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Tom95YJ's "The Smurf" Build.

122827 Views 570 Replies 59 Participants Last post by  Tom95YJ
3
Last Sunday, I had traded my Auto-X Project/DD Miata for a Pretty clean '89 Wrangler Islander . After looking for someone to trade for almost 2 years I found someone was willing to trade.

Specs on the YJ :

1989 Islander Edition (Pacfic Blue A.K.A. Smurf Blue )
4.2Lw/ Ba10 (works for now)
Hardtop with Full steel doors
208,000 miles
RUST FREE minus the P/S front fender

The Bad : Jeep would not idle on its own, and front axle would not engauge in 4 wheel drive. Minor repairs that would scare away most who are not too knowledge able with Jeeps .

My Plan for this Jeep is to keep it small yet capable for a DD/Light duty trail rig

Mods I intend on doing will be

2.5" Old Man Emu Springs (36R's)
Bilstein 5100 Shocks
TJ Grizzly wheels
31x10.50 Tires Probably a set of BFG KM2's
Take off Axles from a 4 Banger YJ for the 4.10 gears ( YJ has 3.07's)
Front and Rear Spartan Lockers
Front and rear bumpers most likely from Eddie (Beserk on here ) he did a Phenomenal job on the ones on my Last YJ !
Rock Sliders with a Tube on them I had PSC Rocker Knockers on my last YJ I may fab some for this one.
4 Hid Offroad lights like I have on the XJ (2 on bumper, 2 on Windshield frame )
8,000 lb Winch Either a Warn VR8000, or another Smittybilt XRC8 comp like I have on the XJ .
Spray bed-liner inside the entire tub.

Here are some pics from the first day once I got home with it.



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On Monday after work I had to take advantage of the Beautiful weather outside .

So the obvious thing to do was to remove the Hardtop and Doors, Then I had worked on the interior a little. I had replaced the stock shift knobs with the ones I had in my last YJ, Rewired the head unit so it worked, I had also installed my son's car seat so he could enjoy the Jeep with me . After I was finished with that I went back to working on the exterior and Bedlined the T-case skid, Frame, Front bumper, Rear crossmember, and Hitch.

After I was done doing my projects TJohnson88 came over to check out "The Smurf" We started talking about the running issue so we popped the hood and started to tinker with the carb. We had found a broken Vaccum line under the carb. So we took some extra line off another hose and cut a small peice to install on the bad line. After that it wanted to idle but the Idle set screw was set to like 300 rpm so it died. Tyler had started it up and I had adjusted the screw a little and have it Idling at 750-800 rpm and it runs on its own now. But it has a slight stumble while Idling but when driving its smooth as silk so I am sure the timing is off. I'll address that over the weekend.



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Today I had Ziptied up all the wires under the dash to get rid of the ratsnest of wires . My Neighbors Brother in law sold me his stock TJ Grizzly wheels so I threw them on the YJ today Which makes it look much better !

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Looks like a solid rig to start with!
95YamJam said:
Looks like a solid rig to start with!
Yes is it a solid rig. It has lived in Southern California for 22 years the last 2 have been here in Utah. It is rust free minus the p/s front fender. Which will be replaced soon.

Sent from iPhoneusing JeepForum
Yes is it a solid rig. It has lived in Southern California for 22 years the last 2 have been here in Utah. It is rust free minus the p/s front fender. Which will be replaced soon.

Sent from iPhoneusing JeepForum
Sounds like a good opportunity to build some tubes! :)
ashland82391 said:
Sounds like a good opportunity to build some tubes! :)
Tube fenders may be In the works down the road But for now I'm just gonna get another stock one.

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Subscribed!
Oh god another build thread of yours to follow. :rofl:
Following my big blue brother!
Sub'd!
I just read through your XJ build the other day. Excited to see what you do with the YJ.

Welcome back to the cool table! :thumbsup: :cheers:

Cheers
Sparrows said:
Sub'd!
I just read through your XJ build the other day. Excited to see what you do with the YJ.

Welcome back to the cool table! :thumbsup: :cheers:

Cheers
Thanks.

Sent from iPhoneusing JeepForum
Today I removed the track bars and swaybars in prep for tomorrow's trip up Forrest lake trial in UNITA national Forrest. I'll be sure to take pics.

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Sweet! I run no sway or track bars ever. I love it! Have fun!
So ugly yet so much potential, looking forward to see how you transform this old girl.
rebelbowtie said:
So ugly yet so much potential, looking forward to see how you transform this old girl.
Thanks , I think ! Lol.

Took it wheeling today had a blast other then puncturing a sidewall. Pics to come this evening

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Saw them on instagram looks like a great day! Fuels my Wrangler envy too
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