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97 TJ Heep to Zombie Killing Jeep Build

438K views 825 replies 181 participants last post by  cpia84 
#1 ·
So I always wanted a Jeep Wrangler and recently had an opportunity to pickup a 1997 TJ for cheap. Being that it is an SE with 4cyl and auto trans dana 30 and 35 cheap is really all it was worth anyway:laugh: But now i had a platform to start with and with our first child just being born I will be selling my motorcycle which will help fund the build. Along with what I had sold of a collection of 1/5 scale RC cars, one of which paid for the Jeep. But still looking to do this build on a budget and so I won't be buying $900 bumpers. The Jeep is taking place of the motorcycle as a toy and I still have my F-150 daily driver so can afford to have it down(torn apart for days or weeks at a time).

What I purchased in October of 2010


What I sold to buy the Jeep


First thing I did was gut the carpet, it was trashed. Also took out trunk thing to remove rust and repaint.


Parked next to the daily driver.


Took off the fenders to repaint and removing the stock steps. Also cut off front bumper jugs


With the carpet torn out the floors revealed some rust but not as bad as I would have thought with the condition of the top which would be my next purchase.




Brought it by a friends house to put some H2 tow hooks on the rear bumper:rofl:


Home in the garage for the first time. Took off mirrors and wiper blade arms and sanded and repainted. Let the money spending start. Did alot of tune up things like plugs, cap and rotor, new battery, O2 sensor, TPS, valve cover gasket etc...............


Put new black top on with tinted windows and removed rusted spare tire and spare tire holder. Added NRA sticker.


So after putting a black top on I decide I wanted the interior to be black (slate) so I purchased a dash out of a wrecked 06 TJ to install.


Painted the headlight bezels black with Krylon Fusion. And took off the front bumper to expose the rust under it. Ground it down and repainted, then installed smitty bilt stinger.



 
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#2 ·
A couple posse shots while I use the jeep around town, still need to get it off road



notice the Zombie permit on the windshield, it was around this time I read the Thread on this site about having a Jeep ready for a Zombie Apocalypse and had to have one. It also gave me a direction for my build and at this time I ordered all the free catalogs I could to start looking at what parts I could buy and possibly some I could fab.


Washed up


Flexing, weak I know


Installed Smittybilt XRC rock sliders, really needs a lift next.


Floor was more of an issue than first anticipated.


Installed the 06' Slate dash. Only real issue was that the piece below the steering wheel wouldn't work. In 03' I believe that part went to smooth surface and my 97' needs the bump and cutout for the headlight switch. so I bought an agate colored piece and it fits great, and the color difference is very very hard to notice. Also put down some Monstaliner rust preventative and plan on bed lining the inside of the tub. Painted the doors until i can find some for a reasonable amount. Also have my eye on a set of Corbeau Moab seats in black.


Got a heads up on this forum about a deal on the rear smittybilt bumper and tire swing I couldn't pass up so bought one and installed then decided to go the LED tail light route. Cut holes with jig saw and after referencing some threads on here install was a piece of cake.


 
#5 ·
Ah, i remember when mine was that clean inside. Looking good.
 
#12 ·
This is correct, The other thing worth noting is that the center radio bezel mounts differently so I couldn't use the one off the 97 dash and have to do some modifications. Also When I switched the dash it changed the vin number because it is attached to the dash so have to re-rivet the original one back in. Also I used the sub frame from the 06' dash because it had no rust and the 97' looked pretty bad. This wasn't a big issue but I had to make a braket to hang the headlight knob from because the 06' frame didn't have the mount.
 
#9 ·
Thank you all for the words of encouragement:cheers2: I have big plans for this jeep so hopefully someday it will be worthy of the Zombie apocalypse thread and trail running.

With the stinger and rock sliders the jeep looks alittle funny on 31's and so I wanted to go 33's. But wanted to get different wheels while in the process so after hunting TJ moabs with no luck(wanted them cheap) I ended up with a set of JK 17" moabs. But still haven't decided between Cooper SST and KM2's


Thought I would go little at a time and ordered a JKS 1.25 BL and MML


But then came across the Zone 4" and thought for the money it would be a good starting point.


So anyway this brings us to how it sits in the garage at this moment.
 
#11 ·
Thank You, I'm in the Fort Myers area. Got the wheels for nothing but had to buy $200 worth of spidertrax adapters. Again something I saw on this site and for the money figured it looked pretty good.

so here is the rear of the lift going in. wish I had purchased adjustable uper control arms but ended up drilling out the mounts on the axle and using the cam washers to move the the stock upper CA's forward a hair.


Rear done, looks beast and ever closer to a Zombie slaying MF'er


Front on jack stands gives a good indication of how bad it is going to look with 31's:thumbdown: Time to decide on tires.


Started on the front and got smart and ordered front disco's sway bar links and an adjustable trackbar. So the front is on hold until the rest of the parts come in.




I think I have read that if I install the BL/MML I don't have to do the transfer case drop, might have to try this. With having to buy tires a SYE is on hold for the moment. Also will be getting 4.88's so the little 4cyl can sort of handle the 33's. Really looking to do an LS1 motor conversion but haven't found what I'm looking for yet, that will be when this build gets real. but for now just having alot of fun working on the jeep and transforming what was a turd of a jeep into something to be proud of.
 
#14 ·
Ahh you don't need sway bars. haha.
 
#15 ·
So while I wait on the adj. track bar to come in I found a can of Rust-oleum truck bed liner laying around and figured what the hell. When I bought the jeep both front fenders had been hit some how and were dented and scratched pretty good, also some rust. Some day I'll do flat fenders but for now I painted the stock fender fronts to clean them up. Will be painting the grill with this stuff also because it is just so easy and looks great.

This stuff rocks.







Had painted the passenger side first and then remasked it and went higher up the fender to match the driver side. Had to go up past the rust spot, but like I said I sort of jumped into it so a little extra work. Will post some pictures tomm. of the finished product
 
#17 ·
I used the same stuff on my grill.....came out pretty good I think. It still looks as good as when I sprayed it too.
before....

after....I took it completely off and sanded/wire wheeled off all the surface rust. Then primed, painted, and bedlined the front. The stuff seems hard as nails.

 
#19 ·
I used the same stuff on my grill.....came out pretty good I think. It still looks as good as when I sprayed it too.
before....
That turned out looking great, and is such a good option to spending alot of money fixing up a grill. Nice job, I hope mine turns out looking as good.

the YJ grill looks really good. kinda makes me want to do it to my gunmetal blue tj's grill but im not sure if it would look as good. ill wait to see some other stuff. OP, have you thought of bedlining your interior? thats something else on my to-do list
Funny you mention that, I have a gallon of Monstaliner I plan on rolling in the interior of the tub. just never any time. And I say go for it as far as painting your grill. I just sand lightly to prep the surface then prime and then shoot with the bed liner. With the textured finish it helps hide any bug knicks or small imperfections also.

Not much to report on getting done to the jeep today. Just to busy with work and the new baby. Did have to swing in Wal-Mart to pickup somethings for work and while there grabed another can of the bed liner spray so i can do my grill soon. Also couldn't pass up black seat covers for $5 to hold me over until I purchase black seats. They're cheap and have a superman logo (ghey I know) but really was just tired of looking at the spice color seat backs.

I did get out somethings that will help the Jeep be more Zombie attack vehicle. Mag-Light mounts to put next to the driver seat and this.


Just need to figure out where to mount it ;)
 
#21 ·
^true:rofl:, really after putting the seat covers on I'm more in a hurry to get some actual black seats.

Got the grill primed tonight and will be painting it with the bedliner spray tomm. Did it the lazy way and left it on the jeep to paint but masked it off really well. Just not enough time in the day to get done everything I want. Think I'm going to try and remove my roll bar pad covers and soak them in black Dye to make them look new again. I'll let you know how that turns out.
 
#22 ·
M4 love it i had one of those but its back in the armory now alot of Magpul on that bad boy you went the hole nine yards with that one. Jealous. I used that truck bed liner on my fender flares and it looks amazing i will probably paint my fenders and grill as well, im just wondering if upol will stick to it, want to use it as a base.
 
#23 ·
So here was the grill primed (sorry for crap iphone pics)


After first coat of Rust-oleum bed liner spray



Finished product, extremely happy with the out come and have already started on prepping the tailgate and rear corners to be painted with this stuff also.



Next I'll be putting my skills to the test as I plan on painting the rest of the Jeep body silver. As you can see the hood looks terrible and really there are issues all over the body. So a cheap paint job will help clean it up for sure. Also have just purchased all parts needed to redo brake system pads/rotors/calipers/drums etc.... I decided to hold off on the disco's and may opt for the Currie Anti-rock setup instead.
 
#238 ·
Great build thread!! :thumbsup: I'm really wanting to paint my grill. What were your prep steps? did you sand to bare metal or do you just sand it a bit to scuff it up and then paint? Sorry if this has been asked,Im a noobie. Jake
 
#27 ·
So I've been slacking on the heep, but for good reason with a newborn baby girl it is hard to find the time. Today was a good day though after getting an opportunity to drive this at work.



I found a like new hard top with tint,wiper and defrost on CL for $400 :2thumbsup:and love the new look. Just have to keep an eye out for some full doors now. I have so much I want to do and still a pile of parts that need put on the jeep but have to live with only being able to do a little at a time for now.



Don't worry the lame $5 superman stuff is very temporary
 
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