biggn235

Alright guys here it is, I finally started another build. I actually really missed having a thread to update haha. So anyway in case you did not follow my other build I used to have a ’99 XJ with a 4.5” lift and 33s with a lot of accessories. Well for several reasons I decided to sell that Jeep, immediately get another, and start over. This Jeep will be more focused towards daily driving than trail riding, and I will do my best to restrain myself from buying a bunch of crap that I don’t need haha. That being said this Jeep will still be built up although not quite as big as my last one.

Ok so enough with the typing and history lesson, here is the new Jeep the day I got it home (April 3, 2012) along with some basic specs:

Jeep specs-
'98 XJ Sport
Emerald Green
4.0
AW4
NP242
D30/C8.25
155k miles



Just a basic Jeep, and despite the fact that it has spent its entire life in the mountains, there is very little rust and looks fantastic compared to my last XJ. This one has been well taken care of; the leaf springs aren’t even sagging.

The only modification inside is a Kenwood CD player with USB/Aux and a full set of Kenwood speakers.





The dude gave me a ton of extra parts and fluids, including the FSM and RM (and a crap Haynes manual), it filled up the entire cargo area.





Not sure if you can see in this picture but he changed out all of the battery wires with heavy duty cables. Apparently it is a kit you can buy off of NAXJA, he gave me the printed information and receipt for it but I can’t remember what it is called exactly. Either way that is a good bonus for a Jeep that is going to be used in the cold mountain winter.

biggn235

A couple of weeks later we got a light dusting of snow. Spring here isn’t really spring, our weather is pretty stupid. You can see in this picture that I had also taped off and painted the trim with Krylon Fusion. It was pretty faded when I bought it and I had to do something about it. I like my black parts to be black, not grey.



Drove it around just as it was for over a month, then took it off road just so we could go shooting. Check out that crazy flex!

biggn235

A week after that I couldn’t stand it anymore, I had to get my hands dirty and start some mods. First things first, the rusty, scratched, dirty, chipped wheels had to be fixed, they were pissing me off just looking at them. I washed them, sanded them down, and sprayed them flat black. It looks glossy in the picture but it is just because the paint was still wet, it dried very flat. I also sprayed the hub caps with Krylon Fusion.



After that I got rid of the trim on the doors. It was beginning to fall off anyway just like my other XJ and I was starting to get some paint bubbles on the rockers from where rust was trying to start. So I decided to take care of that immediately.



Taped off and started sanding.



Alexis was hanging out with me.

biggn235

Sprayed rockers and lower doors with Rustoleum textured black. Just like my old XJ. I love this stuff, it never faded, chipped, or peeled off of my old XJ and was very durable and easily cleaned (not to mention it is really easy to touch up if you do rub some off on a rock or whatever).












“I’m going to sit with you because it’s warmer that way.”



Also (just like my last XJ) I free-handed the Jeep logo on the steering wheel with a Metallic Sharpie. I was inspired by my friend’s JK and really like the way it looks.



I dropped a wrench and woke Lex up. “Why you so noisy?”



Here is a picture of the HD cables I mentioned earlier. Pure beef and full copper.

biggn235

Ditched the rear sway bar. The bolts came out really easy, I hope that is a sign of things to come.





Saved these brackets to make some BPEs later down the road.



Backed it out and took a pic. It rides/sits really good, the rear springs are in great shape.



Oh and on a side note I finally bought a $20 shelf from Wal-mart to try to organize the shop a little better. Now that all my crap is “in order” I can’t find anything.

biggn235

Visited a local scrap yard to see what was out there. I was amazed.
Waggy with Dana 44s front and rear just chilling.



A TON of ZJ V8 tie rods.



A set of 31” BFGs on ZJ wheels with good tread and still holding air.



A cool Chrysler sedan that I took a picture of.



A TON of front driveshafts.



WJ lower control arms.



A budget boosted XJ with a good set of Rancho shocks.



A Dakota steering box.

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More-

A set of Grizzly wheels with Firestone tires.



A hideous headliner in a ’01 XJ.



Another set of Grizzly wheels with 31” all terrains.



A cool Rover with a sticker in the windshield that said “Runs and Drives” although it had no engine.



It was an awesome day, but in the end I didn’t need or want (or couldn’t afford/transport) most of the stuff I saw. But I did leave with some goodies.



A Valley trailer hitch and a pair of Black Diamond greaseable lower control arms. Grand total: $60
Also pictured is my new soldering iron haha.

biggn235

When I got home that day my new CB antenna and mounting bracket was leaning up against the garage door. This time around I ordered a 3’ antenna instead of my usual 4’. Hopefully this way I can keep it out of the trees and branches a little better. I also bought the hatch mount with a 18’ Fire-Ring coax cable. I like this cable because it doesn’t screw to the bottom like most cables, it screws on with a bolt and runs perpendicular to the antenna. In other words, it makes it a lot easier to mount and run the wire on a vehicle like the XJ.



Cut the mount and installed it just like last time.













It fits good, although that one screw peeking out bothers me a little. I’m OCD about things like that though.

biggn235

Antenna and cable on and ran above the tail light, into the trim in the cargo area, and then all the way to the front of the Jeep.





Throwback. I loved this sticker on my other XJ, it is such an awesome conversation piece haha.

biggn235

Woke up the next morning to more boxes on my front porch.



CB and front tow hooks.



Decided to mount the radio a little differently this time. Mainly because this way is a lot simpler.



Wires ran to battery with fresh loom around them and then ziptied.





Microphone bracket screwed onto the left side of the gauges.



It looks really good there and I like it. It is in easy reach and is completely out of the way of everything else.



Radio sits above my right shin. I can still hear it pretty well even though the speaker is facing the floor.

biggn235

Backed it out of the shop and sprayed Simple Green all over the bottom and then pressure washed it. Getting ready to paint the underside to try to avoid as much rust as possible. There isn’t any rust on the bottom at the moment and I want to keep it that way.



While I was waiting for the Jeep to dry the UPS man backed into the driveway, got out, looked at me and said, “Man I have all kinds of stuff for you.”
What could all this be? Goodies!



Unboxed. That was a lot of cardboard for just this.



What could this be?

biggn235

In preparation for the new lift I started spraying the HELL out of the bolts. PB Blaster is all over the shop floor.



Also painted the rear axle after it was washed and dried. I used Rustoleum Rust Reformer.



Also started painting the floor pans and unibody rail.

biggn235

After everything was unboxed I used the cardboard to start a bonfire. That’s one way to get rid of it.

biggn235

Installed my tow hooks today.



These stupid clip things broke on me so I tried to JB weld them on. One held, the other broke off again so now there are only two bolts on that side. I'll worry about it later, for now it will be ok since I added a huge carriage bolt with the hook brackets.



Done, it is a lot harder to work under this Jeep since it's so short.

biggn235

My Hellas arrived today, I decided to go with a set of fogs and I got a good deal on some 500s.

Making sure they work.



Wires everywhere.



Drilled a hole for the switch in the stock location.



Covers on



Everything works good, when it gets dark I'll see how much of a difference they make.