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TheNewbie's 95 YJ ... lots of pics

26K views 77 replies 23 participants last post by  ThatJeepGuy 
#1 ·
I guess it's finally time that I should start a build thread. I wish I had done this a long time ago.

Here's how it looks as of today:


But here is how it looked the day I brought it home.



I saved up all of my pennies and threw a 4" RC lift kit and some used 32's on a set of wheels that were off of another YJ.









Then I got some 33X12.50 General Grabber AT2's and brand new cragar soft 8's. They're 15X8" rims with 4" of backspacing.





Next I got tired of the soft top... So I found a hardtop and full fiberglass doors off of a CJ7.



 
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#2 ·
The next thing to go was the stock front bumper.

$50 in steel and a few days in the garage resulted in this:


Then a couple of anchor points through welded in the center of the frame, a little bit of bondo and a couple cans of paint later...

 
#3 ·
Next up I finally found the time and money to do my flat fenders.

Here's the before pic. (me on my way to go deer hunting) You'll also notice that I did a cheap Krylon spray paint job. :laugh: I plan on doing a nicer black paint job in the near future. :thumbsup:


I started by cutting along the lip of the fender that runs under the hood. I cut until I got to the inner fender.

I left the bracket for the hood latch support though. I just ran the jig saw along the lip so there is about a 1 1/2" lip running under where the hood shuts.



Next I cut along the back side of the inner fender behind the tires and I made a vertical cut about an inch or so from where the fenders meet the tub.



Then I took an angle grinder to the metal remaining on the inner fender and cleaned it up a bit. The front side (towards the tire) is nice and flush now, but I left the back side rough. You'll never see it and I was running low on wheels for the angle grinder. I did cut that rust out though. I also just unbolted the part of the fenders that was still attached to the tub.



I had to notch the inner fenders a bit to make room for the 1 1/2" tube to clear. It's not pretty, but you won't see it. :laugh:



Then I trimmed the fronts of the old fenders off along the grill and took an angle grinder to the metal bracket behind the top 2 bolts on the grill and smoothed it down flush.

 
#5 ·
Next I welded the top part to the tubes and painted the bottoms before installing them because I knew I'd never be able to get to them with paint after they were on the Jeep.




I also painted the backs of the side plates before installing them.



Then I trimmed the tubes to length and welded them to the inner fender by the grill and ran a bead between the tubes and the side plates. I was using a $100 harbor freight welder so you'll have to pardon the booger welds. They cleaned up well, but they're not pretty in these pics.





And the full length shot:





I hit the welds with the grinder to try to smooth them out a bit. I also filled the gap on the top section and the sides between the welds and the tube with bondo and sanded it flush.







 
#6 ·
I got the grill and fenders sprayed with a spray on bedliner. Now it's finally about ready for paint. I just need to save more of my pennies up :thumbsup:



 
#8 ·
Here are a few flex shots with the new flat fenders.

I also cut some metal in the back an installed some TJ flares. Look that those 33's stuff in there!!! I'm not running bump stop extensions in the rear, so the 33's fit PERFECTLY with the TJ flares. I needed the bump stop extensions to keep them from hitting with the stock flares though.

Adding the TJ flares and removing the bump stop extensions was GREAT for flex. I never thought I'd be able to get this kind of flex out of RC springs.

I also found some full steel doors on craigslist. Those old fiberglass ones just weren't cutting it.









My bump stop extensions are a little bit off center up front, so I can almost stuff the 33's into the tubes.





Here's what the front bump stops look like under flex...

 
#9 ·
And here's ol' Rusty sitting on level ground...



I just need to find some time to paint the undersides of the wheel wells black now. The stock white paint is sticking out bad.
 
#10 ·
Looks great! Really makes wish I knew how to weld. One suggestion though: I think you shoudl paint the inside of your fender wells black.
 
#13 ·
See the last thing I wrote before you posted that... :laugh:

I just need to find some time to paint the undersides of the wheel wells black now. The stock white paint is sticking out bad.
Don't worry... I only read the pictures too. :D

Seems to me like you may want to change your name from The Newbie to something else.
I might just have to put that line in my sig. :thumbsup:

What's your next step?
The very next step will be to paint the wheelwells black. :laugh:

But then I plan to get my CB up and going in the YJ, and throw on some rock sliders.

Then I hope to paint it all black (or maybe monstaline the whole tub), do the Taurus fan mod, actually get around to installing the off road lights that I have laying around, custom rear bumper with built in tire carrier, Ford 8.8 in preparation for a possible motor swap, sell off my 4" RC springs and swap in some 2.5" OME springs with 1" shackles and a 1" BL to get me at about the same lift that I have now, but with a better ride, weld up a rack to go above the tire carrier that I'll build, make a front hoop/grill guard for the front bumper that I made, maybe do a little bit of a stretch when I change springs...

You know how it is. I could keep this list going. But you get the idea. I don't think I'll ever "be done".

Then later down the road maybe a 350 swap. :thumbsup:
 
#16 ·
I finally got some time to get the undersides of the fenders painted black.

I also went to Moab yesterday with a couple guys from the forum who were nice enough to let me tag along.

Here's a few pics.















 
#31 ·
I finally got some time to get the undersides of the fenders painted black.

I also went to Moab yesterday with a couple guys from the forum who were nice enough to let me tag along.

Here's a few pics.



PFFT.....



fast forward to 3:23, he did this hill in his crown vic...

jeep looks good tho.
 
#18 ·
I got my build sheet from Jeep, I figured I'd post it here so I can find it easily if I ever need to.


Premium Cloth Bucket Seats
Heavy Duty Electrical Group
Monotone Paint
S Group
90 Amp Alternator
500 Amp Maintenance Free Battery
Power Front Disc/Rear Drum Brakes
High Back Bucket Seats
Reclining Front Seats
Rear Folding Seat
Floor Carpet
Cargo Compartment Carpet
All Manual Transmissions
5-Speed Manual Transmission
Command-Trac Part Time 4WD System
Dana 30/186MM Front Axle
4.10 Axle Ratio
175MM Rear Axle
All Engines
2.5L Power Tech I-4 Engine
Tinted Windshield Glass
Plastic Front Door Window
Half Metal Doors with Locks
Left Manual Mirror
Right Manual Mirror
Swing-Away Mirrors
All Vehicles W/O Power Mirrors
Heater w/Instrument Pnl Ventilation
100 MPH Primary Speedometer
Cigar Lighter
Single High Note Horn
Shift Indicator Warning Lamp
Halogen Headlamps
CHMSL Lamp
Painted Front Bumper
Black Rear Bumper
Body Color Headlamp Bezels
Black Front Frame Overlay
Body Color Grille
Sport Bar w/Side Padding
Federal Emissions
EVAP Control System
15 Gallon Fuel Tank
Bright White Clear Coat
Bright White Clear Coat
All Radio Equipped Vehicles
AM/FM Cassette Radio
2 Speakers
Fixed Long Mast Antenna
Power Rack and Pinion Steering
2-Spoke Soft Feel Steering Wheel
Normal Duty Suspension
Front Stabilizer Bar
Full Size Spare Tire
Outside Tire Carrier
P215/75R15 OWL All Terrain Tires
Goodyear Brand Tires
White Solf Top
15" Aluminum Wheels
All Aluminum Wheels
Fuel Tank Skid Plate Shield
Build To U.S. Mkt. Specifications
9 Additional Gallons of Gas
Spring - Left Front
Spring - Left Rear
Spring - Right Front
Spring - Right Rear
Customer Preferred Package 2TB
Customer Preferred Package 23B
 
#22 ·
I just now noticed these replies. Thanks for the compliment!

did you fab the fenders you're self?
See page 1. :laugh:
 
#23 ·
I got a couple kits of Raptor liner in the mail this week and will be shooting the whole exterior of the YJ Monday!

I've had some off road lights that have been sitting in the back room since Christmas. I finally got some time to cut and weld some tabs to the windshield hinges for the lights to mount to. The combination of my welding skills and the Harbor Freight welder makes some nasty booger welds. But that's nothing the angle grinder couldn't take care of. Plus they'll be covered with spray on bedliner in a few days anyway.



 
#60 ·
Great build thread. Just got through it all this morning.



How did you end up running the wiring for the lights? We have ours on there but not wired in. He's trying to decide the best way to run them so that they're not in the way if he decides to lay the windsheild down.

I snapped a couple shots of it just because this is the last time it will look like this. I think the Raptor liner will be a big improvement.





I've already got her sanded down and ready for the Raptor liner.

:2thumbsup:

And here is a pic of the sample that Monstaliner sent me over a piece of paper that I used to mask the headlights when I sprayed the Jeep with Raptor liner.

I figured someone might be interested to see the difference. This question seems to come up a lot. So I shot this pic.



Thanks.
I definately like the Raptor's texture better from this shot

I got out the angle grinder the other day and went to town on an old hard top that I picked up for $40 on craigslist.



I left the sides on so that I can throw the "hard bikini top" on with the full steel doors when it rains. I'll still run topless all summer. But I've been getting tired of not being able to put the top on by myself when it rains. This is light weight and I can throw it on by myself in less than a minute if I use the drill to run the screws in. It would probably take 3-4 minutes with a screwdriver.

It will seal all the way around the doors to keep me dry when I wake up and have to drive to work in the rain. Much easier to store in the garage than a full hard top too. Plus it was half the cost of a bikini top that would take longer to put on and wear out years earlier. It may not look the best, but it should keep me dry.

Now I just need to shoot it with some matching Raptor liner.
That is an awesome idea, I don't think I missed any, but do you have a pic with it all painted up yet?

I live in Grand Junction, which is about 30 miles from the Utah border. I have to drive an hour or more to get these views.
Those are some amazing views.. someday we'll drive out there! I have always wanted to see things out west, and I have friends in Utah to visit (free place to sleep..lol)

Again, great build thread, subscribing!
 
#24 ·
I snapped a couple shots of it just because this is the last time it will look like this. I think the Raptor liner will be a big improvement.





I've already got her sanded down and ready for the Raptor liner.

 
#29 ·
I took her out to the desert today to shoot some prairie dogs and snapped some pics along the way.





 
#32 ·
I bet he didn't make it much further. That's only about 1/4 mile into the trail. And I was driving over ledges and waterfalls taller than a crown vic. :D
 
#33 ·
I was just playing, he tooled around in that crown vic for awhile in there... amazing car... lol
 
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