I have had my jeep since June of 2014, and I've got some free time tonight so I figured I would make a build thread to help anyone out and to keep personal track of photos.
Back ground: I knew I wanted a jeep since I was young and knew I needed to save some money. My dad originally told me he would match whatever money I put up for the jeep I buy. Well, the first summer I worked a real job, June 2013, I made about 5k and he revoked his offer. I started looking for a jeep in early February 2014 to get a idea of what I could get.
After looking at two jeeps, a YJ(Seller wouldn't come down on price) and a Tj(rusted out the wazzoo), I found a 98' Tj on Craigslist. I really liked it and my dad and I went and checked it out that night. We ended up buying it for 6300, my dad gave me a loan for 1400 and I paid him back a few weeks later. The jeep was black, rust free tub and frame, lived in Texas for most of her life, 111k original miles on a 4-banger. And it was pretty much bone stock. I thought I was going to keep it that way..........
Now, I was 16 when I bought the jeep and had little to none mechanical experience. Luckily, my dad had a good set of tools that I could use to work on the jeep. Those tools are now located in the back of my jeep and are "mine" now which he isn't too fond of. I will try to put this pictures in order as best i can and provide as much information as possible.
The Jeep came with a steel horse hard top that was crap and a cover for the rain that was also crap. After a month of getting caught in the rain or the weather channel not getting the weather right and waking up to a wet jeep, I purchased a Rampage Frameless Soft Top. I liked the ability to keep the top as a safari top and the look of the slanted back. This was my first major purchase. I also cleaned up the plasti-dip off the rims.
This was in July
Most of the summer I did small things like removing the carpet and cleaning the inside. I planned all summer to beeline the interior since the floor was bare and corrosion was starting. At the time, I thought this was a very hard task due to my lack of mechanical knowledge and being 17(Turned 17 in June) but I would give it my best shot.
I ordered a gallon of Monstaliner and used my dads connections to get all the supplies needed. I started by pulling the rear seat out(breaking 3 of 4 bolts in the process) and sanding the back so i could drive it still. And I figured section by section over a weeks period would keep my mind sane and my arms able to move. Again, by using my dads connections I got a ton of 120 grit sand paper. After two days of periodically sanding the tub, I pulled into the drive way where i would take the console, seat belts, seats, etc. out and sand the rest of the tub. I have a personal mindset where i hate to slack on work. That, and a self diagnosed mild case of OCD. So no corners were cut.
Heres a photo after i finished sanding and priming the bare metal spots
Looks good, we got our jeeps around the same time (May here) and at the sameish age lol. Hoping to bedline mine this summer, may steal your idea of sanding in sections too.
I lost the majority of photos from the small things I did. After i finished the Bedlining process in late august/early September, the only thing i did was add mirrors to the body so I could take the doors off and not worry about the cops. i don't even use the side mirrors now as I have no blind spots. Any way, the tires the jeep came with were street tires. At this point in the build, I had no idea if I was going to add a lift and get into mudding. All I was doing was beach riding right in September but had a few friends that would go wheeling.
It was time for tires. If I knew what i was going to do with the build, I would have went with 33"s but i went with 31" because I honestly didn't think I was going to put a lift on. A buddy at Pep Boys got me a deal on a set of 31" BFG AT tires and I put them on in mid-september.
I also replaced the old crappy fog lights with a nice set of piaas.
In October, I tagged along with a few buddies to do a wheeling trip at Wharton State Forest. This was my first trip and I was very excited to see what my jeep could do. Sadly, i lost the photos from this trip. It was a lot of trail riding and climbing with some mud thrown into the mix.
The next weekend we headed to a local pit. It has water crossings and a good section to climb. But, BUT, it also has a deadly peanut butter mud hole. Usually my friend who has a XJ with 8" of lift and 35" goes first but he was lagging behind. So, i said screw it and went.
The picture says everything that happened next.
This was my first time being stuck and I tried not to panic. Some winching and digging, I was out 15 min later. No harm done and some experience gained.
We stayed for a few more hours and did some climbing. My friends were teaching me how to properly navigate and feel out the obstacles
Looking through my photos, it looks like next I trimmed the fender flares. I wanted to give it a try before spending money on flat flares and I really liked the out come. Just trace with a pencil and cut slow and steady with a razor blade.
After that, I decided to purchase a Eyourlife 50" Light Bar to use on the beach and trails. It gave a nice newer look.
Here is a photo of the trimmed flares and the light bar.
This photo was in late November
Lift Time!!!
I purchased a 2" BDS Suspension Lift in November and put it on November 20th. I am grateful to have a awesome uncle with a successful BMW shop. He let me use his hydraulic lift and any tools I needed. Air tools made it a lot easier. My and my buddy did the lift together in a few hours.
After the lift was done, it was now time for body armor and what not.
A picture of jeep rocking the safari top on the beach
A shot of some maintenance done. I learned throughout this build about electrical and mechanical maintenance and how to fix/repair/upgrade things. I cleaned the IAC due to idle problems, especially while wheeling I would have extremely low idle rpms, sometimes enough where it would stall on an incline.
Nothing better than getting jeep parts shipped to your door! I got a great black Friday deal on a set of Pro-Comp wheels from quadratec that i couldn't pass. The original wheels had 5" back spacing with caused some rubbing. With the new wheels and 3.5" backspacing, they solve that problem and give it a wider, more aggressive stance. Wheels are 15x8. Gloss black is also very nice compared to the dirty plastic-dip.
Installed on tires
I sanded and painted one side of the rear frame where it had some surface rust. This upcoming summer i will be painting the entire frame in chassis saver to preserve the frame unless this rustoleum paint holds up good. I have done the inside with eastwood internal frame coating.
More jeep porn ahead! I put in a order of some needed parts.
JKS Disconnects
Barricade Rocker Guards(Very nice product, and thanks to Extreme Terrain for getting me a great price on everything I bought from them.)
Installing the side steps
Installed the quick disconnects. They work very good on the trails
Finished product after installing the rocker guards. They hid the dent completely.
At this point in the build, I was running out of funds but not at what I wanted yet, so I kept going. I always made sure to have at least 1k in the bank incase of a engine failure or something else. After the rear bumper went on(Christmas) we took a vacation to the Bahamas when my dad and I did really good at the casino one night. He gave me a piece of the winnings and add that on top of some christmas money, I had enough for a new winch I wanted.
Option A was use the same bumper with a winch plate
Option B was buy a new bumper made for offroading. One with more clearance for climbing and some solid recovery points.
After researching I wanted a stinger. As much as I would have liked a custom build one, I couldn't swing the funds and Ryan at Extreme Terrain gave me a good deal on a Smittybilt SRC Stinger.
Again this is another time where my phone broke and I lost build pictures, but I still have all the wheeling pictures/videos on my computer. Also, I'm thinking of putting some podz on the windshield mounts to add more lights. Maybe two on the bumper.
The first snow day with the new bumper on
Another flex shot at a local pit and a shot with my buddies XJ
I was waiting for the winch to come that wheeling trip, I think it came the next day. I was all ready and had my winch plate on and everything.
I put the winch on MLK Day after a long day of duck hunting.
I did a lot of research on this and the Engo E9000 seemed like a great choice to go to. I wanted synthetic line also. I went to Extreme Terrain again, and got a 10% discount of the total order. I wasn't too happy with the blue syn. line that was in the stock photo but it shipped with black line anyway.
It was a simple install, I say because of what I learned from working on the jeep before. It gave the jeep a nice new look also. I should note that I can't really see any sag that was caused by the winch and bumper, another reason I am happy I went with BDS. I want to add a 1" spacer on the jeep too.
The next weekend we headed to a undisclosed location because of the trespassing legally, but the owners/workers do not mind because they work on weekdays. This place is a big dirtbike/quad place but you are able to wheel there too. Just have to be careful not to go in the cliff.
I was dying to try the new winch out. My friend lou with the xj went first through some muck/peanutbutter mud and struggled a little. I gave it a try and sure enough i got stuck. Only place to winch was from behind so lou used his winch to get me out. There will be another time for my winch.
No pics from here that I would want to put up
The following weekend after the trip above, we headed to a local pit again. Theres a spot where the ruts are pretty deep and i got stuck there before. But I needed to try the winch so I tried busting ass through it, but my tank got caught on the ground before I could exit it.
Winch worked fine, but I needed to rewire the solenoid under the hood and make some in-cab controls. Another day.
Heres a few shots of Lou getting some crazy flex
How did your friend paint their grill like the american flag? Just curious also great project I really like how its going so far only on page two or something like that.
Lou and my other buddy Henry gave me a nice cb radio set up that weekend so I put that on when I got back to the house after the trip.
I wired it into the car charger wiring so no one could f*ck with it while parked with the top down. It only turns on when accessories are engaged. I like to make the job look professional with some heat shrink
For now its drilled into the back of my console and i bolted the antenna into the tub
Now we are up to date with my current progress. Last Sunday I went with a group of jeeps to Wharton. Bunch of locals. Anyway after a long day of wheeling, me and this other guy were taking a trail back to a road. I was leading and the last whole to go through was a deep pit. But, there was a small hole before the actual hole on the right side. My left tire got caught in the hole, the rear end jumped up 3-4ft and the whole jeep rotated 90degrees to the right. Well, I still powered through the thick ice and deep hole and made it out no problem.
My steering wheel turned upside down(easy fix) and i was hoping I didn't bend the tie rod or control arm. I check and nothing broke underneath. I make a pit stop at my grandparents and find out my steering box is leaking like a SOB. Made it home with steering but had none in the morning to drive to school. So she sat this past week and yesterday I finally finished the steering box swap with a dodge duragno rebuilt one. All is working fine but the job was a pain in the ass.
Convoy Shot, the other jeeps infront of the tj I was with are all from a NY Jeep Club
Great build! I'm glad we could be a part of it! I went down to Wharton once a few years back with a buddy but it was our first time down and we didn't find anything like the spots in your pictures. I'll have to get with a group who knows where they're going and give it another shot!
Let me know when you're ready for your next mod that I can help you out with!
Wharton is a fun place and has tons of trails in and around Yesterday was a snow day and I met up with a few friends to drift in the streets and beach. My one friend in a stock xj drifted into me head on. Me? Not a scratch. He needs a new bumper and grill
Jeeps and CRAPTORS
Craptors. I think that's funny.
I don't like F150s at all, they have become soccer mom 'trucks'. The raptors look great, but thats about the only thing that is great. Its what a rich guy does when he doesn't really know what to do with his money. :mooning:
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