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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
 
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#153 ·
I decided to go ahead and install the JL audio 4" speakers in my dash. I saw no point in waiting for my sub box to be done.

Installed (upside down) and filled with Poly-fil


I found it hilarious that I had mud splattered onto the passenger side speaker. Thats through the dash panel I removed.


You know you drive a TJ when....


Here's half-ish of my in-seat sub box. Should be done by tomorrow. Don't hate on my ghetto-fab sawhorses / work bench

 
#157 ·
Thanks!

Ok time for some pitchers, and plenty of them.

I'll continue where I left off. Box progress:


I don't have a pic of the box fully painted. Use your imagination. It's black :laugh:

Cutting the seat foam



More poly-fil



Test fitting




Fits great, time to get this ***** put together!



My mess



And everything installed



The wires look much better right now than they do in the pics, but I still need to do a bit more clean up.

The system sounds and works great. Looking back, everything went together better than expected. I am quite proud of myself for putting this all together. I have never wired anything more than a pair of turn signals before, and I definitely haven't ever built anything like that sub box before.

Big shout out to SirGCal, I used his plans for the box, and he helped me out greatly along the way with tips and troubleshooting for various things.

Onto some other things I have done. I used some McAlisters "Plastx" on my windows, to help with the scratches. These pics don't do it much justice, but in person the difference was very clear. My windows are now a whole lot less cloudy.

(Too many pics, cont. in next post)
 
#158 ·
(Cont.)

Before


After


Recent trail damage :laugh:

I hit a small sapling, and it broke the orange (amber?) cover off my turn signal. No worries, they are amber LED's underneath, and it still works fine!

Here's a funny one. Remember that non working Viper alarm from earlier on in the thread? Yea, it was just unplugged. :rofl:


Read this thread if you want the whole story
http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f7/never-assume-its-broken-1284482/
 
#160 ·
You will need to use a shallow mount sub. Not sure on the exact measurements, but I'm pretty sure you have like 5" or just under 5" of clearance.

The mounting depth on my subs is 3.42", so I had plenty of clearance.
 
#162 ·
Thanks!

I agree, the 4.5" looks too wide. I love mine though. Since this was the first time I ever did anything like that to the Jeep, I don't really have anything to compare it to, but I don't really think it was all that difficult to install them. I did it completely by myself, and it took about 2 hours per side. The hardest part was trying to figure out where to re-mount everything.
 
#166 ·
Sprayed the inside of my frame today. Now I'm all rust protected and ready for the salty winter roads
 
#168 ·
#170 ·
Thanks! Yea, they did cost me a pretty penny. Totally worth it though IMO
 
#172 ·
Took her out and played with her!

Bundy Hill, Jerome, Michigan



Got stuck twice, no big deal





That last one I was just wedged in real good. I need lockers :laugh:
 
#173 ·
Fellow Purple Jeeper checking in here :D Just got mine 2 weeks ago...took it in on trade here at work (I'm the GSM for a CHrysler/Dodge/Jeep store), and bought it for something fun to tool around with.

What it looked like when I took it in on trade..



What it looks like at the moment (had a fun little lunch break here at work!!)



So how do I become Purple Jeep Club Member #9????
 
#174 ·
Very nice! There's a thread around here somewhere for the purple jeep club, though I have no idea where I found it.
 
#176 ·
Thanks! Credit goes to SirGcal for the design.

I can't wait to get back to America and back to my Jeep. I've been itchin' get wrenchin'. I can't believe my last post in my own build thread was 9 months ago :eek:
 
#178 ·
I'm backpacking across Australia. Been here since August and I should be home sometime in July
 
#180 ·
This has just become my number 1 thread to look at on the daily. I too have the same color jeep as yours. I swore it was an aftermarket paint job as I have never seen this color before, didn't even find it on the Jeep website. (Must not have looked hard).

Love what your doing here, keep up the great work.
 
#181 ·
This has just become my number 1 thread to look at on the daily. I too have the same color jeep as yours. I swore it was an aftermarket paint job as I have never seen this color before, didn't even find it on the Jeep website. (Must not have looked hard).

Love what your doing here, keep up the great work.
Wow, thanks man! Unfortunately, this won't be updated anywhere near 'daily'. I won't be able to even see my Jeep until August this year.
 
#182 ·
I just got news from home that my poor baby is dead :crying: Something drained the battery after sitting for about 2 months. My dad tried to jump it, but couldn't get the hood open.
 
#185 ·
Shouldn't need a new battery, I just put a Sears Optima in it last year. Something was drawing power, but I don't know what it could be, because I disconnected my sound system and security alarm.

Couldn't get the hood open?
With my TNT fenders, my hood sits a fraction of an inch lower on the grill. This makes the factory hood latch get 'stuck', and I have to reach through my grill and pop it up, then through the hood and pull the latch regularly. My dad didn't know about this so he had no idea how to open the hood.

It's all good though. I'm confident that it'll start right up with a jump. The only thing I'm worried about is having flat spots on my tires from sitting for six or seven months.

I'm planning to install an aux fuse block when I get home to really clean up all the wiring for my amp, lights, winch, and CB.
 
#186 ·
Small update today. I got her running easily enough. Since then I've installed my front Currie antirock, rear Currie JJ LCA's, new front brakes, oil change, diff fluid change, and rotated the tires :D I've also attempted three or four times at getting my front axle u-joints done, but those three unit bearing bolts are a *****! :rantscream:

Pics coming tomorrow!
 
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