Project Utility Vehicle: Take II
 

I'd made build thread a while ago but since lost it so ill start from scratch.

I bought my Xj in April 09, an 01 Sport 4x4 with 57,000 miles for 5,400. This is my second vehicle having sold my 2001 Nissan Altima to afford it. Since then I've put tons of hours into building it up and maintaining it, doing everything myself. I'm only 18 and didnt have much mechanical experience before but i've been learning as I go along.


My Jeep the day after I bought it.
http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/w...100_0949-2.jpg


In June I elected to give it a smaller lift after going back and forth on whether to even lift it or not, at this point i'm very glad I did. I got a 3in Rough Country Series II with full leaf packs and 31' Cooper Discoverer ST's.

Just after getting it back from having the new tires mounted, the only thing I don't do myself.
http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/w...63_2873572.jpg

Me enjoying my newly capable rig.
http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/w...1_2199445_.jpg

http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/w...21_21593-1.jpg

I wheeled it like that for quite a while before I decided it needed a little more in the traction department and in August I bought an Aussie Locker for my rear 8.25. On my first trip out with my locker I sideswiped a tree and cracked both of my stock fender flares off the passenger side and scratched the paint up really bad.


I was pretty upset over this but i've learned the best cure to damage is to fix it up better than before, So I bought some new Bushwacker cutout flares, a new Warrior Products front bumper with D rings and added a whole new flat desert tan paint job.

Painting in progress
http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/w...3/DSC00700.jpg

http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/w...3/DSC00702.jpg


Here's me enjoying my finished product on some easier trails (don't want to scratch that new paint)
and yes those are sparks from me scraping my shock mount, caught on film.
http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/w...221_268275.jpg

http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/w...221_268276.jpg


And here's how it looked about 10 minutes ago
http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/w...3/DSC00718.jpg

I've got some pretty big plans for the future and ill try to keep this updated the best I can so check back if you are interested.

Basically by the end of this summer I want this sitting on 33x10.50 Super Swamper TSL's and 4.5 inches of lift. I have dreams of taking it out to Moab the year after next (Summer/Fall 2011) so i've got some building to get done before then to make the trip worthwhile.

Im thinking im getting new rough country coils in front and a 2 in shackle lift in back. Ill need an SYE and new driveshaft, adj track bar, and im regearing to 4.10. Im also getting rock sliders, diff guards (at least in front), skid plates for the engine and tranny, gas tank, steering box and a new crossmember. Im getting chromoly shafts front and rear, and im thinking about trussing the rear axle (8.25) and "maybe" a long arm if I can afford it by then. Besides a few other odds and ends that may pop up that's about all im thinking for right now.

Sweet looking rig. Tan is the best color for a 4x4. How'd you do the paint and what did you use? I'm thinkin of paintin my rig because the clear coat is just gone. I'm in the same boat, I'm 20 and got mine when I was 19 and have been doing all the work to it myself. Well done! Soft 8's look sic by the way. A ton of guys on here have em

Great work. Looks good.:thumbsup:

Nice Job there.!!
good to see another jeep with the bushwackers

Love the color. Funny how nature starts most of the modifications and upgrades. How do you like the locker?

i like the color, keep up the good work

I just bought the paint at NAPA auto parts, the one by me has a whole automotive painting department and they helped me get everything together. It wasnt too hard to do its just very time consuming doing all the prep.

As for thew locker, it makes a huge difference, especially on rocks, I can keep driving right up until wheels start lifting off the ground. It's not too bad on the road either, I drive my Jeep every day and I hardly feel it there anymore.

Also another modification I was planning on was swapping out the stock automatic transmission for a standard NV3550, but I dont really know exactly whats involved and cant find any good source of information about it. Has anyone ever heard of anyone trying this, even on a different vehicle?

looks good man, good job on the paint

that front bumper loos like an oem part. its just great
keep that nice work good luck

Yeah I'm definitely happy with the bumper, I didn't want anything too flashy, but its plenty strong and gives me way better tow points than my old brush-guard did.

Ok, been a while since i've updated this but just got some new stuff the other day.

I just got my jeep back yesterday from its second ever trip to the mechanic, I wasnt happy about it but after losing my aftermarket muffler 3 times due to my poor welding skills, and being sick of driving around for the past 2 weeks without one, I decided to call in a professional. I threw out the POS thrush turbo I had on it before and bought a flowmaster 40 delta flow and had it mounted up with the stock tailpipe and this time it even has hangers as well (I used to have it end right after the muffler with no hangers). I also this weekend bought some new wheels, and I cant mount tires myself either, so I also had those mounted up as well.

I was extremely pleased with the wheels, they make the tires stick out just the right amount to look good with the bushwackers, also black wheels make my whole jeep look better, it never looked quite right with silver wheels. They are 15x8 soft 8's w/ 4.25 BS, I picked up a set of 5 for 100 bucks from a gentleman in a local Jeep club i'm a member of.

The final result looks kinda like this

http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/w...3/100_1319.jpg

http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/w...3/100_1327.jpg

http://i703.photobucket.com/albums/w...3/100_1330.jpg



I tried taking a video of what the new muffler sounded like but it came out like crap. I like it though, its throaty but not really too loud which is good after having to listen to the annoying humming on the highway all the time. I also got my new rear bumper in the mail today (after waiting over 3 months to receive it) as well but didn't get a chance to mount it up yet, maybe ill throw a pic of that up in the next day or two.

I also got my H4 Xenon headlights as a slightly early Christmas present just this morning so ill post those up when I get them on. And also I bent my tie rod a few weeks ago, but in addition to bending it back I bought a ZJ V8 tierod set that i've gotta mount up as well.

where did you get your front bumper from

Its a warrior products, I got a matching one for the back as well in the mail yesterday.

oh ok thats cool man its looking good

great job!!