$300 Beater Build *the condensed version*

Purchased the HEEP on 9/28/09 - WOW, have I really had it that long?

Here it is the day I brought it home. What a POS......eh, I mean.....what potential.

First modifications..... New CAT and exhaust and welded door hinge. Almost ready for inspection road worthy.

10/11/09

Picked up some gambler rims with used tires for cheap to replace the bald tires. Now it's ready for inspection and to take over the DD duties, so I can sell the '01 TJ.

Really wish I could have kept the TJ, but bills needed to be paid. So, it was out with the new and in with the old. :thumbdown: but I do love my XJ after all the blood, sweat, and busted knuckles accrued from the many hours spent with it in the garage over the years since these pics. :thumbsup:

11/15/09

Picked up some used 33" Pro Comp Xterrains mounted on some sweet wheels. I loved the look of those wheels.

picked up a cheap roof rack off of CL.

12/11/09

LIFT TIME!!! I picked up a RC 4.5" AAL lfit off of CL for a steal. It was brand new still in the box.

12/21/09

Attempting to do a driveway alignment after the lift it apears that I managed to slightly damage the tierod......

Since the XJ was my daily driver by this point and I needed to be able to get to work I was forced to just pick something up locally as quickly as possible. I wish I could have just put the $$ towards 1 ton steering at this point instead, but just couldn't afford the shipping time. So, I picked up a V8 ZJ tierod, installed it, finished the driveway alignment and was back on the road in no time.

1/6/10

I was having an oil pressure issue. Anytime my rpm's got under 1k my oil pressure would drop. So, for awhile I was driving with two feet to keep the rpm's up. I was in NC, but it was still cold. We had snow on the ground and I was trying to avoid dropping the oil pan to get this fixed. I caved eventually and got it done. I installed a high flow oil pump and new pickup. It fixed the issue, so I'm guessing either the oil pump was on its way out or the pickup was just clogged. My $$ was on it being clogged, because it happened shortly after I treated the XJ to the seafoam treatment.

While I was at it I also installed the new stereo equipment. I love the 6x9's in the hatch. the 6.5's moved out of the doors was to retain speakers after I made my doors removable. I just wish I would have bought the shallow mount speakers. These stick out a little more than I would prefer, but they'll do. Oh, and this is my garage helper sitting on the 4 wheeler.

1/29/10

BRING ON THE RUST!!! In this set of pics I uncovered my rusty floor, threw in a temporary cardboard solution, removed the front air dam and hitch, received the IPF H4 headlights I ordered, and the '01 WJ heated leather seats.

The plan was to use those seats, but I never got around to installing them and I'm actually looking to sell them this week. I want to sell them and pick up a tailbone tire carrier made by detours.

Here is the rust cleaned up a little bit and the temp "floors". There is a good story involving those later on......

1/30/10

IPF H4's installed and some more goodies received in the mail.

I also picked up the Headlight harness upgrade, but never installed it. It's still sitting in an unopened package in the garage.

2/3/10

More floor prep.....

2/13/10

At this point the front fenders have been trimmed, plastic on lower doors was removed and sprayed with rattle can bedliner, and I was playing around in a little spot by my house. The XJ's first "flex" shots....hahahahaha

Oh, and I picked up a Lincoln Mig 120 welder with cart and gas bottle off of CL. I had previously picked up a cheapo HF welder, but when I got the deal on this one I sold it at a yard sale. So, the plan was to weld my new floor pans in with my new welder. Seeing as I STILL have not taught myself how to weld? Yeah, that never happened. The temp "floor" ended up getting wet and drooping down onto the exhaust. I was on the way to work one day and it smelled like someone was toasting marshmellows. I pulled over real quick into an Auto Zone parking lot, lifted the back seat up and yep.....FIRE! I pulled the flaming cardboard out, threw it onto the ground, and stomped it out. Two ladies saw me and brought me a just of water they had in their car to help me out :2thumbsup: I went in and immediately bought a fire extinguisher to keep in the Jeep. Needless to say this literally lit a fire under my *** to get the floor fixed sooner than later.

Also, sometime before April I went ahead and fixed some of the dents on the doors, hatch, and front driver's side corner. After doing the bodywork I decided to take the bedliner all the way up to the pinstripe under the door handles. I dig the look and it makes touch ups real easy. I'm overdue for the whole thing to be redone. I'll knock that out this Spring when it warms up. I also installed a Nate's 4x4 recessed winch bumper. Another JF member had picked it up for a friend when he bought his and his buddy decided he didn't want it. He gave me a great deal on it and met me halfway between Charlotte and Hope Mills, NC. Great guy!

I also picked up a cheap HF trailer, which I used to pick up my new toy. That bike has yet to be on the road but I'm hoping to have it rideable by this Spring.

6/4/10

So, instead of welding in the new floor pans I used some sealant and self tapping sheet metal screws. Ghetto? Maybe, but it has held up so far and better than holes in the floor. I wish I had more pics of the prep, but...... I don't, so deal with it.

I decided to spray a product called lizard skin, which has ceramic particles in it to dissipate the heat. I guess it works....but not as helpful as a heat shield. After the lizard skin I sprayed the U-POL rapter. I had sprayed the raptor liner in the TJ when I got it. I love the product. Not sure I'd bother with the lizard skin in the future though.

Pics in the previous post were just of the lizard skin. This is after the Raptor Liner was sprayed over top of it. Also, the muffler that I had installed right after buying the XJ has already rusted out. What kind of CRAP is that?