Jeep Enthusiast Forums banner

97 ZJ build progress (so far)

4K views 22 replies 8 participants last post by  ROFLwaffles 
#1 ·
Started off stock....



Replaced plugs. Wires. Water pump. Serpintine belt.

Everything else seems fine so far.....

Made a custom grill



New wheels and tires. 15x7 235/75/15 Goodyear Duratracs



Cleared out corner lights



Painted the bumpers and cladding (removed front to paint)






Safari bar



Nerf bars



OVERALL PROGRESS SO FAR.




Next up.....

2" lift
White LED's for dash lights (go blue)
Smoke Altezza Taillights
 
See less See more
12
#2 ·
Nice job. You need some lights for that safari bar. I didn't put in any in mine for a while, but once I did it looked way better. (and I can see better at night since I have them activate with the high beams)
 
#6 ·
The tow hooks are not attached to the safari bar. Those are the stock tow hooks attached directly to the frame. They are just moved out with adjusters (pretty heavy duty ones too).

And yeah, I know I lowered my clearance. That's why my next step is going to be a lift.

Thanks though.
 
#8 ·
Well, the safari bar bracket mounts to the frame over the plate where the hooks are mounted, and covers where the hooks normally would be. The adjusters look like an "S' with straight ends. It moves them about 1" forward and about 1" outward from their stock placement through the bumper cover.

That way both the safari bar and tow hooks are mounted to the same area of the frame.
 
#9 ·
Beautiful jeep man. I've always loved those purple ones. With the accent stuff you have done that thing is looking awesome. A lot like I'm doing with my white zj lol. Anyway, if you haven't ordered your lift yet shoot me a PM. Ive got 2.25" spacers with rubicon express shocks and front bumpstop extensions that I bought for mine before going to a 3.5 suspension lift. It's just taking up space so it's yours for cheap if you want it. Again tho, really nice jeep :2thumbsup:
 
#13 ·
Dimmer switch still works just fine. Looks WAY better in real life. Picture washes out the colors a tad bit. There is no 1 complete kit to do it.

First off, I followed the directions in THIS thread.

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f197/how-change-dash-light-93-98-zj-767865/

But, since I have a Laredo, the lights I needed were a bit different that the thread specified (For a Limited)

I also got my LEDs from 2 different sites.

6x these. 5 for dash, 1 for shifter.

http://www.vleds.com/bulb/194-168-1...-led-light-bulbs-194-168-158-2821-1-pair.html

3x these for climate control (Laredo only) (easy to change)

https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...led-bulb-high-power-instrument-panel-led/709/

1 of these for key light.

https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/subminiature-bulbs/74-led-bulb-1-led-wedge-base/226/

And 1x4mm and 2x3mm of these for wiper and headlight switches.

https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...led-bulb-high-power-instrument-panel-led/221/

Followed the instructions which were pretty easy, and viola.
 
#14 ·
Awesome this is on my list of mods as well. Looks good. Making me itch to do mine lol
 
#23 ·
The corner lights were pretty easy. Just bought clear ones and put them in. lol.

The grill was a little more in depth.

1 First I took a wire cutter and snipped all the plastic innards out of all the grill openings and made sure they were smooth.

2 I used 600 grain sandpaper to rough up the chrome surface. Took a LOT of sanding.

3 Cleaned it off with mineral spirits.

4 Sprayed it with 3 coats Krylon Fusion satin black. About 1 hour between each coat. Let it dry overnight, then did 2 coats satin clear.

5 The inserts were gutter guard mesh from home depot. I cut squares about 1/2 inch larger that the backside of the holes in the grill opening.

6 Drilled a hole in the lip of the openings on each side. (top, bottom, left, right)

7 Used black zip ties to secure the mesh to the grill. Folded excess mesh over outside of the back of the openings.

8 Made 1 relief cut in 3rd opening from left to give room for hood latch.

VIOLA.
 
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