When you drive a jeep you get friends to buy jeeps. One drive and they are hooked. Really, driving a jeep to work and around town is rewarding in itself, but off road is where it shines. This week a good friend Chris bought his first wrangler. A 1999 TJ 6cyl. Hard top with hard doors, all stock. This is a good foundation to build up a jeep. No leaf springs like my YJ and it looks like it has a slight lift and at one time had bigger tires. 33s should fit with no lift or mods. We will try out my spare to see what fits. If you have any Fenders send us a PM on the facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/1995wrangler/ So lets get a look at what we have. A bit of rust in the fenders and lower drivers tub. The AC works great and the interior was well kept. When he told me about it I assured him if he did not buy it I would in a heart beat. Here some pic and the start of a good build. Plenty of room for tires, good paint on the hood. Call her BLINKEY. We need front fenders and a gas tank cover to start. Got a Jeep? Send me your story. #jeeplife #wrangler #jeep
1 Comment
The temps are dropping in Florida, we have dipped below the 60s and that means it’s time to put on a full top. The soft top that came with the YJ fits good but tend to make a lot of noise while driving. I can’t hear what my wife is saying right next to me. I would prefer to have the doors off and no top all year, it’s what I got a jeep for in the first place. It is a semi daily driver and my wife works with me so we ride together. I keep telling her “Jeep hair don’t care” That does little to untangle her hair after a drive to work. I had a hard top for my CJ so after spending time searching Craig’s list and fan pages I found a hard top with the doors at a great price. It was not missing glass or cracked. Best thing it was 1 hour north of where I live. It showed up on a Thursday afternoon and we would not be off till Sunday. By the favor of God the doors and top had not sold over the few days of nail biting. Early in the morning we rose to set off on and wild adventure, as is the case when you drive a lifted Jeep on the highways. First off was a question as to what has to be removed from the soft top mounting hardware to accommodate the hard top. Remove the soft top and all framework first. Then get out your cordless screwdriver and your set. Here is a list of the things that will have to be removed when going from a soft top to a hard top. 1- The windshield top rail. Philips head screws. 2- The doors, if they are not bolted on still just lift them off. 3- The tub side rails, rails are used to clip the top on the sides. 4- The rear corner rails and tail gate seal. 5- The side windshield door frames. Tape everything together so it’s easy to find next spring. Now the jeep was ready for a hardtop and full hard doors. Driving up to Deland I was reminded of why people stay under 31” tire whit a stock gear setting on a 2.5 4cyl. Top speed was 59-60 mph. Unless going downhill. 5th gear is useless because when you put it in 5th you will just start slowing down. I noticed that new pavement let you dive a little faster than old pavement . Stay in the slow lane and just enjoy the view. Bridges in Florida are common and going uphill will slow you down even more. Flat bridges with make your suspension bounce like a bronco, even with new leaf springs and shocks, you will feel like you’re riding on whoopty doos. People in Florida need to learn how to make roads. We arrived at 8am and paid for the top and put it on right there on the driveway. The top came with all the mounting hardware needed. The bolts were big plastic wing nuts that could be put on by hand. All the hole lined up with no issues. The doors slid on and lined up perfectly. The color was a perfect match to the black jeep. It looks good, like it was meant to be. New rubber seals were recently installed so it sealed right up. We exchanged jeep stories and he had 2 YJs, His YJ was resurrected from a field where it sat for 3 years, with no top on it. New springs, shocks, breaks, and lines were put on and a transmission rebuild and it runs and looks great. He had the same Leaf spring kit I had used. The drive home had an un expected surprise… As we pulled out onto I-4 we were up to speed in no time. Going with the flow over 60… 65… 70 mph and not floored? Whoa! The hard top provides a big lift in power from aerodynamics alone. I thought it was a fluke, might just be that we had a tail wind. Nope the next day going home from work I could pull out and get up to speed like it used to before the 33” mud tires. ( I still want a 4.0 someday.) I like the top and can drive in the rain without worry, IT LOCKS TOO! Time to add hard top to the list of getting more umph out of a 2.5. Quick name a Jeep you have seen in a film.... Jurassic park, right?
Last month we were invited to attend an opening for the Skull Island reign of Kong ride at Islands of Adventure. A great ride and one of the best ones there. The event was hosted at the Jurassic Park facility with desserts and drinks. After a few trips to the dessert bar, we headed out of the building and sitting off to the left was a Jurassic Park Wrangler #23. (A quick note that JP# 23 in Islands of Adventure is actually JP 12 from the movie, but after years of wear and tear and being fixed up several times it became JP 23.) The park was closed for the night and that gave us a rare opportunity to take some photos without people clamoring about. I am still undecided as to what paint theme I will be doing on the 1995 Wrangler but Jurassic park is top on the list. I have done some pre visuals on what it would look like with the Explorer theme. The last CJ7 I had had this the green with yellow and red bands. It was called Jurassic Parts. The logo on the hood was a shadow of a jeep going up a hill that resembled the T-Rex logo from the movie. SO... here are some photos from the park, enjoy. http://www.jurassicjeep.com/ has good info if you are interested in doing a build to match the movie. It's not that I have ADD but that... Oh look a Jeep! Jeeps, Jeeps, and more Jeeps. If you are like me they tend to stand out in movies, I even saw one in the new Ghostbusters movie. Here is a few of the literally 1000s of Jeeps that have appeared in movies, film, and TV. Can you name them all?
Brakes, who needs em? Just find a tree on the side of the road, that will slow you down... Brakes are one of those things I like to change out when I get a new vehicle. As far as brakes go, Disks are easy and drums are a pain. Back in the late 90s while doing a Labor day Off road event in Ocala National forest, I found out how much fun bad or NO brakes were. The weekend was a complete washout. Our tent leaked, we could not find dry wood and I rained most of the day. After a wet and sandy hill climb from a pit the trail made a sharp left turn. I thought I could clear it easy. Nope, I hit a fair size tree with my front right wheel. We were stopped instantly. It bent my steering rod and pulled the brake line loose. Not to give up I took out a hammer and beat the steering rod back into right shape. I took a stick and pushed it into the brake line and twisted it closed with some needle nose pliers. It worked with no leaks and I finished the run. Back at camp I set out to find a repair. No one had a flair tool or a spare break line. So I was forced to rely on the stick in the line fix. The next day they placed me behind a big ford with an oversized rear bumper. If he stopped and I would eventually stop too. More rain and a lightning storm while ridding down the power lines brought the trip to a end, so we headed home. The temp fix got be back home all 50 miles or so of I-4 through Orlando. If I hit the brakes it pulled pretty hard to the side. My wife drove our car in front of me to make sure I had a safe traveling distance. No problems we made it home. Ahh those were the days. Now on the new Jeep. After watching an episode of #FantomWorks I decided to replace all the disks, pads, shoes, and drums. My wife sat down and watched it with me, so getting the parts became a priority. Thanks FantomWorks you guys are the best. Here is the parts list: ACDelco 18B232 Professional Rear Brake Drum Assembly. Wagner ThermoQuiet PAB538R Riveted Brake Shoe Set, Rear. ACDelco 18A409A Advantage Non-Coated Front Disc Brake Rotor. ACDelco 14D477CH Advantage Ceramic Front Disc Brake Pad Set. Carlson H2309 Rear Drum Brake Hardware Kit. Wagner WC122730 Premium Wheel Cylinder Assembly, Rear. Early Saturday I started off with the front disks, Easy with no issues. A few bolts, a few snaps and put the parts back together. I use a C Clamp to compress the Caliper and check the master cylinder for fluid. The rotors came off with no issues, no rusted up bolts or leaking parts. 10 or so minutes per side. To my surprise the pads were in pretty good shape. Wow that was fast, feeling good about the prospects of a quick fix, I moved on to the back. First off you have to adjust the shoes so the drum comes off. A few light taps of a hammer and all the rusty junk come falling out. Across the street the XJ owner yells out “Jeep life” as he always does when I am under the Jeep working. Drivers side rear: I took photos so I could make sure everything was where it needed to be, but this seldom helps because drums are like a fully loaded bear trap. Like a Jenga pile you touch one spring and the rest goes flying. I always do one side at a time so I can use the other side as a reference point. I used an old cloth belt to hold the shoes in place while putting the cursed retention springs. After several tries and some walk away time, I did what needed to be done, I prayed for divine intervention. That worked. Those small spring take some amount of patience to get back on. I do have the right tools for the job but I only have two hands and wished for 4 do this job. (Thinking of Goro right about now.) The brake spring tool for the job got lost in shipping, so I had to make do with some needle nose pliers to twist the tip of the stud. Problems: The auto adjusting lever hung down and did not rest against the star gear. After searching YouTube I found that the tension wire MUST be seated in the proper hole of the slack lets the lever hang lose. (See Photos.) The passenger side drove me to prayer yet again. The wheel cylinder was leaking so that was replaced with a quick bleed of the brakes and they were good to go. Finding that sweet spot with the adjusters is always fun. After all that the wheels still won’t lock up, it stops fast, without pulling. I still can’t get that big tire barking sound, just a smooth quick stop. Bigger tires need bigger brakes. Next time I will look into replacing the old drums with new disk brakes and rotors and calipers with bigger and better parts that will help stop the 33" mud tires. My advice, scrap the stock and upgrade. MY SISTER'S 1997 JEEP WRANGLER: I Always wanted a Jeep. Like Matt said - it is a family thing. So I made a bargain with the devil when I took a 10K raise not to leave a job that was in Downtown Miami; I told myself, If I have to spend an hour driving - better be something I like to drive. I drove right to the Jeep dealership, took a test drive, and bought the Jeep Wrangler Sport 1997. It is now 2016 and I still own the Jeep. I can’t even imagine driving anything else. Poor little brother, he always said he wanted my Jeep when I was done with it. Finally he got one this year, but it wasn’t mine! One time I almost gave it to my Daughter, but came to my senses when I thought “teenager, Jeep, off roading, beaches, not in school.” A Jeep is way too cool. I bowed out blaming my husband (LOL) and she got a used Toyota! PS. I never put it in 4wheel drive! I don’t know how. TOOLS NEEDED: 2 Jacks and Jack stands. Breaker Bar. Cut off Grinder. Lube. BIG hammer. Bigger Hammer. Sockets and air tools or Ratchets. 2 cans of Red Bull. PB Blaster. and Wire Cutters. Breaker bar. When you drive across a bridge and your jeep feels like it is going over woopty doos on a bmx track, it might be time to change out your suspension. Some times it felt like a bobble head on wheels. One of the first things on my list was to replace the leaf springs. The ones that were on, were original and definitely flat. After a bit of research I decided to go with the Rough Country 2.5 inch lift kit. The kit came with 4 new shocks and all the mounting hardware needed. The original perches would still be used. I knew that my goal was to get 33 inch tires on the Jeep so the 2.5 inch lift would be perfect without major changes to other components. From what I could tell with a 2.5 liter engine a 33" tire was as big as you would want to go without losing major power. I ordered my leaf springs and shocks from Amazon prime with free delivery. That was the easy part . I had taken the springs off my last Jeep with no issues, at that time the CJ7 was only 11 years old. The Wrangler is 21 years old and all the parts are original. So it's been a fight with every bolt. I had been putting PB Blaster on all the bolts associated with the leaf springs and u bolts for a couple of weeks, it did not help very much. After spending about four hours on one side, I made the decision to just grind the heads off of each one of the bolts and try to knock out the stud. The studs themselves had rusted to the sleeves and would not budge. After grinding off each side of the bolt it was easy to pry the perch apart and get the Leaf Spring out. The rest of the Springs went fairly easy. One of the bolts sheared off when trying to torque the front spring to specs. Rough Country quickly replaced all the bolts. The only thing that I would recommend is to make sure that you put the shock Bolt in the proper way (The bolt head towards the differential and the nut on the wheel side.) or you will not be able change the shocks in the future without removing the U bolt assembly on the leaf spring. The new Springs and new shocks improve the ride quite a bit , it is a stiff ride but I'm happy to have the lift now there's room for the tires. After lifting the Jeep there was a slight vibration in the drive shaft due to the change of the pinion angle. My options were a slip yoke Eliminator or a 1 inch transfer case drop. One was very expensive the other one was very cheap , I went with the transfer case and now only have a slight vibration at around 35 miles per hour. I also replaced both U-joints on the drive shaft. For this I bought a new hydraulic press. Go with the 12 tone they have more room for the drive shaft and u-joints. I have always figured if I do the job myself it's like getting the tools for free. Side note: After a half a year I have had no issues. I have put SpiderTrax wheel spacers on and now my rear tires are less than an inch front the flairs, The wheel looks like it is a bit towards the front of the wheel well. I contacked Rough Country and ask if I could have put the springs on backwards. Their replay was The plus is used for checking purposes so that is nothing to do with install. The large eye will need to go toward front with smaller eye toward rear. Good to go. My first Jeep was a 1990 Grand Cherokee Laredo. I bought it second hand, but it only had 11,000 miles on it. It was a classic 2-door model. I bought it -- quite literally -- to celebrate the beginning of my new adventures with Nuri. We were still courting at the time, and I remember the shocked look on her face when I picked her up at the airport! We headed off for an adventure in the "Jeep Paradise" of the San Juan Mountains in western Colorado. This photo shows me and the Cherokee at 12,000 ft at Engineer Pass. In the years that followed, we pushed this Jeep over almost every mountain pass in Colorado. It has been through raging creeks and churned its way through impossible debris fields of stone. ... In time, we became a two Jeep family, but the 1990 classic XJ lived on and on. Nuri drove it to work with nearly a 100 miles a day. With 320,000 miles on it (and a second engine) it met its end, serving us even in its demise: it was purchased for $4,000 in the "Cash For Clunkers" program of the federal government. "Ariadne," as we called this car, had always managed to bring us out of the most labyrinthian off-road adventures. And then there is "Radwulf" -- a 1998 ZJ Grand Cherokee that we still own. There comes a point in every Jeep owner's life that one realizes that your Jeep is not a vehicle, it is a member of the family. For me that insight came when Nuri noticed that, while we were on vacation, I was taking more pictures of the Jeep than of people. It was true. Brand loyalty is a phenomenon well attested to in car ownership, but as the slogan goes, "It's a Jeep thing." This is a vehicle that becomes a member of the family for very good reasons. It isn't just "transportation", it is a form of freedom that allows you access to a completely different world. 4x4 is different than 4x2. Jeeps go places other cars cannot. For those who love the outdoors, a Jeep is a passport to adventure. Furthermore, the love affair we have with our Jeeps comes from the inter-dependency we have with these machines: we take them into uncharted territory and rely upon them to get us safely back to civilization. They, in turn, are very reliant upon us for a level of care and maintenance that will allow them to do what we want them to do. It says something that there are more "after-market parts" for Jeeps than any other vehicle. We baby our Jeeps, and treat them to untold improvements to enhance their abilities to do their "thing". Radwulf is now a respectable 19 years old and has logged 260,000 miles. He has a second, and more powerful, engine. Lift kit. Bigger and more aggressive tires. Armor plating below. Rock sliders on the sides. Better air system. Bull bar and Warn 9000 winch. Off road lights. Canoe rack and Yakima Rocket Box. Yes, it is a Jeep thing. And we love it. Article by: Stephen the ElderEldest of the Clan. The JEEP runs strong in my family, my Farther Had it, My Brother Has it, I have it, .... and my Sister has it. A big thank you to my Eldest Brother for sharing several Jeep stories from our family history. Stephen the Elder as we call him is a Professor of Humanities and Philosophy at the University of Central Oklahoma, My Dad's Jeep. In Odenton, MD, Dad bought a Jeep Wagoneer. Mom can tell you if it was new or used. It was a medium/dark blue, similar to this 1966 model. We used it extensively in our Boy Scout outings, as by then Dad was the Scoutmaster of Troop 713 in the Baltimore Area Council. Meetings were on Friday nights, and I remember our coursing around for about 2 hours, taking scouts home from our gatherings. For camping trips, this was the ideal vehicle, as few had 4x4 vehicles at the time. When Dad passed away, we sold the VW Beetle we also owned, and moved to Shrewsbury, MA, with the Jeep as our primary family vehicle. In Amherst by 1969, the Wagoneer was still the only car we had. It was the first car I ever drove (albeit I was a motorcyclist until I was 28). Shutesbury in 1972 ... Linwood had a International pickup truck with a plow mount, and the Wagoneer continued to be the major family car. Only in Tallahassee did the Jeep get replaced by a VW. Mom sold the Jeep to a couple of guys who were looking for a vehicle that could handle sand. Unfortunately, the Wagoneer was not what they needed: years later, I found our Jeep abandoned and half buried in the sand on the western side of the cut that runs through St. George's Island. There are no roads on that side, so they must have dropped it there by boat. I knew it was our Jeep ... the pin holes in the roof-liner where we had a St. Christopher's medal were still there. In all probability, our family Jeep was eventually swept into the bay on the north side of the island in one of the hurricanes that hit the island. Thus ended the long career of the first Jeep in our family. - Stephen the Elder WHY A JEEP? Growing up in Central Florida has some benefits other than Disney. The weathers nice with the occasional hurricane and the summer afternoon showers. A few houses down from where I grew up was a family that restored cars. A blue Super Bird with the huge fin in the back, a GTO Judge, and most importantly for me, a Jeep CJ5. The jeep came into the yard looking pretty rough. I think it was a light green, where the paint still showed. It was taken apart to the frame and the body was taken to an acid dip up near the T-Bowl. After a lot of sanding and bondo work the Jeep was eventually assembled and painted a dark green. The owner was a herpetologist and had the name Bush Master Painted on the hood. Yellow letters with the B and M made from snakes. The tires were Desert Dog Extras, an awesome tire that had tread that looked like Xs. You could always tell when he drove by because the tread left Xs as a trail. The jeep was a sweet and perfectly restored ride. I would say that from then on, I knew someday I would have a jeep of my own. Fast Forward to 1991, No web yet just Auto trader. That was were you looked for cars, it was a magazine, you know the kind with pages that you turn made from paper. A 1981 CJ7 shows up in south Orlando for $800. Runs but needs some body work and TLC ... My wife and I ride up and take a look. 258 with working 4 wheel drive. The tub is held together with old real-estate signs and patches of aluminum. It came down from New Hampshire and the road salt had taken its toll. The frame is rusted and the springs are about to crush through. But it ran! We gave the guy the $800 and headed home. Finally a Jeep in my driveway. Black and rusty, but it was mine. I drove it that way for over a year, all the while bolting on new plates of aluminum and whatever I could find to keep my feet from going through the floor. Really, it was a joke that you don't want to hit the brakes on the passenger side or your foot would go through. We did a lot of trail rides out behind Sea World and it did well. Doors off, top down, I LOVED IT! Fast Forward another year, I find a 1982 CJ7 in a junk yard with no motor or tranny, It looked like the front end had caught fire, but the tub and frame were rust free. After a bit of negotiation to save it from being crushed ( Nothing talks like $800 cash ) the junk yard towed it to my house and rolled it onto the driveway. We pushed it into the back yard and my sons and I stripped both jeeps down to the frames. Sanded and painted over some time one Jeep rose from two. A replacement windshield from a 1993, So I kind of had a 1981-82-83 CJ7. It was painted with spray cans like a zebra, a tiger, and finally like the Jurassic park explorers. It was named Jurassic Parts. The 258 did well and I did a spring over the axle mod to fit the 35" BFG mud terrains. I drove it like that for almost 4 years. Then the itch started. I had a friend who's CJ5 had 44 mudders and we had done some events together. So I swapped out the 258 for a V-8 from a Suburban and a new 3 speed. And made room for the 44s that were to come. They never did. There were problems with all the mods to fit the motor and tranny. Over powered and squirrely. Broken U- Joint were a common thing. I got good enough to pull over and replace them on the spot. The Jeep never ran as a daily driver. After some time I sold it, and the left over parts to a kid up the street. We moved up to Georgia for few years. Jeep was still in the blood. Some day Some day. 2016, 18 years after selling off the CJ7, the time was right. I always looked for Jeeps but the money and the deal never came together at the same time. Till this year. Enter my wife, hey look there is a Jeep up in Sanford for sale. We drove it home that day. And this is just the beginning of my Jeep story. |
Matt N RandyJeep Enthusiast, Pastor, Photographer, Artist, A husband and wife team that loves going out and seeing God's Creations. Archives
June 2021
Categories |