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Onroad/Offroad Daily Driver Build

54K views 205 replies 46 participants last post by  Owen_TJ 
#1 ·
Figured i'd post this here as well so it'd be easier to update instead of the normal "build" thread :)

I've decided to start a build thread from the day I got my 99 until now and will then update with the future progress which I definitely plan to accomplish. I'm hoping to have it at a nice build before the end of next year so we'll see how it goes (I usually get impatient and get things done quicker than i should lol). This may be a bit long winded but oh well!

Anyway, without further ado...here we are!

In August of 2010 I started searching for a TJ because for years it had been a dream vehicle of mine. I was living in Iowa which proved to me that finding them in good shape wasn't the easiest task due to salt on the roads every single year. I knew i wanted an unmodified TJ with a manual tranny so i looked at rig after rig. Finally in October of 2010 i found one that was newly listed on a dealers website so i immediately drove over. The only things listed were "red, manual, 99, all stock". When i got there, the rig was immaculate with only 61k on it. The big catch to this was it was a 2.5L 4cyl.

The following day i went over after work and drove it for an hour or so...looked everything over...drove it some more...and then went back to the dealership. It had everything i wanted minus the 4.0 which was almost like a unicorn to find for a decent price where i was. After about 20 minutes of negotiations i signed the paperwork to my new TJ.

Quick specs were as follows:

1999 Wrangler SE
2.5L 4cyl
61,000 miles
Mostly Stock (bushwacker flares)
Cruise
A/C (which i never use)
Soundbar
2 piece hard top
manual tranny
alloy wheels
zero rust

Even with the 2.5L, I had zero regrets buying it after i got it home (did fine in Iowa on the hwy due to being extremely flat lol).

Here are a couple pics the day i brought it home:





Like everyone else who falls victim to the wrangler, i started thinking of allllll the stuff i wanted to do to it.

The first week i had it read up on a few posts here and then did a full tune-up, repainted the faded hardtop, capped the bumpers, removed the rear seat and belts, removed the steps, and a few odds and ends such as tightening the ebrake and bedlining the rear. I also went topless for the first time which was fantastic and just brought the cloud of debt and mods closer towards my wallet.

After some touch-ups





Soon after that i ended up stopping by the dealership where i bought her and picked up some paperwork...while i was there, i decided to look at some rims they had in stock and found some i absolutely fell in love with. A set of 15x8 Mickey Thompson Limited Edition Signature Series (what a mouth full lol). The list price on them was like 145 a wheel at the dealer so i was basically just window shopping at the time. Well, while i was standing there the shop manager came up to me and goes "you're the one that bought the red TJ, right?" so i told him yes and he said "i've got two sets of 5 of these wheels in stock i'm trying to get rid of due to the new JK wheels coming in. How about i knock the price down to 75 a wheel for you"...an hour later i showed up with cash and bought both sets...one set i mounted on my own jeep and the other i sold 2 hours later for 250 more than i paid for it...an hour after that my stock wheels were sold for 200. When you do the math, i actually made 75 dollars by going with the new wheels. I also added a magnaflow muffler and magnaflow cat at this time.

Here are where the mods started:



Shortly after installing the wheels (which the shop accidentally mounted white letters out), i moved from West Des Moines, IA to Denver, CO. Right when i got here, i noticed how everyone was tinted (Iowa was strict on this) so i went over and tinted my front windows to match my top and put in a new alpine deck.

Slow start but here she was tinted:



About 3-4 months after being here in Colorado, i really started planning of how i wanted my jeep to look and began my plan to have a great onroad vehicle with great capability offroad. I know they're able to do this stock, but i wanted to be able take down some heavy trials and then still drive home and drive the same vehicle to work the next day...i then ordered my 3" SL with a set of 32x11.5" tires. Once that was installed, it started to take a slight shape for what i wanted.

Lift and tires installed:







I was completely happy with it for the time being and held off a while before i did any more "actual" mods to it. I then focused on the fact i loved being able to just throw the top down when i wanted so i turned to craigslist and sold my 2-piece hardtop in favor of a trektop NX which i still currently have and absolutely love.

This was now around September of 2011



Now fast forward a while because i was broke from moving and doing the slight mods i had done so far (i was 24/25 at the time of this). I decided to start the smaller mods for what i had in store so i ended up getting rid of my tcase drop and going with a 1.25" BL and 1" MML. While i was at it i also threw on a set of quick discos. My thinking was i eventually plan on a tummy tuck and also wanted to throw some 33's on there in order to complete some tougher trails and just further the offroad ability of it while maintaining a decent onroad ride.

Newly installed BL/MML/Quick discos:



A couple months later i started thinking about my articulation and how i'd like to be able to flex when needed with the larger tires so even though i wasnt a big fan of tube fenders at the time, i put on a set of smitty tubes in front...relocated my turn signals to the grill...and ran a pair of 6" flat xenon flares in the rear. I didnt quite get the look i was wanting with this but now that it was done, i kept on thinking of things to do in order to balance out the look and the function offroad as well as onroad as my daily driver.

Not quite the look or function i was wanting:



Now...fast forward about a year...i've been in Colorado for quite a while and my jeep plan had been put on hold due to going overseas to the Czech Republic and Germany for 2 weeks. Keep in mind i was then 26 (about 6 months ago) and wasnt exactly making it rain lol. Also, the previous year i had modded my 2003 R6 a bit more as well as my 1991 Mustang so that took some funds but i actually sold the motorcycle in June of 2012 and then sold the mustang in december of 2012 so those funds then went to pay my trip (as did my credit card lol). As soon as i got back, i was itching to mod the jeep and continue my goal of a great onroader/offroader on a budget.

I scapped my plans for 33's and decided that even with my 2.5L, i could DD a set of 35's because i rarely ever highway drive. So, being impatient like i usually am, i just threw a set of 35's on there without building for them first (even though i was very versed in what i needed to run them reliably). During this time, i also fully tinted my windshield 35%, threw on a 4.0 TB for some better midrange, and went with a set of sliders in flat black.

She is now starting to take shape:

 
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13
#2 ·
Well...now that i was impatient and stupid by throwing a set of 35's on there thinking i could go 6 months to a year before i needed to upgrade things, i found my shopping cart full of a new HD steering setup, some black magic brakes, chromoly D30 axle shafts, a Ford 8.8 rear axle, and some 4.88 gears just 3 weeks after having the 35's on there.

Once everything was on, i thought "finally...i can just drive it and wheel it without any problems"...nope...due to the 8.8 axle being much lager than my d35, i then found myself needing a SYE and CV shaft because it kept binding and giving me HORRIBLE vibes.

So, the day i got it home from where the axle was installed (shop a few miles away)...i sat down and started planning the next stage for what i'd need to further my onroad/offroad DD build. After i wrote things down and planned it out, i then ordered:

SYE
CV Shaft
4.5" front coil springs to level it out from the rear axle install
Upper adjustable control arms front and rear
Lower fixed arms front and rear (was going to go adjustable but didnt have the funds but the specs on them worked perfect for my current setup)
Extended front brake lines for flex
Chopped front bumper for full approach angle
New set of Nitro shocks
Diehard P4 battery

This was the biggest and most costly "stage" for my build so far...at the moment i can pretty much hit any trail thrown at me and still daily drive her since its my only vehicle.

Here is how she sits currently







Well...that is how she has progressed so far since owning her. I've read tons of threads here on the forum and frequent this every single day. I constantly learn more and more and am constantly tweaking my plans in order to accomplish what i want to build. So far, I'm happy with my progress and think i've got an extremely capable daily driver for both onroad and offroad which hasnt cost too terribly much to build, especially working on a now 27 year olds budget (turned in august). I also feel like i've got one of the nicer built 2.5L's which i just further plan to modify in order to achieve my goal :)

I'll update this with every new "stage" and will also post pics of course...

I know there are tons of ways this could have been done such as getting a winch first and so on and so forth, but thats ok...tons of ways to get things done :)

For those of you wondering what the future plans are, these are pretty much concrete for what i plan throughout the next year!

Bestop highrock front stubby bumper with grill guard
Engo 10k winch with synth line and wireless remote
Exogate with 35" spare (currently sitting in the garage)
UCF ultra tcase skid in aluminum with cable shifter and aluminum gas tank skid
Poison Spyder hood louvers in flat black
New 6.5" speakers in the soundbar
AX15 tranny
505 performance turbo system (was originally planning a 4bt but have decided on the turbo for a few of my own reasons)

Well, I'm sure I've forgotten a few things but that's it so far from start to current as well as my future plans!

Any questions and all comments welcome regardless of them being positive or negative...

thanks for reading and definitely stay tuned!!!

-Owen_TJ
 
#5 ·
Haha, glad i'm not the only one!!! Its definitely an uphill struggle...especially when you add the girlfriend into the mix lol.

The jeep would already be done if it werent for her lol

Awesome jeep! This is what I am aiming towards. Keep it up!
thanks man!! Hopefully i can get a few more things done soon...ran into some money issues recently so had to put the jeep on the back burner for the moment.
 
#11 ·
Thanks, man! It'll be on 37's soon enough...

But umm...its about a foot taller than it was when i got it stock. I cant remember what the rockers were sitting at when i got it stock but the rockers are currently at 27.5" from the ground.

Its got about 6" lift with combined SL and BL with flat flares and tube fenders so that could be why it looks bigger. The 37's will be paired with the turbo kit when i'm able to afford it (have already started the saving lol).

This is simply amazing.. The steps.. The preparation. Everything! Very outstanding. A lot of props to you man. Good job!!
Thanks a lot man, definitely appreciated!!! Saw your build as well, looks great.

Looking good man. Another 26er here, and I just started my auto apprenticeship. So I know the pain if being short on cash. You're doing great so far, I'm looking forward to seeing the future if this thing!
Thanks, man! I'm definitely lookin forward to the progress as well haha...ran into a little monetary situation recently so the few things i had already planned to get have had to wait but soon enough!

Awesome job! thank you for posting your step by step... as a newbie to owning my jeep this has been super helpful as I'm looking at similar mods and on/off road capability! Oh yeah and wallet isn't very forgiving!
Definitely not forgiving haha...just do yourself a favor and lock your bank accounts down, hide your credit cards, and dont ever go on a jeep website lol

Thanks again!

What kind of mpg are you getting with that 2.5L?
Got 18 on my last tank...
 
#13 ·
Haha...yeah, its not bad. I love my 4 cyl and have zero regrets with it but thats only because i'm very rarely on the hwy. When i have to go into the mountains its no good on hills and i have to downshift to 3rd depending on the hill but yeah, overall its not bad.

I'm going to be going with a 505 performance setup...I know there are a lot of other cost effective ways to gain even more power, but i just kind of like the idea of a different path than most others.

The kit is 3k which is a little steep, but not bad. It'll get the power of a 6 cyl which is all i need but i like the turbo idea. I also like that i'll maintain my reliability with my current motor and also the ease of fixing it if anything needs maintenance. I also like that i wont have a weight change so i wont need to mess with motor mounts or a new suspension setup to carry the weight of a different motor. Looking forward to picking it up when i have the cash for it!
 
#17 ·
Thanks, man...completely understandable to wrap one up lol.

When you're doing your build, just make sure to read up on everything and just do it right...primary thing when doing a DD build is to do it right so it never leaves you stranded!!!
 
#18 ·
I have got to agree with Owen. I've been stranded once because I did the first few replacement parts on my jeep with sh!tty/half a$$ed used parts. Did some homework while sitting on the side of the road in town.... got new parts and never looked back. Only because I learned from my mistakes. With any build its all trial and error unless you do enough research which is exactly why I'm on WF more than any other website in existence.
 
#20 ·
Yeah...the only reason my build has turned out this well so far was because at one point i decided to take a "shortcut" which just ended in me buying more things than i originally planned and overspent my budget by like 3500 bucks lol.

Originally i was like most and thought "eh, i'll just put 35's on there and then in a year or so i'll get an axle and call it a day"...but on my DRIVE HOME FROM THE TIRE SHOP...my rear axle started leaking, first time ever...then i went to the alignment shop and they said my steering was so loose they couldnt align it anymore...So, couple weeks of careful driving and i ended up getting:

8.8 rear axle
chromoly front shafts
4.88 gears
HD over knuckle steering system

Then because i didnt research it, i found out real quick that they 8.8 axle was going to raise my rear end about an inch due to the size of the axle. So...that made my driveshaft bind up...so i then dropped my tcase even with my mml and that made it hard to shift into 2nd, 4th, and R...a week later:

Upper control arms front and rear
Lower control arms front and rear
SYE
Driveshaft
Extended brake lines
4.5" front coils
Couple other things (cant remember)

So...you can of course use my experience to your benefit lol...plan for all parts that go together and get them as a package so you're not surprised later on and you dont "shortcut" it...

i know my rig is built enough for the trails i do and will just go forward and become better from here...looks and function can definitely go together.
 
#21 ·
Doing more homework, looking at your shopping list. :) I'll be doing Metal Cloak control arms (front only) uppers and lowers. Mx-6 shocks (front only/rears later), RE swaybar disconnects. Two of my KOs are completely shot, unable to effectively balance. I have a 'new' spare and I'll rotate this in with a brand new tire, leaving me with an extra spare. In 1 year, I plan on running the new Falken Wildpeak MTs due to my AT/KOs chipping real badly in the desert. This should get my front end in line until I have the funds to run the Metal Cloak arms on the rear axle, new MX-6 shocks on the rear, and regear - all in 2015.
 
#22 ·
Thats gonna look awesome, man...lookin forward to seein the product you end up with!!

I came into some good fortune recently so i'm gonna have a few more mods a lot sooner than i was planning...cant wait to start updating this thread haha
 
#24 ·
Well...i've finally resumed building my rig!!!!

I had a few other things come up with tackling my debt and just some odds and ends but i'm now fully debt free and basically stress free haha.

Couldnt help but post a pic!

Just did the install quick after i got home from the gym...new Bilstein 5100's to replace my zone nitro's

I've got another couple things planned for the weekend so i'll update accordingly!

 
#25 ·
Well...i've finally resumed building my rig!!!! I had a few other things come up with tackling my debt and just some odds and ends but i'm now fully debt free and basically stress free haha. Couldnt help but post a pic! Just did the install quick after i got home from the gym...new Bilstein 5100's to replace my zone nitro's I've got another couple things planned for the weekend so i'll update accordingly! http://s23.photobucket.com/user/Owen_SVT/media/IMG_0080.jpg.html
I was wondering when you'd update again! Hope all is well man :thumbsup:
 
#27 ·
You are going to love those 5100's. I just recently installed a complete Metalcloak lift with the 5100's and I love the ride...
 
#29 ·
Thats what i'm hoping for...i've wanted these shocks for a long long time but havent been able to convince myself to spend the money on them since they're kinda pricey...but it was my birthday monday so i decided to splurge a bit haha. I'll take some pics of the other couple things after I install this weekend...also picked up a snowboard pass for Keystone as something un-jeep related.

Ordered them from Allen for 319 shipped and they were here this afternoon (they were shipped from the next town over from me lol).

Glad i'm finally starting my build again...
 
#30 ·
Man you could've had them for 289 shipped...
 
#32 ·
I ordered from Kolak on the forum and its for any size I believe. I originally ordered for a 2.5'' lift then called and switched to a 3.5''-5'' lift size and it was the same price.
 
#37 ·
Haha, yeah it wasnt the best place to be in but overall it was the best thing that happened becuase i got everything upgraded and built right in one swoop...

thanks for the compliment, man...appreciate it

Happy Birthday!
Thanks man!!

Almost done with the install of the new parts...havent had to hurry with the install but should have it done tonight after work.

I think it looks sick and still kept the "clean" look i've been goin for!
 
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