I may have forgotten to update this thread for a few years. Whoops. I didn't stop fiddling with the xj.

The old cloth front seats were pulled out, and replaced with leather ones out of a ZJ limited that i found at the JY.


stock cloth seats

driver's seat removed

the leather zj seats are so much more comfortable

leather ZJ seats in place

I must have added the quadratec floor mats around the same time.

 

A slightly damaged axle-shaft was swapped with a straight one from the JY, which gave me the opportunity to clean and paint the stock diff cover.

freshly painted diff cover

 

Gave the xj it's first real shakedown with a camping trip to utah, where it did everything I asked it to do. Budders approved.

Somewhere in Fishlake NF

Dispersed camping

Budders was a great jeep dog (RIP)

 

Beside wanting to get the spare tire out the cargo area, I also wanted some good recovery points in the back. I had Detours Off-Road Hardware build me one of their frame-stiffening xj rear bumpers with a swing out tire carrier, which I painted with some Rustoleum Hammered Black

Detours rear xj bumper arrived primed.

tire swing and hardware

rear-bumper removal

angled tire mount follows rear hatch lines

left-offset tire placement blocks less of the rear window when looking over your shoulder for reversing.

 

I also went with Detours for their front frame-stiffening winch mount.

framerail/unibody stiffener and winch mounting plate

stock bumper chopped out to fit mounting plate

Foglights and plastic bumper trim re-installed

Superwinch TS9500 mounted up and wired in.

 

To cut down on glare, I wrapped the hood of the XJ in Matte Black 3M vinyl

 

On the drive out following a three-day hot springs camping trip, the upper radiator hose burst after cresting the final climb before the descent to pavement. Duct-tape and band clamps to the rescue! This trail-fix lasted all the way to the nearest autoparts store, maybe 40 miles.

 

I refined the hood wrap with some gloss-black insets to follow the body lines more, and stop looking like it was just a replaced, primed hood.


one unintended side-effect is that fading paint on the roof is now way more pronounced when looking at it from above.

 

I went ahead and added some Helpful & Informative decals under the hood.

 

I like what you did there. Looked at some of the 3M stuff online but do you have any links to exactly what you used?

 

Thanks!

I used 3M 1080 Series Wrap Film with CV3 adhesive in Matte Black (color code M12) for the hood wrap. The inset was done in Orocal 951 gloss black sign vinyl.

I have a sign/graphics business, so I get my materials from an industry-only supplier (Grimco) but I’m pretty sure you can get it on Amazon. Otherwise, any sign shop or wrap shop should be able to get it for you. Vinyl can be tricky: if you haven’t worked with it before, I would suggest watching a lot of wrap videos before doing it (or just bring it to a local wrap shop).

 

Thinking I would not be any good laying this down. 3M stuff is pricey but the Orocal stuff looks like it would be cheap since using a narrower width on each side.

 

They are very different materials.

The 1080 is a wrap film, so it is applied with heat and can conform to compound curves. It is repositionable during the initial install. It has an air-release liner that helps avoid bubbles with the final stage of installation. It is clean-removable for 4-7 years. It is also more expensive, and is only available in large widths.

the Orocal 951 is a traditional vinyl, so it likes flat surfaces and can only manage very simple curves. It is only repositionable if it is wet-applied, and even then it is pretty limited. It will need to be masked with transfer tape for proper installation, to maintain the structure of the material once it has been positioned and you have started to remove the backing.

if you have an independent sign shop nearby, I would suggest stopping by and seeing if they have any scraps to practice with. They may have large offcuts or older material that they are willing to give you or sell for a huge discount.

 

Are Vinyl wraps worth to spend money? I am considering it as an option but few friends said it is not long lasting paint is much better option.

 

If you are promoting a brand or a business, it’s totally worth it. For personal color-change, it would depend on how often you might want to change the color. If you are doing a restoration, get a proper paint job. My hood wrap and graphics are all holding up great.