[XJ_Renegade]

Okay, so I finally decided to hop on the build thread band wagon.

So without further a due, may I present to you *dun dun dun* My WJ when I first got it:


[Everyone looking at the above picture] [Me]

Mods at time of picture:
-Simulated fender ports
-Diamond plate splash guards
-Cobra DX Ultra III CB and magnet mount antenna
I certainly had a way with accessorizing, didn't I? A lady at the insurance office here in town once said, "I thought that was a Jeep at first, but isn't it a Buick?"

As for the engine:


Got a cheap cold air intake from flea-bay. Modified (aka "butchered") the stock air box to be a heat shield. Only $50 shipped. Also an Airaid Poweraid throttle body spacer. $75 shipped from Summit.

Please, for the love of all that is holy, fast forward to May 2009:


Ahhhh...Much better.



This is where I get my screen name from. I have always liked the CJ Renegades, and noticed quite a few folks with the Rubicon decals on their Grand's. I decided, let's be semi-original.

And I also got to work on a better CB antenna. Nothing more than a truck mirror mount, slightly modified, and a Firestik I got at work.

[XJ_Renegade]

Onto Light detail. We all know the road is too dim. So I got these...


I went the cheap way. The lights are from Farm # Fleet, as is the relay kit. The wire and switch is from Meijer. The lights are the replaceable sealed beam type, meant for farm equipment. They hold up quite well.

After losing my apartment and moving back home (roommate lost his job), I painted my bumpers and cladding black, using Krylon Fusion paint. Then one day I was rotating those bald Uniroyals and decided to get a quick picture. It is still on the jack because I was pretending I had a lift.


Then I got a break on some armor. Thanks (or spanks, if you prefer) to bigbluezj94, I scored some rock sliders that are cleverly disguised as running boards.

[XJ_Renegade]

Been down a few dirt roads, but hadn't been wheeling yet.


Then I got bored and set up my "Noob RTI ramp".




Then in September, I bought my favorite mod so far...a registration for the French Lick Jeep Jamboree. Which, in turn, required me to buy more modifications...

And my most expensive upgrade yet:

A set of 245/70-16 Fuzion XTi's.

So much more to come...Stay tuned.

[JFox21]

Looking good. Keep up the good work!

[tennesseewj]

Originally Posted by WJ_Renegade

Lose the ball mount and just loop a strap through the receiver and attach it with the hitch pin. You're going to **** 5 bricks when that thing snaps and sends that D-ring flying

[bytehoven]

What's the consensus on a Clevis & Pin setup like this rated 600 lb tongue weight a 6000 lb trailer weight?

[WJRenegade]

Oddly enough I think me and you think a lot like. I'm trying to do the same thing you have done. I got 02 GC and I have it for about a year now and I didn't think about doing anything to until I met up with this girl and her dad has this 86 CJ with renegade on the side. Plus when I found out the Liberty had a renegade version I thought to myself well someone should just make a freakin' Renegade WJ. So I'm also trying to do a little of what you are doing. I'm curious how did ya get the bumpers and cladding to look smooth? I haven't had any luck with that. Plus one thing I am curious how to do and if i knew how I would save the money up to get it, but like the jeep liberty light bar. I would like to make a custom light bar with five lights mounted in it to sit where the windshield meets the front of the roof of the jeep. To me that would be bad *** and I haven't ever seen anything like that.

[tennesseewj]

Originally Posted by bytehoven

What's the consensus on a Clevis & Pin setup like this rated 600 lb tongue weight a 6000 lb trailer weight?

So long as it was rated high enough I suppose it would be okay, but why? If you have to pull a pin out, insert strap, put pin in to connect, wouldn't it make more sense to just do that right into the receiver?

Originally Posted by WJRenegade

Oddly enough I think me and you think a lot like. I'm trying to do the same thing you have done. I got 02 GC and I have it for about a year now and I didn't think about doing anything to until I met up with this girl and her dad has this 86 CJ with renegade on the side. Plus when I found out the Liberty had a renegade version I thought to myself well someone should just make a freakin' Renegade WJ. So I'm also trying to do a little of what you are doing. I'm curious how did ya get the bumpers and cladding to look smooth? I haven't had any luck with that. Plus one thing I am curious how to do and if i knew how I would save the money up to get it, but like the jeep liberty light bar. I would like to make a custom light bar with five lights mounted in it to sit where the windshield meets the front of the roof of the jeep. To me that would be bad *** and I haven't ever seen anything like that.

I didn't even realize this was another poster at first.

[bytehoven]

[QUOTE=tennesseewj;8261826]So long as it was rated high enough I suppose it would be okay, but why? If you have to pull a pin out, insert strap, put pin in to connect, wouldn't it make more sense to just do that right into the receiver?

Sure, if you're just trying to slip (1) loop into the receiver. However, there have been times I have taken the snap strap to the troubled vehicle, which didn't have hooks, looped it around the axle and then brought back the "loose end" and secured both strap loops in the clevis. I've done the same when hooking up to pull a stump or something else which benefits from securing both ends of the strap before tugging away.

[BigMikeWJ]

did i see whitewalls painted Red in the first few pictures?? oooh geez!

When does the lift happen?

[spdfrk78]

Lookin' good. Can't wait to see a lift on it and some trail bumpers.

[XJ_Renegade]

Looking good. Keep up the good work!

Thanks, man.

Lose the ball mount and just loop a strap through the receiver and attach it with the hitch pin. You're going to **** 5 bricks when that thing snaps and sends that D-ring flying

I forsaw that as a possible problem, so it's only a temporary setup. I didn't have the $60 Tractor Supply wanted for the actual recovery devices.

What's the consensus on a Clevis & Pin setup like this rated 600 lb tongue weight a 6000 lb trailer weight?

That's what I want to get.

Oddly enough I think me and you think a lot like. I'm trying to do the same thing you have done. I got 02 GC and I have it for about a year now and I didn't think about doing anything to until I met up with this girl and her dad has this 86 CJ with renegade on the side. Plus when I found out the Liberty had a renegade version I thought to myself well someone should just make a freakin' Renegade WJ. So I'm also trying to do a little of what you are doing. I'm curious how did ya get the bumpers and cladding to look smooth? I haven't had any luck with that. Plus one thing I am curious how to do and if i knew how I would save the money up to get it, but like the jeep liberty light bar. I would like to make a custom light bar with five lights mounted in it to sit where the windshield meets the front of the roof of the jeep. To me that would be bad *** and I haven't ever seen anything like that.

Are you stalking me??? j/k, I think this is what you have in mind, and if I have the funds, I would like to get one in the future.

It's 4 lights instead of 5, but it looks really good. Some European company makes 'em, and sells 'em on eBay. Just look up "Jeep light bar" and it will be there somewhere. As for the bumpers, all I did was paint them with Krylon Fusion. The pictures aren't very good, so the texture doesn't really show up in them. I have some high quality photos I will be adding shortly.

did i see whitewalls painted Red in the first few pictures?? oooh geez!

When does the lift happen?

Yes, I painted the letters on the Firestone's red with some duplicolor crap.

The lift happens shortly after I locate control arms, trackbar, spring retainers, and a rear a-arm spacer. Hopefully that will happen within the next year.

Lookin' good. Can't wait to see a lift on it and some trail bumpers.

Lift should be before long. Trail bumpers? I wish. I'd love a front bumper like Shinobi's.

[XJ_Renegade]

More madness comin' right up!

So I left off with talk of my first wheeling trip that didn't take place at the mall. It was a 4 hour drive into southern Indiana to a place called "The Ranch" between French Lick and Paoli. It had been raining for at least a week before the trip, and it was raining on registration day, as well as the first trail day. All of the trails were soupy messes, and traction was a thing of the past. We were doing hill climbs at almost 20 MPH in 4LO and second gear. It was insane. I'm really glad to have the WJ too, because I was using it as my tent all weekend. My actual tent got flooded, so I was sleeping in the back with the seats folded down. It was amazingly cozy.
\

The group I was in.


Basic hill climb.


Scenic backwoods.


This is where my rock sliders paid for themselves.


When all was said and done, this was the only body damage I accumulated.


I was surprised, because I bottomed out several times, caught air at least twice, and had it bouncing all over the trail during every hill climb.

Then like all good things, it had to end sometime. I drove home with the Jeep caked in mud, and got a lot of funny looks on the interstate.
Ahhh...Good times.

[bytehoven]

Originally Posted by WJ_Renegade

Then like all good things, it had to end sometime. I drove home with the Jeep caked in mud, and got a lot of funny looks on the interstate.
Ahhh...Good times.

What's your setup on the WJ?

[XJ_Renegade]

Originally Posted by bytehoven

What's your setup on the WJ?

Stock crap.

Front D30, Rear D35(both open); Selec Trac; no suspension upgrades whatsoever; no skid plates...

Needless to say, I was amazed that I didn't break anything. It handled the 4 hour drive home like a champ.