Jeep Enthusiast Forums banner

My Purple People Eater Build

42K views 188 replies 48 participants last post by  PurpleTJ 
#1 · (Edited)
The Jeep's story: '98 Sport (no d44) deep amethyst pearl coat, I6, currently 64k. My uncle bought her from the dealer brand spankin new. My brothers and I, when we visited him in Illinois, would get to drive around on hot summer nights with the top down. I absolutely loved it. My uncle passed away from pancreatic cancer Thanksgiving '07. I turned 16 January '08. My dad inherited the Jeep, and I got her for my birthday. She had just under 60k, no body damage, minimal surface rust underneath, and virtually nothing wrong with her (reverse bulbs were out, thats about it). My dad and I drove down to where he lived in Illinois during winter break that year and tower her back up to Michigan on a trailer behind my dad's '06 F150.

Shortly after, we put on some 30" BFG ATs. I wanted to put a brush guard or bumper on it, and after researching for a long time, being careful about the cost, I found what I wanted. I decided against a whole new bumper due to the cost, and the fact that I didnt see the need for one. When I put this thing on, I had to remove the stock fogs, and while removing them, we busted the bolts that held them on. So I headed to autozone and picked up a pair of those Baja fogs for $25.

Here she is with the tires, brush guard, flares and fogs:



Some pics of the painting process for the flares:






Eventually, I will repaint both bumpers, and take the jugs off. I have already tried with the jugs, but the bolts just keep spinning :confused: If anyone has advice on that one, i'd love to hear it.

Edit: sawzall'd the jugs off, and painted the bumper. Page 3 for pics.

I have also replaced the factory speakers in the sound bar. I followed a guy's write up from here somewhere. I dont have pics, but i can get some if you want. (Edit: page 2 for a pic)

PLANS (eventually)
-Re-coat the frame -done
-Upgrade the d35/30
-BL, MML, skids
-Swing out tire carrier / bumper
-Possibly Raptor liner

Oh, and I also ordered a tuffy security console. The 3rd day I drove it to school, someone slashed the window and broke the console open (it wasnt even locked. there sure are some smart people out there). This was all during the school day, in the school parking lot. Sweet, right? :thumbdown: So i ordered new windows about 4 months ago, and just ordered the console.
Edit: Pics are a few posts down

Edit: also repainted the chipping passenger side mirror. Pics are a few posts down

Thanks for reading!

Daniel
 
See less See more
5
#3 ·
i thought about using some force :club: but being me, i'd probalby miss and hit the fender or something. im going to see what i can do with my dad's grinder
 
#5 ·
thanks :) and yes, i do want them off. i think i'll try that actually.
 
#7 ·
thanks! im actually surprised how many people have bothered posting in here already :laugh:

i just remembered, i also repainted my chipping passenger side mirror (the driver side is fine, since i replaced it after a ****ing semi took it off while i was parked on the street. he left the scraps in the road, no note, yet his destination was 2 doors down from my house. my dad and i walked over and saw the mark on the side of his truck. but of course we had no 'proof') anyway, i can take an after pic, but no before. im sure you all know what the before looks like anyway, thanks to your own mirrors.

i'll take the pic and post it once i get new batteries for my camera. i just used leftover krylon fusion from my flares
 
#10 · (Edited)
just ordered my lift from Jeffery :2thumbsup: im really excited. he said it should be here tuesday or wednesday. i'll get pics up asap
 
#11 ·
got a pic of my repainted side mirror. the camera flash makes the uneven surface very visable, where the old paint still existed, to where the paint flaked off. also, the rubber thing between the arm and the mirror isnt grey, its actually black :dunno: i think it looks great though. nobody would notice a thing, unless the got up close and inspected it

 
#12 ·
its christmas in september! the UPSanta man brought me some presents! lift and tuffy security console, which wasnt even supposed to come till friday!



also, i bought 6 ton jack stands so i could put my lift on, and i thought they were going to be similar to my brother's 3 ton stands. they're not. haha they're HUGE compared to the 3 ton



cant wait to put it on!
 
#13 ·
Awesome, cant wait to see it! You got anymore pics of the Jeep as a whole? I'm going to be ordering the same lift for my TJ as well, probably in the next couple of weeks, but no later than the end of the month. Are you getting new tires also?
 
#14 ·
those are the only pics of the whole jeep. i'll take more tomorrow. as for tires, mine are still about a year old with plenty of tread, and i dont think it will look silly with 2.5" and 30" tires, so im waiting till next winter to get 32" KM2s. plus, they're way expensive :(

anyway, today i was able to put in my security console, but not the lift. i didnt have enough time to do it today.

heres the console removed



and installed





oh and i lied, i have one more pic of the whole jeep, along with my brother's cherokee



i dont really like how the console 'fit' in some places, as you can see in the last pic. the bottom edge didnt hug the tub very well
 
#16 ·
got the lift on. everything is all good, except the rear sway bar is off thanks to the axle shifting with the new springs and shocks. im thinkin im just going to get a trackbar bracket. ill post pics tomorrow. it looks awesome
 
#20 ·
Good job with the lift install! With all the work I've done to my Jeep, I'm still not brave enough to mess with a suspension lift -yet. Too many variables to consider.

I'm just curious, is a 2.5" lift the magic number before changing over to a t-case lowering lit, dropped pitman arm, bumpstop extensions, slip yoke eliminator, etc???
 
#21 ·
I'm just curious, is a 2.5" lift the magic number before changing over to a t-case lowering lit, dropped pitman arm, bumpstop extensions, slip yoke eliminator, etc???
i sure thought it was. im still confused about bump stops, but read here to learn up on them
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f9/b...es-size-help-me-iron-out-fuzzy-points-734737/

as for tcase drop, every jeep is different. some will need them, some wont. im trying to install mine now. you should be fine without all those other things though.
 
#22 ·
finally got the tcase drop on today. she drives SO smooth. i love it. no more bummin a ride to work.

edit: oh and the rear track bar bracket. rear axle re-centred :)
 
#24 ·
yes, those springs were a ***** to put in. ill take plenty of pics once i get a new camera (im actually leaving to get one in about 15 minutes). the old one was acting up, we took it back to the store to get it replace, ends up they dont sell that camera anymore because it sucks. we got our money back though
 
#25 · (Edited)
got my new camera, and i went out and took a bunch of random pics, just 'cuz i could.

heres a before shot i forgot to put up


and after



and some random pics




my brothers stock XJ


JVC head unit (was already there when i got the Jeep)


new kenwood speakers


my sweet $10 wal mart shifter. it has blue LEDs in the top.


VIPER security system. if anyone knows how to work this thing, please let me know. i read the manual did what it said, nothing happened. there are green and red lights blinking every few seconds. i have a remote for it with 2 buttons.
 
#64 ·
VIPER security system. if anyone knows how to work this thing, please let me know. i read the manual did what it said, nothing happened. there are green and red lights blinking every few seconds. i have a remote for it with 2 buttons.
Did you ever figure out what this doodad is? If you didn't, it's a motion sensor for the Viper alarm. Green and red lights are for the two zones for the alarm (warning chirps and full alarm).
 
#26 ·
wow. my new camera is great :2thumbsup: much better quality than the old one
 
#27 ·
after the lift when on, i started noticing a nasty rubbing sound when steering all the way left or right. i figured out it was the steer stops, and they needed to be adjusted. found a write up, for i had no clue even where to look, and learned that it was a really easy thing to do. i got under there and threw 2 washers on either side. 15 minute job, and no more rubbing! woot!
 
#30 ·
thanks! its literally the only one of that color that i've seen in person. and theres only one other that i've seen online.
 
#31 ·
painted my front bumper

before

yuck. all nasty and dirty (doesnt come off when going through the car wash, and i got tired of scrubbing it myself)

during



after


MUCH better :)

oh ya, and i took the jugs off FINALLY. i had to sawzall them, 'cuz all the bolts in it were spinning
 
#35 ·
undercoating will get done next summer. as for fogs, i agree, i dont like where they are, but i couldnt find anywhere else to mount them, and i dont want to get rid of them altogether. as for the brush guard, im really dissappointed, 'cuz now i dont like the look as much with the jugs off :( and after spending almost 200 on it and not using it for even a year, i dont want to get rid of it yet.
 
#39 ·
hm, must have missed this post, sorry. i plan to get my 15x8 D windows and 32x10.5 KM2s next spring. however, i heard KM2s were hard to find, so im not sure if i will be able to get my hands on a set.

no other updates yet. just been drivin back a forth to school and work everyday.

oh and thanks for the compliment :)
 
#40 · (Edited)
just got back from bundy hill in Jerome, MI. i had the best time of my life. my little semi stock TJ and my friend's fully stock XJ were doin things i never dreamed we could ever do. ill get some nice pics up in a few. we took over 300 pics during 5 1/2 hours of wheeling, so ill have to sift through them all
 
#41 · (Edited)
heres some of the 300+ pics:

we both had to ghetto-rig our flags




the XJ i was with got badly stuck within 20 minutes of being there


he was DEEP


my friends that were in my jeep talked me into taking this trail that i had no clue how difficult it was. we were taking this trail that these built rigs were taking



one of the rigs snapped his front DS at the top of a tight hill



posing, of course

 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top