ugly and heavy. And Smittybilt or ARB, again not to fond of there looks. But I stumbled across a company in Italy, rocks 4x4, who have some very nice bumpers and are very helpful.

I am going to get there rear bumper which is compatible with the warn tyre carrier. I will also get some front fog lights so im ready for the delightfull English winter, and am still concidering the lift too. Will be the OME 2.5" HD kit. Should be fine with that tyre carrier set up and hardtop. I will get the rocks front bumper in afew months time to complete the set.

Im excited to get stuck into all this. Pic to the rear bumper im talking about below.

Cheers all.

FarmerTom.
 
#10 ·
Finally got some stuff done yesterday. Not going to get as much time off as i thought, so its going to be bit here and there now.

I started with the tow hook, that did not want to come off. I needed a 5 foot bar to turn the nuts on that sucker! Took me ages to get off. Then the oem bumper came off easy.

I coiled up the bumper wiring and tucked it into the tub in the wheel arch. And did the same with the tow hook wiring on the left. The tow hook right wiring i used to wire power for a licence plate light, that I'm mounting in the centre of the spare tyre.

I have a Rugged Ridge HD tyre carrier that I cut off 6.5cm to suck it right into the tail gate. And raised an inch as my 33 did not fit before i put the body lift on. I am going to mount this and see how it goes. I have the Bestop Oversized tyre carrier on order from Quadratec, but its out of stock at the moment.

Then the aftermarket bumper when on easy, and looks fantastic :D

Pics up to this point...
 
#14 ·
So, next time i get a spare few hours:

Remove bumper, paint frame and hook up fog lights. (Will paint my headlight bezels black at the same time).

Mount spare tyre and extend the bump stops. Centre the licence plate.

Sort out a 3rd brake light.

Maybe re route the wiring for the licence plate light. I will see what it looks like first.


Also, if I am happy running the 33 on that tyre carrier, I might cancel the order for the Bestop tyre carrier, and get a front bumper instead. I will see how it goes, seams to allot of positive and negative review about running the Rugged Ridge HD tyre carrier, so it hard to know how it will perform.

Thats me done for now.

FarmerTom.
 
#16 ·
Finished off all the bits at the back today.

You can see here, how much I've managed to suck in the spare tyre by cutting of 6.5cm from the tyre mount. Its surprising how much the tailgate still flexes when i pull on the tyre, so going to leave the Bestop Oversized tyre carrier on order. Think it will be a good investment for the long run...
 

Attachments

#17 ·
Heres the rear. Just need to make a small bracket to mount my led 3rd brake light above the licence plate light.

I very happy with how it all looks :D

I did loose 1/2 an inch of lift height at the back, with the new bumper and spare tyre. Not too bothered though, will be getting the proper HD lift soon after new years :D

FarmerTom out for now...
 

Attachments

#19 ·
I also received my Bestop Oversized spare tyre carrier all the way from Quadratec, for half the price of any UK company who is selling it! And within 5 days, great place.

Great design, easy installation. I had to extend my tyre bumpstop to the carrier arm, as when I tightened the top link to pull it in, it started to twist the tub on the lower bracket.

The only problem I had was with the licence plate mount I had just installed (as above). The tyre is held to the tyre carrier by that single large bolt that protrudes through the middle to spare tyre when mounted... right in the way of the licence plate mount. So I had to mod the bracket to allow the bolt through. Showed below. Also I needed to extend the wiring for the third brake light, as when the tail gate opens the tyre move further away than before...
 

Attachments

#20 ·
Very happy with the end result. Solid construction, I won't worry about my tailgate falling off now.

The only complaint I have about the carrier, is that it holds the spare quite low. If I had a 35 spare on, it would not fit! Needs to be about 2 inches higher i recon... anyway love it :D
 

Attachments

#21 ·
And that gets me upto date for now. I have a front bumper from the same company as my rear one arriving this week, they offered me a great discount and could not refuse.

I am also getting some sealant today, as we had some heavy rain a week or so ago, and it soaked the inside of my TJ! I had a inch of standing water in my foot wells, like i had left the top off! I have found 3 leaks... 1 on each side of the hardtop door where it meets the tub. And 1 right in the middle of the hardtop door, seemingly dripping from nowhere. So I am going to put some sealant strategically in place to hopefully stop this.

Back at the end of the week, hopefully with my front bumper install...
 
#22 ·
Had my TJ in the workshop for a few days now, to dry out. Sealed up the 2 corners of the hardtop door, as I assume this is where the water was pouring in.

I used a roof sealant, which has kind of a tar like substance to it. It does not dry hard, so whist it seals and adheres it also stays flexible. Thought it was perfect where the hardtop door pushed on the seal. Hasn't rained yet so no idea if its worked.

I still have no idea where the leak was coming from right in the middle of the door, the entire lower seal was very damp inside! I have stuck the ends and used some sealant swell. If that doesn't work I will put the sealant all the way across the bottom of the door...
 

Attachments

#24 ·
Also got my front bumper on whilst it was in the workshop. Super easy, straight on no messing. Very happy with it, although I am not sure what type or where to mount some fog lights with that styled bumper. Maybe a light bar... not sure... might make a new thread in a bit to see what others have done.

Thats me done until the new year now. Should be getting a proper lift on by March... it looks far to low!

Only front fog lights and installing the baby seat for nursery runs once I'm sure all the leaks are fixed...

Happy Christmas all.
FarmerTom.
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top