Wow, I have had this Jeep since 2007 now and its almost too late to post a build thread but I haven't done so much to it that I can't go ahead and start one.
This Jeep was given to me. It was a one owner Jeep purchased in Pensacola Florida. The owners had an accident, it was hit in the left rear wheel well, and bent the axle tube flange. They attempted to pull the axle out to change it but were unsuccessful.
Anyway, they left it on jack stands in their back yard for five years. Imet them at a mudding event and they offered it to me for a couple hundred bucks. I was interested but had no money. A few months later I ran into them again and they told me just to come get it.
I got to their house and I was horrified. It had weeds and twigs grown up all over it, over the roof, up the antenna and was pretty pathetic looking.
Little did I know that the weeds that covered it actually saved it! There was no sun damage anywhere and the interior was mint!
The only damage was the wreck damage to the axle, a little bit of fender damage to the rear quarter and a family of squirrels had made a home under the hood and chewed the engine harness up real good.
Got ait home, removed the fuel tank, completely cleaned it out and dried it, installed a new fuel pump assembly, new engine harness from Pick-N-Pull, new plugs, fluids and filters, serp belt and plugs and a new battery. It fired right up! Has ran ever since.
Snatched a free Dana 35 ZJ axle from Pick-N-Pull (I worked there at the time so it was free) and installed it. Did some minor work to the rear quarter panel and cleaned it up real good with a buff job and wax job.
Other than the Moab rims, it looked just like this pic below when it was completed and running. Moabs were added a few months later.
In the pics below you can see the square tubing on the roof for the rock slider build.
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Tally ZJ's 1996 ZJ Laredo build
