[smithtime09]

I'm tired of waiting and I have nothing better to do so I'm just going to start this thread and update it when I get more stuff....
So I got this september of 07, my friend got me into the whole offroad thing immediately and I got hooked...took it to a few trails for about 3 months until sh** hit the fan...I didnt really know what I was doing back then (16) and floored it through a puddle...flooded my spark plugs, had to replace the distributor cap, but worse, got involved with the police....so I got away from it for about a year, only using the jeep as a DD....just recently around February, my friend got me back into it and I've become infinitely more into it than before.

Specs
98
5 spd manual, I6, 4.0L
got it with about 115K miles
previous owners had added tubular side steps, hand grabs, head unit and sound bar with sony xplod's, mirror relocation brackets, rear hitch, neoprene seat covers(very worn and faded), brand new 31x10.5 BFG All Terrains, cheap driver's side spotlight, and husky floor mats
The seat covers were old, torn and faded so i took those off after a few months...the soft top was acceptable, a few gashes in the rear shield, but hey at least it looked better back then than it does now (now held up by zip ties)
Only rust problem I've had is a rust crack down the side panel under my door...shouldn't be a problem to repair
Here it is day 1 and a few shots i took on the trails those first few months...(Didn't have a job since it was football season so I had no money to upgrade stuff with)





The first upgrade I did (besides the ECU decals) was installing a 10" Kenwood sub and amp behind the rear seats...I'm sure people will be like wow way to waste 3-400, but I'm also a drummer so sound quality is a huge deal to me. It sounds great


I really didn't do anything to it after that, I didn't have a job at the time due to football (sub/amp came from birthday money) so money wasn't available. I just took it offroad a few times untill "d-day" happened. After a year, upgrades finally started coming when a friend dragged me back into it one afternoon....i think i'll start another post now

[smithtime09]

So after that first trail ride in over a year, I got hooked. That weekend, we took off those side steps considering 1.) they were pointless and 2.) they were hideous

and a some offroading after that...


I got in a minor accident sometime in 08 and had to replace a rim, so my dad suprised me and got the pacer version of a soft 8, just so we could see what black rims would look like. I got bored one day and mounted it and it looked freakin amazing so it rose up to #2 on the upgrades list.


Hit the trail that weekend with a few people...




Took the milk jugs off, repainted the faded flares with Krylon fusion
before


after


more coming...

[smithtime09]

Made swaybar disconnects...other than a little rattle over speed bumps there's really not a problem with them....




FINALLY got the money for a lift. Just a budget boost to last me till summer...





So its finally starting to get more agressive. Only thing I've been able to do since then is repaint my faded bumper...





So thats pretty much where it is now, besides hooking up my ipod...I skipped out on all the fluid changes since it should be a given...but that should change this weekend, I'll be ordering soft 8s tomorrow, and might be getting my 32x11.5 KM2s this weekend as well. Oh yea, I replaced the cap on the spare with a Cragar cap so there's pretty much no difference now.

I also want to black out my fender decals, take off the old silver ones and replace them with black...if anyone has suggestions of good websites, please let me know

My to-do list: (not really in order after 4)
1.) 32x11.5 KM2s
2.) Soft 8s
3.) Shocks
4.) Alignment, balancing, etc
5.) Rancho steering stabilizer
6.) Seat Covers
6.) Possibly paint my headlight bezels
7.) Exhaust (suggestions please, I'm looking at the Banks cat back right now)
8.) New soft top considering my rear windshield is held on completely by zip ties

I think that should do it. Once summer comes, its a whole new ball game, I'll be making good money which means bigger upgrades. I'll update this when more stuff comes.

Thanks for looking

[SOLIDJP44]

hey quick question how many miles do u have on your bf's. seems like mine are wearing quickly, whats your psi? secondly i have the gale banks and by far everyone at work thought i had a small block v8 under the hood at low speeds nice deep throaty sound get it! u will love it and with time it only gets louder.

[smithtime09]

Originally Posted by sport44

hey quick question how many miles do u have on your bf's. seems like mine are wearing quickly, whats your psi? secondly i have the gale banks and by far everyone at work thought i had a small block v8 under the hood at low speeds nice deep throaty sound get it! u will love it and with time it only gets louder.

Yea thats what I was thinking, I've heard sound clips and I know they aren't very reliable but what you just told me confirms what I thought.

I have about 20-25K on my All Terrains....they do wear extremely fast, I have probably less than 30% tread on rears and less than 50ish on my fronts, but when I first got them I drove like an idiot. Spare, you could mistake it for a nascar tire. I keep them around 33 psi.

[kyle_craig]

I want to see some soft 8s on it with the lift! Looks great so far!

[SteelBlueTJ]

Nice jeep. I like the color I would definitely paint the headlight bezels black. It really looks good on our color. Here's mine

[smithtime09]

Just ordered the Soft 8s....should be here on Tuesday or Wednesday (probably Wednesday considering its UPS(undoubtedly pissy service))

But thanks guys, yea I plan to paint my bezels after the rims go on. The basic plan as far as exterior finish goes is all black and steel blue. No chrome whatsoever.

[mightydog78]

x2 on the black headlight bezels




good color choice

[WranglerRush]

Yalls Jeeps look great. I love that Steel Blue color.

[smithtime09]

Not really a big deal, but I took off the whites and put the black SPORT decals on today. It'll look good when the soft 8s go on.

Cragars scheduled to arrive tomorrow....

[smithtime09]

Well I got the Soft 8s delivered today. FYI if anyone reading this is considering them, get them from SummitRacing.com. I saved at least 40 bucks by ordering from them. Anyways, unfortunately they will sit in the garage for at least another week till the KM2s come in.

Also replaced more fender decals....will look better/good as h*ll when i finish the rest/get the soft 8s mounted....

[smithtime09]

OK I need some advice here, has anyone here recently done a full body paint job and had to replace their decals? If so, where did you get them from? I can't find a website that has the WRANGLER decal in the right size.

[smithtime09]

Well after the soft 8s have sat in my garage for over a week, I think the KM2s will be here by the weekend....Other than that, nothing really is going on, considering I'm completely broke. Waiting on money for new shocks...I'm considering the Rancho RSXs but we'll see....suggestions would be good

[INCA]

looking good! i need to black out my decals