El Jeepe!

[AgentOrange76]

I've been lurking here and other forums drooling over stuff and finally decided to make a.......build thread? Nah, more like a bunch of gobbledy-gook held together by my Jeep. It's here cause this is the stuff I love doing!

My Jeep story started back in 2000 when dad ordered his dream car from the factory, and out popped this beaut! This little Jeep spawned all kinds of adventures over the years and I practically grew up in the back seat, so when my high school graduation rolled around 15 years later and he passed it along to me I pooped myself! Here she is!



I love this thing to death. It's not the most fun vehicle or family has, not my favorite to drive, not the most practical, not the coolest. But I have memories tied up in this thing that you can't get anywhere else. And it's a Jeep. there are far more practical vehicles, but you cant take the doors and the roof and the windshield off of those. That's what makes Jeeps special. I'll always have this little Jeep, no matter what.

El Jeepe is her name. Partly in memory to our unfortunate butchering of Español in high school, and partly in homage to the legend himself and his CJ7, El Jefe, that led the Expedicion de las Americas.

 

[AgentOrange76]

The year we bought the Jeep we also bought a 8ft Coleman pop-up camper. We loaded up our new toys that year and trekked up to Virginia for Camp Jeep to get our first taste of the Jeep community. It's also where dad learned off road driving skills that he later passed on to me. It was definitely a great experience, wish it was still around. Apologies for the grainy pictures of pictures but its the best I can do right now.



Already dreaming of expeditions.....



Flash forward to 2004 and dad went on a Jeep Jamboree USA at Tellico back when it was still open and did 9 rated trails bone stock, with all the underbody carnage to prove it! But the little Jeep made it through like a champ. We eventually upgraded to 31x10.5 BFG KOs about 7 years ago, and those tires are still on the Jeep today. We did countless camping trips and adventures all the while, but I don't have any pictures of most of it so I'm gonna fast forward to my high school years. A few years back we were at a car show in Greenville and won a gift card for wearing Jeep shirts so we threw on a 2 inch spacer lift for 10 bucks :victory: That's how it came to me with only about 87,000 miles!

 

[AgentOrange76]

I learned how to drive stick on this Jeep but still drove around the '05 Dodge Dakota I was bumming off my dad to bomb around town in. It's a great little truck, and if I ever have the money I'd jump on a V8 6 speed 4x4 (if you can ever find one) in a heartbeat; by far the best driving vehicle we own. Would make a sweet unorthodox overland rig or daily. But before I really got into the Jeep life I did a few very stupid things I would regret for a while.

Look what followed us home!



Meet Agent Orange! Dad knew deep down I loved the Jeep and it was time for me to look at getting my own vehicle, so what better thing than a father son project? Well, this old heap somehow made it home but I was absolutely terrified of it. I was convinced the thing would burst into flames. Eventually I realized it wasn't going to blow up (yet) but by that time it was to late. Dad also discovered the ludicrous fun of an old CJ and there went my chances of the coolest first vehicle in the high school parking lot. When I finally realized it wasn't going to kill me I decided I was gonna learn how to drive it and discovered it to be the most in the world. So there went stupid thing number one, missing out on that baby. At least its still in the garage and I can drive it. With dad driving orange around though I could drive the blue Jeep and discovered it was way more fun to drive than the Dakota, even with the lack of a V8, and soon I became an addict of the freedom the Jeep offered, constantly ignoring menacing weather forecasts and getting caught in thunderstorms doorless and topless. And ol' orange invariably broke down, so I began learning how to replace things one at a time as they broke, and this is when I really started to love Jeeps and cars in general. Took long enough right? A few more pictures.




ewwwwwwww



Why hello there.......


Its named Agent Orange because it tries to kill everything.....including itself.....

About 6 months in it seized up on the interstate, we towed it back and discovered it had no oil.......there was no blue cloud and no drops on the garage floor......apparently the oil genie visited and drank 6 quarts of oil in about 500 miles.....well we poured oil in the thing and it fired up in a glorious symphony of smoke and coughing and more smoke and banging and a lot more smoke until it settles down to a very loud knock. We drove it a couple times around the neighborhood and tried to figure out what to replace. We were about to go get some heads off craigslist when we fired it up again. about 5 minutes later the knocking got very loud but we couldn't get to the key in time to stop the big BANG that rang out before all was quiet. Well, the at least the piece of cast iron on the driveway told us what was wrong:Wow1::Wow1::Wow1:

She sat around for about 6 months before the local school auto shop wasn't slammed and BAM!!!

Why hello beautiful.....
So prettyyyyyyy....so shinyyyyyy......

 

[AgentOrange76]

So I guess here's where the build thread starts. About this time I passed up on a mint J10 for real cheap that I still regret not buying. I really wanted to start making the Jeep mine but I wasn't sure what was gonna happen with vehicles so I started putting stuff on it I could transfer if need be. First mod was a CB radio to talk back and forth with my friends at school. I soon learned Jeeps were terrible platforms to put CBs on, and I went from a magnetic whip on the bumper to a 5 ft firestick, and the radioshack radio went in favor of a Midland 1001LWX because it was still very compact but still had analog and RF gain, plus weather. And at $41 bucks, it was a no brainer. The firestick is too heavy for the trails too, and its a bad word to try and tune. It cranks when its dialed but that's hardly ever. Looking to get a 102 and be done with it, but I cant seem to find them at radioshack anymore.... I've had the radio a few places but I think the current location works the best for reachablility and seat operation.



First time off road! Besides gravel of course. Fun trail in Tennessee with a lot of mud, I learned driving off road was a blast and this was when I finally learned I definitely wanted this Jeep so I started saving up to buy it or something similar one day.



Dented the oil pan crossing a downed tree.....


Dipped the wheels black. I would've kept them silver but they were scratched really bad from Tellico and starting to rust. I also pulled the fender flares to paint them and took waaaaaaay to long to put them back on. The rockcrawler look was pretty sweet haha. I also got a set of KCs for Christmas! They're the driving beam, awesome for lighting up the backroads. I also picked up a Hi-Lift and some lockable hinge mounts that work on both CJs and TJs.

 

[AgentOrange76]

Now here comes the good stuff! I'd been doing a lot of wheeling and had gotten a decent feel for the capability of the Jeep (which is way more than I'm capable of) and what I wanted out of it. I also knew I was gonna be at school in Raleigh (Go State!) and knew I'd be spending time at Uwharrie and that meant lots o rocks. I weighed my options and decided that instead of a bigger lift and tires I'd rather keep it low and armor it. It was more economical and it didn't make much sense to jump tire size right before I started commuting 4 hours. This would also keep my gearing better and not burden the stock axles. I picked up some sliders from A to Z, and they're awesome! Zach is great to work with, I would definitely recommend his stuff, and its always better to buy American made!



I also tore into the suspension and ordered shocks to match the 2 inch lift as I was still riding around on the factory ones, as well as a steering stabilizer. They're Skyjacker Hydos, nothing fancy but its a light vehicle. Now she can really flex... Speaking of suspension, I ordered swaybar disconnects from Rough Country because they were cheap......absolutely terrible. Best cheap mod on the Jeep, it makes a massive difference off road, even if you don't factor in all the extra suspension travel the ride is so much better. But the rough country product is terrible. I have to carry a mallet to beat them on and off, which really isn't a big deal. But one broke on me just daily driving it to and from school, its a miracle it didn't impale my tire. I contacted rough country and the customer service was great, but they wouldn't sell me just one, I had to buy the set. Whatever, I was still poor. Well now its making the same popping noise up front when I turn as the stock links did when they broke. Pieces of crap. Happy with the shocks though. They're a little rough but that's probably because I'm used to riding around on blown ones.

 

[AgentOrange76]

So my grandfather has a pretty new Cherokee, one of the new squinty eye Jeep branded cars. its a great round town car but he was sick of missing out on the fun. Meet the Long Dong!


I suppose it would be appropriate in a build thread to say a little about what Jeep put in them.

Blue Jeep
2000 Sport
4.0 straight 6, 5 speed
100,000 miles

Long Dong-
2006 Unlimited
4.0, 6 speed
63,000

Agent Orange-
AMC 4.2 258. 3 speed

Jeep Family!

 

[AgentOrange76]

My baby hit 100k two days ago...she's getting old....

Got a new soft top! Its the sailcloth Bestop one, so hopefully I can listen to the radio on the interstate now! the factory one was 15 yeaers old and liked to fill my map pockets with water and dribble on me knee when it rained. The new one looks really good and fit like factory. The new door uppers were PAIN to get on though and don't fit as well as the old ones did. Otherwise I'm very happy with it!

Color difference from the old faded one:


Well, all my friends either moved or got girlfriends or princess trucks that never see dirt so I had to find some insurance for when I'm out by myself. A buddy got a smoking deal on a Smittybuilt winch and jumped on it, so now I can get myself out of trouble! It's definitely great for piece of mind when you're self dependent way in the backwoods. Its bolted to a rough country winch plate using the factory tow hooks and bolts on the factory bumper. I also bedlined the bumper to match the flares and sliders.

 

[SilicaRich]

Really like the simplicity of your build so far. Nothing wrong with the little tires, pretty darn surprising where 31" tires can get you. Good start man!

 

[AgentOrange76]

Really like the simplicity of your build so far. Nothing wrong with the little tires, pretty darn surprising where 31" tires can get you. Good start man!

Thanks! The Jeep constantly amazes me with what it does, and so easily at that. I see obstacles all the time that I say no way, and the thing just walks it like, "what rocks?" Even if price wasn't a consideration (and all the stuff to fit them underneath) I'd have a hard time justifying 33s cause I've never pushed the limits of 31s. Seems to be a killer combo along with the swaybar disconnected.

You've got a pretty sweet ride too, I think I stumbled across your Instagram a few times. Really clean build that seems to be very functional. Aren't you a geology major?

 

[SilicaRich]

Thanks! The Jeep constantly amazes me with what it does, and so easily at that. I see obstacles all the time that I say no way, and the thing just walks it like, "what rocks?" Even if price wasn't a consideration (and all the stuff to fit them underneath) I'd have a hard time justifying 33s cause I've never pushed the limits of 31s. Seems to be a killer combo along with the swaybar disconnected.

You've got a pretty sweet ride too, I think I stumbled across your Instagram a few times. Really clean build that seems to be very functional. Aren't you a geology major?

Indeed I am and thank you.

I ran 33s for a while and enjoyed them but they were always more than I needed, and with my current setup I far more capable than I ever was on with my old setup. I think if you keep building around your 31s or bump up to 32s, you will find your Jeep more capable than you'll ever need.

 

[AgentOrange76]

Realized I left a couple things out of the build (but I'm sure there's even more). Got a steering box skid for Christmas, another thing I hope I never have to use but its there for peace of mind. It wanted me to drill a hole in the crossmember for a third bold but I can rock the jeep with only the two in and its super solid so I decided not to drill.


I also drilled a couple 1/2" holes in the bottom of the frame in front of the rear control arm brackets since Jeep conveniently forgot to put holes in the bottom of the frame to let water and mud out.....I didn't want my frame to look like the CJs so wallah. I also wirebrushed a little surface rust off the frame and painted it.



Got a permanent switch from OTRATTW that fits in the factory blanks to wire up the KCs more professionally than the little switch I hid under the dash. While the dash was out I replaced the blower selector switch to try and fix the fan speed dial but it ended up being the resistor.


Last semester my brother had automotive classes and so they did my clutch! It had almost half the life left but hey, I couldn't pass up on an 85 buck clutch job. I put in a Luk clutch that supposedly will last me 200k. I also painted the factory skid red. The same shop also did the engine for the Orange Jeep.


I changed the rear brakes for the first time ever hoping to fix my broken parking brake.....OH MY GOSH I HATE DRUM BRAKES......and no the parking brake is still broken. Also you apparently need a 2lb mini sledge to get brakes off that haven't been removed in 16 years.


I also cut the factory flares down to kinda make homemade flatfenders (for free!) and I'm really happy with how it came out. Here's the front (uncut) vs the back (trimmed). I wish I hadn't cut them at the slider and let them come all the way down. I fixed it for the front and I love the way they came out. I did it all with an angle grinder and a woodworking tool whos mane escapes me but looks like a cheese grater and a plane had a baby. I'm out of allowed pictures for this post but you can see the Jeep with them all cut in the first post.

 

[Cottontail]

My baby hit 100k two days ago...she's getting old....

Nice build. This line cracked me up though! I think instead of "old" you meant to say "broken in." My ZJ is only 4 years older than your TJ and I'm over a quarter million. My 2001 XJ is just over 150,000. You've got years and years of life left on the engine. Depending how you drive this thing off road, the engine will outlast the rest of it!!

 

[AgentOrange76]

Nice build. This line cracked me up though! I think instead of "old" you meant to say "broken in." My ZJ is only 4 years older than your TJ and I'm over a quarter million. My 2001 XJ is just over 150,000. You've got years and years of life left on the engine. Depending how you drive this thing off road, the engine will outlast the rest of it!!

Haha I'm counting on it. Its just weird to look down and see an extra digit for the first time in 16 years! And of course there's the ongoing struggle with it being so low mileage; you want to keep it mint but what's the point in having something you aren't going to use? Always reassuring to hear high mileage stories though.

Indeed I am and thank you.

Awesome, so am I!

 

[AgentOrange76]

So I think that's about everything in terms of the build. I'm sure I forgot some stuff and I'll be sure to update this when new stuff happens or I remember some other stuff. Feel free to fire questions, ect. Future mods include a Morryde tailgate system and an engine/oil pan skid, fog lights and a transmission cause mine's all jacked up.

Now onto some adventures! I'll try and put them in order of the build but no promises!

First powder I drove in!



First time disconnected, a lil flex.


So, funny story on this trail......Remember that brush guard on ol' Orang? Wellllll.......

So there's some deep mud on this trail. Its got a bottom and they're solid but there's a lot of water. Well pops hit one of em a lil too fast, and there's water everywhere. Water over the hood, everywhere. It chugs up the hill and then dies. Pop the hood and the battery was sitting on the frame rail and the distributer cap is flooded:Wow1: Oh boy. Get some napkins and dry everything out and then we got a spare bootlace and tied in the battery. Mint. (Its since been replaced very professionally with zipties.) Didn't want to do that again so we headed out. We hooked up a tow strap to tow it through the mud real slow, got it through but there was a little slack in the line so I goosed the throttle a little to pick it up but pops hit the brakes at the same time to do the same! Pop! Off come the brush guard! We buried it in the woods and picket it up later with a buddies truck because it wouldn't fit in the Jeep and had another buddy weld it back on. Its a solid tow point now, that's for sure! So yeah, communication is key! Here's another shot of that trail.....Its a shame it got closed, was only a couple hundred yards at most from our property.....


Some more snow wheelin

 

[AgentOrange76]

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