My Jeep Build thread! Thanks to great PSA Sponsors!

[PTSUPERD]

Hey guys I figured I'd start a thread on the build up of my Jeep TJ.

Around 2000, My mother in law asked me to find her a Jeep for the beach. I found a new red 4.0 liter sport on the lot for her. I also put some 15x8 eagle outlaws with some 31s on it...other than that it was left stock.

In 2003 she asked me to sell it. They just weren't using it like she thought they would. It had 13000 miles on it I think. I sold it to good friends Dad.

In 2005 My mother in law lost her battle to brain cancer.

Fast forward to 2011. My buddy calls me up and says "hey Dad is gonna sell the Jeep if you know anyone." Do to the sentimental value....and the price, I couldn't pass it up. It now had 49000 miles on it. In 8 years he only put 36k miles on it.

Here it is when I got it home:

The original top was showing it's age, so I replaced it with a new black Bestop with tinted windows:

I'll continue this in a little bit as time permits.

 

[VanoFord]

how awesome to have it come back after all that. it was meant this way. cant wait to see what you'll be doing to it for dedication mods.

 

[97BambiBasherPSD]

if this is the jeep i saw on facebook its killer lookin! super clean jeep man

 

[PTSUPERD]

how awesome to have it come back after all that. it was meant this way. cant wait to see what you'll be doing to it for dedication mods.

I was very close to her. Still love and miss her today.

 

[PTSUPERD]

if this is the jeep i saw on facebook its killer lookin! super clean jeep man

It is!

 

[zilla68]

a 4.0 inline 6 with that kind of mileage is like the holy grail man, nice jeep.

what is in store for it?

 

[PTSUPERD]

a 4.0 inline 6 with that kind of mileage is like the holy grail man, nice jeep.

what is in store for it?

Stay tuned....more pics to come.

 

[java]

From the pics i saw on instagram the jeep looks awesome gare!! You inspired me to start working on my jeep now. LOL

 

[Atsah]

Nice Jeep.. I have had three of them and they are fun to work on and drive in the woods.. I'm allways on the look out for another one to fix up and drive down the camp roads moose watching..

 

[Scarlet_Nape]

As always, Jason and Gare combine for a great looking (and performing) build!

 

[PTSUPERD]

So anyway, fast forward to March of this year. I had long had the urge to get it lifted with some 35-37" tires. I started looking at all the forums and researching what it would take to get it there. Turns out it's quite a process to do it right.

I decided on a 6" Rough Country longarm kit with the 2.2 series upgrade shocks and a 1.25" bodylift...also by Rough Country. I contacted John at Little Power Shop. John let me know that I would need to get a slip yoke eliminator for the transfer case as well as a CV driveshaft for the rear. He also said it would be a good idea to upgrade the steering stabilizer up front. I added those items to the list as well.

So I Pm'd Johnboy @ Little Powershop. He is Rough Country dealer. Can't say enough about these guys. Super fast service...answered all the questions I had, with better pricing than anyone else. Great to deal with.

All my parts from John showed up nice and neat in a palletainer in the next few days.

Lots of boxes:

 

[PTSUPERD]

Next thing I needed was wheels and tires. I turned to Travis aka Trav-O @ Torx Wheels & Tires. He's also a site vendor and always had great pricing on wheels and tires. I ordered 5 15x12 simulated beadlocks with grade8 hardware and 5 36x13.50 Swamper Iroks. I like the old school look of a 15" wheel with a lot of sidewall on Jeeps. Love the look of the Iroks and wanted a radial tire that ran on the tall side. Torx has these wheels built to whatever specs you want...including width, backspacing, bolt pattern etc.

These things turned out awesome after mount and balance. I was impressed.

 

[bricewise]

You've made me have my jeep itch again....Ugh....

 

[zilla68]

load the pics faster man, your killing me here!

 

[Raul@stealth-automotive]

sweeet.....

 

[Coxey Diesel]

Pretty cute

 

[RBernardi]

Can't wait to see this take shape. I love the old school 15" big side wall look too.
Ive had a jeep itch for a little while now, and this makes me want to hunt one down.

 

[PTSUPERD]

So next part was the one that was the biggest pain in the ass. My jeep had a Dana 35 in the rear and a Dana 30 upfront. From everything I read those axles especially in stock form are mariginal even for 33s. I knew I'd also be needing 4.88 gears for the tires, so I started looking at complete axle assmeblies ready to bolt in.

I ended up calling East Coast Driveline.

After talking with them, I ordered a Ford 8.8 with 4.88 gears for the rear. This axle was complete from end to end. I came with TJ spring mounts and suspension brackets already preinstalled and indexed to account for driveline angle.

On the front, I went with a custom high pinion Dana 30 built to their specs. Also with 4.88s. This axle is sleeved and gusseted with chrome alloy shafts and heavier joints. it also had thhe coil buckets etc installed already.

These turned out nice but took over a month to get...

 

[sootie]

looks awesome Gare. i recommend that you have a set of replacement heim joint bushings on hand. the ones that go in the end of the long arm tubes. we did this exact thing on a jeep and it seems that they are the only thing that wears out on it. (my hand is still burnt and bruised from changing the front ones last Saturday LOL )

 

[zilla68]

damn that's some coin right there man, going to be bad ass though!! I want to see the final pic, I'm sure your done with it already, lol.