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So I guess it's time to start a build thread. I have officially caught the bug... it's not where it will be, but it's getting there step by step.
Here it is at the dealership right after the test drive, May 2012.
It was a stock 2002 TJ, 4.0L, NV3550 5-Speed, D30/D44 & 3.73's with 88,000 miles on the clock. It came with a hard-top only, and half-doors with soft uppers. At the time, I had no idea how much it would cost to get full doors or a soft-top... The dealer had installed some SpiderTrax wheel adapters and 32" take-off's from a 2012 Rubicon that they had recently lifted. In case you're wondering, that doesn't really work on a stock TJ, but more about that later. I finalized the sale and took it home; I live in the mountains west of Denver, so I had to hit a trail on the way back!
I took it for several other trail rides and camping trips before really doing anything to it. After starting to read up on these forums and others, I decided the best thing to do was to wheel it as-is and use that experience to decide what to do next. I was a newbie to Jeeps and off-road vehicles, so I wanted to learn more before just buying random parts.
Here it is on the first camping trip off a 4-wheel drive road.
Another "trail" ride shortly after purchase.
First time with the top off, letting the wife drive.
My father-in-law is the Director of Sales for Truck-lite, so when he heard I bought a Jeep, he sold me on a pair of the LED headlamps. They are a true plug-n-play replacement for the crappy stock sealed beams, and I noticed a huge difference in light output - especially off the sides of the road; the beam pattern is very wide. I decided to paint the headlight bezels black too, enormous difference! Here's a link to some more pics and details if you're interested.
Here it is at the dealership right after the test drive, May 2012.

It was a stock 2002 TJ, 4.0L, NV3550 5-Speed, D30/D44 & 3.73's with 88,000 miles on the clock. It came with a hard-top only, and half-doors with soft uppers. At the time, I had no idea how much it would cost to get full doors or a soft-top... The dealer had installed some SpiderTrax wheel adapters and 32" take-off's from a 2012 Rubicon that they had recently lifted. In case you're wondering, that doesn't really work on a stock TJ, but more about that later. I finalized the sale and took it home; I live in the mountains west of Denver, so I had to hit a trail on the way back!

I took it for several other trail rides and camping trips before really doing anything to it. After starting to read up on these forums and others, I decided the best thing to do was to wheel it as-is and use that experience to decide what to do next. I was a newbie to Jeeps and off-road vehicles, so I wanted to learn more before just buying random parts.
Here it is on the first camping trip off a 4-wheel drive road.

Another "trail" ride shortly after purchase.

First time with the top off, letting the wife drive.

My father-in-law is the Director of Sales for Truck-lite, so when he heard I bought a Jeep, he sold me on a pair of the LED headlamps. They are a true plug-n-play replacement for the crappy stock sealed beams, and I noticed a huge difference in light output - especially off the sides of the road; the beam pattern is very wide. I decided to paint the headlight bezels black too, enormous difference! Here's a link to some more pics and details if you're interested.