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My first Jeep

14K views 121 replies 28 participants last post by  TJ Kidd 
#1 ·
Hey everyone, I finally got a jeep. I've wanted one for so long! Land vehicle Vehicle Car Jeep Tire
It's a 4.0 L sport with a 5 speed. It's riding on some worn 31" BF Goodrich tires. It was a repo and we got it for 2500 dollars. Runs great, the engine seems to be in good condition (with the exception of no water in the cooling system, we haven't seen any sign of engine overheat but we will look into it once we get it clean) but the PO had a lot of junk laying around in it. Never cleaned it, and probably lived on a dirt road. I've got a few plans for this thing. But first things first, we gotta get it clean and fix any issues we find with the engine. Land vehicle Vehicle Car Jeep Automotive tire
This is after we washed it up. Amazing what soap and water can do to a car! There doesn't appear to be much rust if any on the frame or anywhere on the jeep for that matter. The top is in poor condition with a rip down the back window (duct taped by PO). I plan to replace it with a hard top and find some full doors. I'm also considering the dual tube front bumper and a smittybilt SRC classic tire carrier. We took the seats out to wash them and are looking for some new seat covers. I'm thinking something to match the paint. The muffler has got a hole in it and while I do kinda like the sound, it needs a new muffler. Thinking about a flowmaster 50 series.. I'm thinking about a Rough Country 3.25" lift with 33x12.50 15 Goodyear wrangler duratrac tires, I may even keep the wheels that are on the jeep as they seem to be after market. Btw can anyone identify the rims on the jeep? It doesn't seem to have any markings on them, and I'm sure they're aftermarket. I need a 5th tire and I'd like the rim to match. Land vehicle Tire Vehicle Alloy wheel Automotive tire
One of the things I found under the back seat was a jeep hubcap! I think it looks sick on my wall! It might be a suvonyier that I'll keep with me for the rest of my life to remember my first jeep! Lol Alloy wheel Wheel Rim Auto part Automotive wheel system
If you guys have any tips for me I'd appreciate it! My dad is a experienced mechanic and any issues that pop up we can resolve ourselves. We're fixing a bunch of interior things such as the ripped drivers seat and the bedlined floors. Need a new shifter knob and the shifter boot won't stay down. Until we fix it up though it'll be sitting in the drive!
 
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#6 ·
You need a new one of these to hold the shift boot in the console. 97 04 Jeep Wrangler TJ Shift Boot Retainer Bezel | eBay The wheels are OEM. You would be better with an aftermarket wheel when you go to a wider tire. Otherwise you will need to run wheel spacers to retain those factory wheels.
Ok. I know I need wheels with the proper backspacing to run 33" tires, I just didn't know if those would be good enough. Guess I'll have to invest in some rims too!
 
#7 ·
Stock TJ wheels have a 5" back spacing. This is fine up to a 10.50" wide tire. Beyond that, you will need new wheels or spacers.
For a 12.50" wide tire, 4" backspacing is right at perfect. Some people will run something with 3.75"; however, if you have tire coverage laws in your state, that is just more tire to cover and the clearance is not needed.
 
#13 ·
It also looks pretty awesome if you use a bedliner color to match the exterior paint, instead of the same old boring black. I saw pictures of a member who painted his smurf blue Jeep with matching Smurf Blue bedliner and it looked marvelous. Wish I could find the link.
 
#15 ·
I'm considering moving up to the 4" RC lift. I'm on a tight budget about to go to college, and I was wondering what I would need besides the TC drop. I won't be doing much offroading, and there arn't any extreme trails around here. I'll be running 33" tires and I'm looking for rims to replace the stock ones. What else should I look into?
 
#28 ·
Most of the dash is painted. All that's left is what's still attached to the interior which is going to be black.

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The vents, glove box, center console, and the panel under the steering wheel are all red. The glove box is flat while the others have a slight gloss to them.. Is it noticeable? XD
 
#29 ·
Most of the dash is painted. All that's left is what's still attached to the interior which is going to be black.

The vents, glove box, center console, and the panel under the steering wheel are all red. The glove box is flat while the others have a slight gloss to them.. Is it noticeable? XD
Not really...looks pretty sweet
 
#31 ·
Cleaned the rims! Just need to get some aluminum oxide remover and polish. Probably going to sell the rims toward my next pair of wheels. Before: Alloy wheel Tire Rim Wheel Automotive tire
After: Alloy wheel Tire Rim Wheel Automotive tire
Its not perfect, but I'll work on it some more later today. Also installed superbrightleds in the instrument panel. Vehicle Speedometer Car Auto part Gauge
I'll take a better one at night.
 

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#34 ·
Cleaned the rims! Just need to get some aluminum oxide remover and polish. Probably going to sell the rims toward my next pair of wheels. Before: After: Its not perfect, but I'll work on it some more later today. Also installed superbrightleds in the instrument panel. I'll take a better one at night.
Those are sweet rims man. Have any idea what the back spacing is on them?
 
#41 ·
The jeep is looking clean. I think I've decided on the 4" rough country lift with Dick Cepek DC-2 wheels. The dash is put together as well and the bedliner has been ordered. We decided to redo the glove box because it looks pretty far off from the rest of the red. We had to order the right color off amazon.

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