[Wrenchands]

I might as well start at the beginning of the saga and bring you up to the present. I promise there will be some technical information as well

I bought my jeep stock in 2000, and it pretty much looked like this:


Played in the mud and snow for a couple of months before upgrading to RE 3.5 lift and 31 inch BFG MTs:


Then it was time to black out the rims, and of course start adding some armor. RockLizard Skink Sliders to protect the rockers, rear hitch in case I got stuck, and a push bar to fend off deer in Nebraska:

[Wrenchands]

I started to get worried about rust after I moved to Minnesota, so I decided to rhinoline the exterior. Not a bad paint job for $800.


I decided it was time for some more armor, so I added factory front and gastank skids and riddler differential covers after I added the 4.56 gears.


As you can all imagine, the gears were added for a reason...time for bigger tires. This of course called for some plastic surgery. Cut and fold rear quarter, wheel well, and for course the front:

[Wrenchands]

The next day I added the new meats, Baja MTZ 33 x 12.5:


Not to be out done by my wrangler friend, it was time to Herc the inside.




Okay...the next post includes the technical portion

[Wrenchands]

Many people have discussed if the herculiner is as quiet as when they had carpet. The answer is that it definately can be if you do it right.

I ended up using 3 gallons of Herculiner applied in 3 very thick coats. I also coated both the inside and the outside of the wheel wells. To give a little extra sound suppression, I also removed the rear panels and coated the inside of the rear quarters especially where I cut and folded.



The end result is a Jeep that is now water proof inside and out, and it is substantially quieter then what it was with the carpet in place.

I also added 8 drain plugs at the time so I can just rinse and repeat after playing in the dirt.

Next on the to do list: new bumpers from AJ

[Wrenchands]

Forgot, I also have a question regarding speedo gears.

According to the Speedo charts, I need a 39 tooth gear to have the correct ratio for 4.56 gears and 33 inch tires.

Does anyone know what the stock tooth count is for an automatic with 3.55 gears?

Thank you for your assistance

[jackdup]

im guessing you like herculiner? haha..you should get that thing weighed after all that to see how much you gained

[mattathayde]

http://go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoSpeedoGears.htm heres info on spedo gears, it depends on what you had stock, but its listed about halfway down or closer to the bottom which had what, was probably a 34 of 35 tooth

~edit~ o forgot to mention that you have a very cool set up. not what i would do to my current xj but that would be a cool thing to do to an XJ eventually for me
-matt

[Wrenchands]

Good question about how much weight I have added to the Jeep...the answer is very little.

One gallon of oill weighs approximately 7 pounds. Herculiner is very close to this weight as well.

7 pounds times 3 equals 21 pounds.
Rhinoliner for outside of vehicle total 30 pounds per the Vender.

Total added around 51 pounds, but the carpet that was removed weighed about 25 pounds.

Sooo, the inside is lighter with the Herc then the carpet, but the outside added some weight. Approximately 26 pounds heavier after all is said and done.

Not much weight compared to the larger tires and new bumpers I am about to add. Will post up some pictures once AJ sends me the goods

PS Matt thanks for the info, and I appreciate the positive feedback as well.

[Wrenchands]

More armor added last night, Skid Row TC skid:



Pictures of the Riddler:


I also changed out the speedometer gear to a 39 tooth. Talk about an easy upgrade. Takes about 5 minutes.

New diff. fluid for the new gears after putting 500 miles on.

Next weekend, my new bumpers from AJ should arrive. I can't wait

[sean883]

Looks cool with the rhino liner.

[955speedCh]

that thing looks so BA with the rhinoliner outside! when my paint starts to fade i might have to do this. looks awesome!

[Wrenchands]

Thanks guys. I have had a lot of mixed reviews here on the Forum, but everyone who sees it in real life loves it.

I got pulled over the other day just so the cop could talk to me about it, and there is always a crowd around when I leave the hardware stores.

Funny how many random people want to talk to you when they see something different.

[superjeep5000]

i just left a comment on an other thread i saw your jeep on about a write up. well i found it haha. first off that is a sick looking xj. the nicest one have ever seen hands down. just wondering if you could go into a little more detail on how you did the exterior. did you just paint over the old green paint or did you have to sand it and what not. same with the interior what was the process. if its not that time consuming and expensive i am definitely considering doing this. looks great and functional.

[broncofire75]

I like it! As I saind in the other thread LOL.

Your XJs hard to forget thats for sure.

[XJ96PA]

you forgot to herculine the wheels and windows.