Okay... I have been wanting to do this forever.... But my CPU hard drive failed on me awhile ago and never got around to getting all of the photos.....UNTIL NOW! I recovered all of my jeep photos from when it was in it's infancy and can post them!:dance: So here is the evolution of my JEEP!
This is the first vehicle of any kind I have ever worked on.... Before this jeep, the most I would do to my cars was fill up the gas tank! LOL... and maybe change the oil every 5k miles!
So this is how I get "her" 18 months ago... Don't be fooled by the photo... I found it on CraigsList...I think the seller wetted the jeep then took a pic of it, made the pain look like it was super shiny.... None-the-less, I thought I got a good deal....91 YJ with 70k miles for a little over 2 stacks...body was in great shape too... just one little dent next to the rear passenger light!
I wasn't a huge fan of the sport style cage... So I had a great idea... to have some bars fabricated at a slight angle... I drew up a diagram, detailing it how I wanted...but when I got it back, it was straight.... I was kind of disappointed, but I figured I would get them re-done later!
Next.... It was time to get rid of the carpet, and freshen up the interior... Al thought the carpet was in decent shape, I was even happier when I ripped it out and didn't see too much rust.... it was only in a couple spots, mainly where the seats wear bolted to the tub.... So I cleaned it up real good, and made a rood trip to Rhino Linings... Got the tub sprayed and a small strip all the way around the outside as well!
A 4" lift was coming in the near future... So i made sure I added some nerf bars to make it easier for people to get in and out... I soon want to swap them with ROCK sliders......
Next....got rid of the stock flares, and added some 6" pocket flares...
Yeah buddy.... the 4" lift came in... So I had the fun time of trying to instal it... After all of the threads I read about seized bolts and PB blaster, i was nervous..... To my surprise, not one seized bolt on the whole jeep thus far (knock on wood).
A 4" lift was coming in the near future... So i made sure I added some nerf bars to make it easier for people to get in and out... I soon want to swap them with ROCK sliders......
Next....got rid of the stock flares, and added some 6" pocket flares...
Yeah buddy.... the 4" lift came in... So I had the fun time of trying to instal it... After all of the threads I read about seized bolts and PB blaster, i was nervous..... To my surprise, not one seized bolt on the whole jeep thus far (knock on wood).
Next... it was time for a front bumper... I went with the Smittybilt.... I thought it looked pretty awesome, and it was within my budget....
So.... the jeep was starting to shape up...
I had finally saved up enough mula to get my roll bars fixed... I think they turned out pretty good.
So with the new roll bars... came the responsibility of some new paint... I went with silver..... so I can make the enterior black and it should contrast pretty well!
Sooooo... with the new paint, I had to add at least one decal! So naturally I chose the coolest thing I could find... a skull with a gas mask!
But of course... with a 4" inch lift... you need bigger tires right? Well at least that's what everyone kept telling me.... and it was my plan all along... but I needed to find a good deal... and then the day came when I found these bad boys... 32" of happiness!
Here "she" is with the 32's installed!
....... And that's all... took me 18 months to get to this point... A few setbacks in the way....like a couple broken mirrors and a broken windshield...but overall it has been great so far. Mechanically it has been sound, i'll knock on wood again.... as for the future... of course I want to re-gear, because 5th gear is almost non-existant with the 32's.... But I have to take that too the shop, and I'm sure it's going to cost a pretty penny. That's it for now. Thanks for reading thus far!
Thanks everyone... Now I just have to get her on some trails.
Ohh ya.... quick question... I hear alot of bad mouthing about the Dana 35 rear... and how "fragile/weak" they are. Are they really that bad? Like do they just snap rolling down the street, or are we talking about if we are doing some serious off-roading?
I don't plan on doing any serious off-roading just yet... But I would like to hit up some "light trails".
Thanks everyone... Now I just have to get her on some trails.
Ohh ya.... quick question... I hear alot of bad mouthing about the Dana 35 rear... and how "fragile/weak" they are. Are they really that bad? Like do they just snap rolling down the street, or are we talking about if we are doing some serious off-roading?
I don't plan on doing any serious off-roading just yet... But I would like to hit up some "light trails".
I ran the D35 with 4.88 gears, lockrite & 33's for YEARS with no issues. I carried extra axles, c-clips, nuts, bolts, etc.....and never used any of it. Oh and by the way I live about 1 1/2 hrs from the trailhead for the Rubicon so needless to say it was used for heavy wheeling. With that being said I have a D44 out back of my Jeep now. My advice is if you don't have the $$ and/ability to do the swap then buy some spare parts and get familiar with your differential. Take it apart and put it back together a few times. Keep all the tools you use in one spot and make yourself a D35 repair kit. Save some cash and put a Ford 8.8 or a Dana 44 in it someday.
@Mbclark: Great suggestions.... Ya, I guess you can say funds are somewhat limited and so is the ability.... I changed my differential gear oil the other and was stoked.... So ya, skills are limited, but I learn something new every weekend, which makes it fun. But I like the idea of getting familiar with the D35 and creating a repair kit (I'm not sure what would be part of the repair kit, but I'll do some researching).
@Norcal_Chris: Thanks for the advice and comment... I will start searching... By the way, I read your "budget build" thread yesterday! It looks amazing, great job!
@JeepWrangler1993: I think the color is Toyota Silver.... And ya, the bumper was super awesome... In the near future I want to get the matching back one as well. For now, I'm stuck with the tow-hitch! BTW the paint job on your jeep is sick..... it's sooo glossy it looks wet! And we have the same flares!
@tankertalk: I think "her" might turn into a him! I'm leaning toward something like "RealSteel"..."Rocky"..."Ghost"..."Atom"..."Zeus"
These tough decisions!!!
I did receive the 4.0 Throttle Body today... So hopefully I can somehow figure how to get it installed.
Just picked up an 87 myself... Love the rhino liner idea, was thinking of that for mine. If you don't mind me asking... What did the rhinoliner set you back?
@almarsh78: Thanks very much... The Rhino ran me about $500... I the whole tub done and then around the bottom of the outside of the jeep all the way around. I did get a deal on it, because I have a buddy. I think, it would of cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $675 without my hookup. I love it though... I don't worry about anything inside the jeep... I just wash it out and it's good to go.
@Xpress: I feel silly to ask, but what's a 185? I'm lost...LOL
@tankertalk: LOL thanks... Ya, I'm stuck between Zeus & RealSteel! I might just throw the names in a hat... that's always a good way to solve things.
@Jeepwrangler1993: yea... the silver and black has been great... Now I have black out the interior...seats, center console, dash... in due time.
@Xpress: LOL...Okay... I did my research (YOU GOTTA LOVE GOOGLE)... If you are talking about that ATV in the photo with the wheel... I wish! That thing looked pretty cool! Unfortunately, it was the guy who sold me the wheels! He wanted to sell me it too, but I didn't actually get a price.
@1987WranglerYJ: LOL... It turned into a guys name along the way... I think i'm going with realSTEEL... now I just have to design a decal to put on the side!!! But that's after I put in the 4.0 throttle body this weekend! LOL
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