[Barrio]

more pics!!!!!

[l3it3r]

Where did you get the lights? I want to swap some milspec lights on mine:

http://l3it3r.com/Jeep/full_green/full_front2.jpg

Your rig looks BAD A$$ and has secured my blessing on painting the wheels as well.. (my next project )

[digitalcox]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading through your post on this build, great job!!!

[podboy333]

Just joined the board today and stumbled upon your build, I am not the biggest fan of newer jeeps and I know everyone has said this, but I really love this build. Makes me wish I had a TJ to relic.

[tatooweeny]

Hi l3it3r,

The front lights (signals) were originally blackout lights (24 volt) that I converted to 12 volt with yellow bulbs. You can find them on Ebay from between 25.00 (fronts) to 100.00 (rears), depending on the shape of them. I happened to get lucky on the rears. They were Sherman Tank Blackout lights (12 Volt) new in box. Lucky find. I still had to fiddle with the wiring so I could put standard autolite bulbs in the housings. The blackout light on the fender is currently not hooked up. It's just for show. The other fender will have a siren someday, and believe me that sucker will be wired in!

In regards to your project... NICE! Did you know that a CJ front end (From the cowl to the grill) is pretty much a bolt on deal with YJ's? That would solve your problem with the front light situation. (Fitting round signals/lights into square holes) Those rims you have would look sweet painted. My only suggestion is to sand the hell out of them to get the gloss off. That way the paint will stick better. Cheers.

[l3it3r]

Thanks for the info. I had thought about a CJ front end, but I'm not sure what I'll do just yet. I'm really looking to try and get some sidemarkers to replace the nasty dot reflector ones.. but I dunno If i'll even be able to legally drive with them??

[tatooweeny]

Hi l3it3r,

Those reflectors I'm using are dot approved. The outer housing is military spec (off Ebay), and the reflectors are from a Napa auto parts store (they fit perfectly). Or you could just buy the Napa ones (less than 5.00 a pair)and paint them O.D. green & nobody would be the wiser...

[tatooweeny]

Okay, finally finished the doors! Well, almost. I still have to paint the handles & hinges, plus make them more secure, but the paint is done!





I had a stencil made at a local vinyl shop, and after carefull thinking had them do it all (prep, apply vinyl stencil, clearcoat & paint) for just under 80 bucks. A tiny bit of overspray on the lettering, but I think it adds to the overall effect I wanted. Here's a couple close-ups...





Not a bad price I think. I'm gonna use them again for the "Max Speed 55" & "Caution: Left hand drive) stencil on the rear of the canvas.

I also had a chance to mount the bow stowage brackets on Friday, so I have a secure place to strap the bow down when I want to take it all off to lower the windshield (The bow fits perfectly around the back of the body, folded down in-between the brackets).



They should be mounted a little higher, but had to compromise because of the body's "stock soft top lip". Had to cut a corner off one because of the gas filler door, and let me tell you that bracket metal really is bulletproof thick!

I managed to "forget" about priming & painting all of the steel rods for the canvas top, so when it rained last week it started the dreadful surface rust on them. Prepping & painting them pretty much ate up my time needed to trade for my dash parts at the jeep graveyard on Friday. Hopefully I'll be able to do it next week... -jake

[I FLEX]

You should get some BFG Krawlers..... they have some that are redlable and are not cut and grooved. They look alot like the old tires on Jeeps.

[CACS_Jp]

Looks awesome. What was the vinyl shop called? I'm looking for an affordable place to get my coast guard decals done.

[tatooweeny]

The name of the vinyl shop is called "Sign Chef", located in Folsom, Ca. The guy's email is lmitchell@signchef.com & the website is www.signchef.com... He'd appreciate your business. This guy does awesome work, check out the WW2 P-51 Mustang he striped on his website. The guy's name is Larry Mitchell, and apparently he's one of the best in the industry, and I happened to get really lucky to stumble across him.

Hey I FLEX, those tires are killer! I wish I knew about them before I bought my all terrains. Did they just come out? Hopefully in a couple of years when I need new tires they are still around... unless someone wants to buy my low miles BFG's for 600.00 right now (without rims) !

[Barrio]

any idea of a running total thus far?

[tatooweeny]

Originally Posted by Barrio

any idea of a running total thus far?

Hmmm, lets see...

T&T Customs rock fenders $600.00 (pain 2 mount by yerself)
Aftermarket air intake $100.00 (K&N with outerwear pre-filter)
Mutt front shackles & mounts $50.00 (almost a bolt on)
Warn steering box skid plate $40.00
Skid Row radiator guard $50.00
Blackout lights & hardware(All) $240.00 (major pain rewiring 4 fronts)
Blackout drive lamp bracket $50.00 (this is 4 the one on the fender)
M38 hood latches $15.00
Hood catch lock $20.00 (Cheap protection 4 underhood)
MB/GPW side mirrors $20.00 (still need canvas covers)
MB/GPW corner & side grab
handles 4 total, 2 not installed $80.00 (Need 2 shorten side handles
Top Bow sockets & before installing)
top bow stowage brackets $200.00
M38 Bow $ 0.0 (Actually got for free!)
M38 reflector housings x4 $20.00
MB/GPW bumperettes $100.00 (Heavy duty, not crappy YJ)
Third brake light ('29 Ford) $25.00 (Has "STOP" embedded in lens)
Various sheet metal + aluminum
& steel rod, angle iron, etc $120.00 (Still have a lot left over)
Various Nuts, bolts,screws, etc $100.00 (This includes grade 8 hardware)
Tool boxes mounted inside $50.00 (An Ace hardware find)
WW2 Jerry can + holder ( Have
both gas & water containers) $60.00 (Paid 5 bucks 4 Jerry gas can)
Vinyl graphics (+ door stencils) $200.00 (Applied all except door graphics)
Cb radio + antenna + cable,etc $200.00
CJ full soft doors $ 0.0 (Part of a trade 4 TJ stuff)
O.D. Canvas (just material) $600.00 (Have extra material left over 4
visors, jerry can cover, etc.)
Custom designed soft top $1600.00 (Expensive? Yes. 1 of a kind? Yes.)
Custom designed door skins $500.00 (If anyone steals my doors, I will
hunt you down and "reskin" you!)
Reworked stock TJ seats $500.00 (Thinking of redoing them, actually)

Lusterless Olive Drab Paint
+ prep work supplies $200.00
Stuff I can't remember, but
I'm sure it cost me something $100.00

Total : $5840.00 (Holy Crapola! Now I know why
I'm single! )

Time it took to do all the work... Priceless

Not including the Jeep, rims and tires, this is a rough estimate so far. Keep in mind, I sold my stock TJ stuff to help finance this project, so it's not all "out of pocket". Plus, most of the work consisted of bolt on stuff, so it's not all that hard to do, just time consuming. Believe it or not, this will be one of my cheaper custom vehicle projects (My 9th). My most expensive to date (18,000.00+) would be my 1957 Ford tudor sedan 60's GASSER...

[l3it3r]

You should check out the smittybuilt GEAR seat covers
http://www.4wd.com/productdetails.aspx?jeep-sid=475&plID=1172&groupID=545

I plan on getting a couple for my Jeep.

[allanmacaulay]

throw the BFG's on craigslist, they'll sell and buy those Krawlers, they'll make a huge difference