Posted: 7/14/2009 11:07:05 AM EDT
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I would reconsider carpet and go with a Spray/brush in bedliner setup. Carpet will just get ruined, even indoor/out door stuff, water can get under it and start to rot it and rust.
I cant tell by the pics, but is that spring UNDER axle? You couldve gotten a free 2-3" lift just by going spring OVER axle. but so far looks good. |
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Good looking work so far. I am still building mine (well 3rd I guess) up as well.
A couple suggestions though that you should consider. Don't waste money on an aftermarket alternator. Go grab one from the appropriate grand Cherokee at a junk yard (or just get one at yer local parts store). I paid $30 instead of $250-$300 Do not use any other bed liner than Herculiner. The Dura Coat garbage and the other similar ones really suck. They have about a year before they start cracking and chipping. I cant emphasize that enough. Get on Ebay and get the gallon starter kit + 1 qt of the UV treatment, auto zone sells it as well. Herculine EVERYTHING. Under the body, the entire inside, the frame, inside the fenders, I mean everywhere you can. It is amazing, nasty gunk that doesn't even come off your skin for a month. Prep is important though make sure you get rid of all the shiny spots of clearcoat on whereever you apply it. Acetone is the cleaner you should use before you apply it as well. Steel Rims are for off road, aluminum is for street. You mash your rim on a rock- steel can be bent back with a hammer and get you home, aluminum will shatter. Not that it should really matter to a kid when he firsts starts driving, but good knowledge to have. Check the seat belts. The body loves to rust out right where the seat belts attach. So go ahead and make sure the seat belts are attatched to something. Safety 1st! Also, an interesting point, but after 93? I think, they started galvanizing the bodies to prevent a lot of rust issues because so many jeeps melted into nothingness in just a few years. Go find a Dana 44. That 35 your sporting is not likely to last more than a year with any 16 year old boy riding around on 31's. The master list is easy to find on google, but I recommend going to the junkyard and yanking one from a cherokee with the towing package. They fit right in. But I would rebuild it first as the gearing will more than likely be different (you have 4.10's they are more than likely 3.73's) Check the starter. It's only 2 bolts and 2 power leads. Yank it out and clean the selenoid. Trust me... Where's your hi-lift jack and pioneer kit? Get home bag... You know the deal. Thats about it. Those are the things I learned the hard way. Oh, and for his 18th birthday, get him a REAL engine (the 4.0) and some Mo-Par engine mounts. You are an awesome dad! |
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Very nice! Those YJ's are sweet.
I actually just got myself a cherokee last month and am doing some restore work on it as well. Got a 3.5 inch lift on the way and some 31's. As for the hurculiner stuff is ok but water can get underneath it and cause rust. The best way to do it is to buy some POR15 and coat everything you can with it. It chemically seals the metal especially underneath if you live up north to prevent salt corrosion. If you really want put hurculiner in the tub and carpet on top and itll really nice and about as quiet as a YJ can be! A dana 44 is a sweet upgrade if you have some extra cash but my first jeep had a dana 35's and my gf's current TJ has a dana 35 with 33"s on it and has had for years but it stays on paved/dirt roads most of the time.! But serious off roading you'll end up with a 44 sooner or later. Have fun with the Kiddo! |
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Quoted:
Very nice! Those YJ's are sweet. I actually just got myself a cherokee last month and am doing some restore work on it as well. Got a 3.5 inch lift on the way and some 31's. As for the hurculiner stuff is ok but water can get underneath it and cause rust. The best way to do it is to buy some POR15 and coat everything you can with it. It chemically seals the metal especially underneath if you live up north to prevent salt corrosion. If you really want put hurculiner in the tub and carpet on top and itll really nice and about as quiet as a YJ can be! A dana 44 is a sweet upgrade if you have some extra cash but my first jeep had a dana 35's and my gf's current TJ has a dana 35 with 33"s on it and has had for years but it stays on paved/dirt roads most of the time.! But serious off roading you'll end up with a 44 sooner or later. Have fun with the Kiddo! Yeah the Herculiner will bubble if you don't prep it right. You gotta scuff up all the clearcoat. That POR-15 is great stuff as well, forgot to mention it too. They have a full line up of rust preventative paint and primers. The dana 35 is a crap shoot. I blew one up running 235's  on my first YJ. Then I ran 35's on my second YJ for over a year with no problems. It's just one of those things, hindsight and all that. Since you are spending the time trying to do it right now, you may as well to save some trouble down the road.
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I'm just glad to see a suspension lift and not another body lift. Body lifts make me  .
Grove A small body lift (1") is actually not a bad idea. You get a little bit more clearance for less money but the big bonus is it makes a lot of things easier to work on. I wish I would have had a 1" BL when we snapped off all 4 of the rusty bolts on the rear shocks of my '06 Wrangler unlimited installing my suspension lift. It would have saved us several hours of work. Now people that put on a 3 inch body lift as an easy way to get bigger tires on..... Not only hideous to look at but also unsafe.
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I can't remember if the 4 banger in the 91s is the same as the 4 banger in the 98s, but after I put a 2" lift and 31s on my buddy's Jeep it was pretty slow- it would barely hold 70 on the highway, but that was pretty much it. On the recommendation of some on the Jeep forums, I opened up the airbox, put in a K&N filter, installed the larger throttle body from a six cylinder and a set of headers with freer flowing exhaust and an upgraded computer chip. We're going to install an electric fan when I get around to it. All together It made a noticeable difference in performance and it does better both on and off the road, but it's still weaker than the 4.0 will ever be. If you go over 31" tires you are going to need to regear.
ETA- forgot to mention the upgraded plug wires too. |
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Cool. I really wanted one when I was 16. Wonder what liability insurance would've run. Was 1350 just for an Olds.
You should look at a sprayer for that Herculiner. They cover much better and faster. Around $10. My little 16 gallon compressor ran one fairly well if paced a little slow. |
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I think its great what your doing and think you have a very lucky son. Its good that he is working on with you. Not just will he understand how to fix it and maintain it but it will give him a better appreciation for it. He knows what it takes to fix it if he decides to abuse it... I know my first car was a hand me down POS that i drove like a high end sports car. My mechanical knowledge was limited but that car taught me alot because I didn't have the cash for mechanics, so I taught myself how to fix it and took better care of it because it was better than riding a bicycle...
If he is going to do a good bit of off roading you may want to wait on a paint job unless you don't mind alot of scratchs. Just a thought. Good luck and have fun with it. I would have loved to have something like that when i turned 16. |
| When you take the body apart and all of that, use POR-15 on areas prone to rust. CLICK ME! |
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Good use of the fishing quote and I think doing the vehicle hand me down this way is an excellant idea.
I was allowed to use the parent's spare vehicle and killed a couple vehicles in short order when I was still in high school. Once I had to fully fund purchase of older vehicle I could actually afford to buy and take care of said vechicle I had more appreciation of what it took to have a vehicle and that one lived a longer life. Still died early due to stupidity but at least it was just a twisted frame from too much engine. One thing I know for sure, this jeep is special because of the memories of fixing it up that will always be there. |