RedStar

When deciding to purchase something, I thought back to my very first car, a 1991 white XJ. Maybe it's because it was my first vehicle, but I always had a special bond with it. That's when I decided to start looking for later model white XJ.

I located one for sale at a dealership about 90 miles away from me, and this one only had 98K on the engine.

This was when I picked it up.







LOTS of work to be done. But it's a really straight truck. Cleanest XJ I've come across in a while.

I've already installed a new Kenwood head unit/iPhone media player. I also spend the last few days coating the bumpers & all exterior plastic parts in Bedliner.

Since I had a few dollars left over from getting such a good price on the Jeep, I immediately ordered a 3" Rough Country suspension lift w/ new leaf pack. I also ordered a set of 31" BFG A/T's and a set of 16" Rubicon wheels.

I've also bought and installed a complete new Yakima rack. There's something about those that make a truck really stand out. Plus the 58" bars mean I can carry more than 2 kayaks.

Glad to be here, and really glad to be back in an XJ. Why the name Bourbon Ghost? Because it's white, and most of my purchases come late at night after my judgement is poor and I've had a few.

RedStar

New lift, new tires, & new Yakima rack:







I sanded down the rear stock bumper and bedlined it too for the time being. I just dropped a ton in the last week, so upgrading the bumpers might be a little ways away.

I also got the Rugged Ridge AT Floormats which fit perfectly.

List of things still to do in no particular order:

Tire Mount Hitch (Detours) (Done & sold)
Taillights (Updated Red & Clear) (Done)
Modern corner & turn signal lights (Done)
Infinity Speakers (Done)
Cargo Liner (Done)
AntennaX (Done)
Rock Sliders
Skid plates
New Differential Covers (Front Done)
Tail light guards (which are surprisingly hard to find.)

And somewhere way down the road, an ARB locker.

RedStar

Clear turn/bumper lights were supposed to come in, but the place I ordered them form only sent the bumper lights I called and they said they didn't have anything in stock except the bumper lights. The eBay listing was wrong. So they refunded my money and sent me a return slip.

Believe it or not, these lights are pretty hard to find. Everyone on eBay only sold the bumper lights, no corner lights.

Finally found a set on a place called ilovebodykits.com and they shipped them out this morning.

Add that to the headlights & the taillights and maybe I can get this thing looking a little more factory/modern.

RedStar

Anyone else still get rub at 3" & 30.7" tires? It's not unusual for me to get it going over bumps.

RedStar

So I got my 13" stubby Antenna-X in yesterday. And I had a little bit of trouble installing it. Everything online said "30 second install, max!"

Nope.

It came with 4 connector screws for different makes of vehicle, plus the coupling, plus another half-coupling.

Anyway, since none of the screws in the package fit. The threading was all wrong. Not a single connector screw fit in the factory mount. I eventually had to use vice-grips to finish twisting the connector into the coupling. Scarred up the bottom pretty good trying to get the coupling in, but covering it with a little bedliner matched it up with the rest of the Jeep pretty nicely. I ended up going with a screw that was just a little bit small and used a good amount of Loctite to secure it and keep it in place.

I haven't really heard any good or bad reviews of the Antenna-X and that's kind of surprising. It seems like it's readily available but no one talks about it. Hm...

So far, the channels come in perfectly clear for me. No problems at all other than the install.

RedStar

Here's a pic of the Kenwood head unit. For some reason it wont recognize my iPhone through the USB port, but it will through the AUX. Everything was wired correctly and I hate to tear apart the dash again, but I may if I have some free time this weekend.

jeepMI

Awesome build!
That white is epic. Where im at all the white ones are faded to the point of being an unattractive color.
Sub'd by the way. I want to see what else your gonna do.

RedStar

Thanks man. I assume it was garage kept because the paint is flawless minus the random minuscule nick here or there.

RedStar

One of the biggest complaints I have so far about my Jeep is the lack of pockets and places to stick stuff. That's kind of a necessity for an offroad vehicle, and I have no idea why the engineers overlooked it. There aren't even pockets on the back of the front seats? Not sure I've ever owned a vehicle that didn't have those.

One of the best/cheapest/easiest modifications I did on my last vehicle was adding a few pockets to keep straps & gear. A seller on eBay named Euramtec sells them for $9 apiece. (screws not included.) http://www.ebay.com/itm/Seat-Back-Mesh-Magazine-Net-Door-Pocket-/111116515976?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item19df0f7a88&vxp=mtr
I bought 4, and I may end up buying at least 2 more. Here's what they look like unpackaged.



Install took about 15 minutes for all 4 combined.

I put 1 on each of the front doors:

Before:



After:



And I put the other 2 on the inside of the back hatch:




Easily the most efficient use of $36 I'll probably spend on this thing.

RedStar

Also, here's what the Antenna-X looks like installed.



Radio signal is actually a little bit clearer than before. I painted the bottom coupling so it would match the rest. Not bad for $15.

I'm expecting the tail lights, bumper & corner lights & new headlights to come in sometime tomorrow afternoon.

RedStar

dupe.

BigBirdxj

Cool Unit!!! Really clean. I've never even seen the insides of the newer ones. that's a bummer the older ones have storage everywhere as you probably remember. Can't wait to see what else.

Bird
Sub'd

LostAsianXJ

i love the net idea on the back hatch! i used the netting from ford rangers for my front doors though

RedStar

If I ever find a set of those, I may change them out since they are bigger and putting these two in the ceiling above my sun visors.

I looked on eBay for a while for the Ranger nets and kept coming up empty.

RedStar

Installed the tail lights today.



Nothing major, but they eliminate the orange and it kind of cleans up the back.