99 XJ Sport - The Prospector
 

I thought I'd post up a time line of mine from the day I brought it home to it's most recent trip. Being a geologist, I really enjoy exploring, seeing cool landforms, and collecting rocks. I haven't done a lot of collecting lately, but I usually come back with a little something after every trip. Anyway, this is my second Jeep, the only one I've ever really modified.

I've had it 4 years, and it used to be a daily driver but is now just a fun car, since I got a company truck. I plan to keep going with the mods as money allows, but as we all know the economy sucks, so I've just been wheeling the snot out of it whenever I could.

A quick spec list:
99 XJ Sport, 4.0, AW4, 231, C8.25, D30, 147k

Suspension:
+ Rubicon Express 2" with full length AAL (more like 2.5")
+ Skyjacker hydro shocks (excellent ride and offroad performance)
+ 1" extended bumpstops F&R
+ homebrew quick disconnects
+ removed rear sway bar

Tires:
+ 31x10.50 Dick Cepek Mud Countries on stock Ecco wheels
+ removed flares
+ cut and folded fenders and pinch seams in wheel wells

Armor:
+ JCR Tcase skid
+ JCR Stage 3 sliders
+ OEM 84-96 gas tank skid
+ Home made high clearance front bumper

Interior:
+ Fatmat Rattletrap heavy duty sound deadening material throughout interior
+ Pioneer DEH5000UB Headunit with USB/Ipod compatibility
+ Sony Xplod 6.5s
+ Uniden PRO 510XL CB with 4' antenna

Recovery:+ C4x4 tow hook brackets tied into front bumper
+ hidden hitch tow hitch
+ Full size spare mounted on a stock AMC-era tire carrier

Performance & Drivetrain:
+ homemade intake with K&N cone filter
+ dynomax catback exhaust
+ removable cooling ports in hood for better air flow
+ 1" transfer case drop

August 2007 – Stock - the day I brought it home
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September 2007 - Stock Flex- First trip out
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October 2007 - Rubicon Express 2" Lift with full-length Add-a-leafs and shocks, removed flares
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...tedjeep017.jpg
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Tires were 31x10.5 OTR Muds - Retreads from Treadwright.com
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September 2008 - removed bumper end caps, installed towhooks, red tail lights (How I wish the paint were still that clean!)
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February 2008 - installed stereo and fatmat sound deadener - best improvement I made that I'll never see but always notice...
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May 2008 - installed tow hooks, trimmed bumper valance
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Also went under the knife for the first time...:sweatdrop: installed these deck ports that I can take out when wheeling. They allow the hot air to flow out of the engine bay at low speeds.
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October 2008 - Got a sidewall puncture and decided to get all new tires. 31x10.5 Dick Cepek Mud Countries.
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Also installed a CB and 4' antenna, removed bumper caps, trimmed front bumper

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and made a cargo rack out of a mail tray from an old Postal Jeep DJ5
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February 2009 - Went under the knife again, this time to protect my precious new rubber.

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http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...eeptrim048.jpg

I also improved flex a TON by doing this:
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...eeptrim052.jpg
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Very cool, :cheers:

After that I wheeled it for a while. I should have installed some armor, but I waited until I had some trail damage before I crossed that bridge.

Here you can see what those cooling deck ports look like open.
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May 2009 - Took it to the Mojave Desert. Specifically Red Rock Canyon State Park.
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Found the perfect man cave!
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Well what did you expect us to do with an open cave? lol
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Beautiful area just before sunset
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August 2009 - One of many trips to Hollister Hills SVRA. It's about an hour south of where I live. Nice to have a place to wheel nearby. This trip was to test out my extended bumpstops made out of hockey pucks in front and 1" square tubing in rear. They work well, but I still need to improve my rear flex.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/__OWBm0bEtWw/Sl...2/IMG_3875.jpg

http://lh5.ggpht.com/__OWBm0bEtWw/Sl...2/IMG_3883.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/__OWBm0bEtWw/Sl...2/IMG_3894.jpg

http://lh5.ggpht.com/__OWBm0bEtWw/Sl...2/IMG_3909.jpg

http://lh3.ggpht.com/__OWBm0bEtWw/Sl...2/IMG_3937.jpg

awsome wheeling

very nice

Awesome XJ, and awesome pics! It looks like you have a lot of fun with it :)

Did it take the road howl down a lot??

Whats up TizzDizz? I wheeled with you on Slick Rock and Deer Valley with the group from JeepForum. I was in the green/teal XJ.

Build looks great. I hope to wheel with you again soon!

Yeah, it got a lot quieter. I did the inside and outside of the front doors, better speaker response. Obviously if you have knobby tires, it wont completely eliminate that noise, but it's much more peaceful and music is way better now.


Hey dude, I didn't know you were on here. Yeah that was a blast. Your jeep did real well too. We should definitely go out again. I'm going to Hollister next Saturday with some friends, but I'm not sure how close that is for you.

Looks awesome! Where did you get your lift? All I can find is the RE 2" with the short AAL.

I wish I had the time to add that type of sound deadening stuff to mine. It's such a big job though. Maybe next year.

Jeep looks great man.