EXPEDITION ZJ

[hvydrop97]

1997 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE LIMITED 5.2L V8 EXPEDITION BUILD

My plans are to make a vehicle that can go pretty much anywhere, to include amphibious operation, for the purpose of disaster response, day camping trips, and lengthy expeditions. My time and money is very limited right now but I will be doing a little bit here and there with your help and suggestions. I have a list of everything I plan to get my hands on.

1997 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE ZJ 5.2L V8 EXPEDITION VEHICLE

*ARMOR/BODY/APPEARANCE

-BUSHWACKER 2" CUT-OUT FENDER FLARES..........................435.76
-PROTOFAB4X4 ROCKSOLID FRNT BUMPER............................769.00
-PROTOFAB4X4 ROCKSOLID REAR BUMPER W/ TIRE CARRIER............921.00
-TOMKEN MACHINE 2"X2" ROCKER GUARDS...........................294.99
-AUTO VENTSHADE VENTVISORS.....................................54.99
-ARB Series III Simpson Rooftop Tent.........................1568.51
-CLEAR HEADLIGHTS.............................................150.00
-CLEAR TAILLIGHTS..............................................75.00
-CUSTOM ROOF RACK.............................................100.00
-ARB Safari Snorkel...........................................525.99

*RECOVERY/TOWING

-KOBALT SHORT-HANDLE FIBERGLASS SHOVEL.........................24.98
-KOBALT STEEL MICHIGAN AXE 34" HANDLE..........................29.98
-HI-LIFT JACK X-TREME JACK 48" SILVER.........................109.99
-WARN VR8000 WINCH............................................479.99
-11,000 LB PULL-PAL LAND ANCHOR...............................330.00
-SANDMATS.....................................................146.00
-MULTI-USE TRANSFER PUMP.......................................14.99
-SMITTYBILT 2"X30' RECOVERY STRAP..............................27.87

*INTERIOR/STORAGE

-QUADRATEC ULTIMATE ALL WHEATHER FLOOR LINERS FRNT.............59.99
-QUADRATEC ULTIMATE ALL WHEATHER FLOOR LINERS REAR.............39.99
-ELECTRIC BACK SEAT HEATER/FAN.................................99.99
-NATIONAL LUNA INTELLIGENT SPLIT CHARGING KIT.................395.00
-GARMIN 60CS GPS..............................................125.00
-COBRA 40 CHANNEL CB RADIO.....................................95.00
-TERTIARY 20 WATT SOLAR CHARGING PANNEL.......................150.00
-OZIEXPLORER GPS MAPING SOFTWARE..............................109.00
-UNIDEN BCD996XT SCANNER......................................499.95
-REAR CARGO DRAWERS 38"W 33"D 10"H............................289.00
-ENGEL MT27 AC/DC FRIDGE-FREEZER..............................868.00
-21 GALLON FRESH WATER TANK....................................38.50
-TRUE POWER 1500 MODIFIED SINE INVERTER.......................369.99

*SUSPENSION/TIRES

-285/70/17 BFG A/T...........................................1191.97
-ZONE OFFROAD 4" LIFT KIT.....................................639.95
-MOAB 17" WHEELS.................................................IDK

*LIGHTING

- HELLA RALLYE 4000 COMPACT LAMPS X3..........................134.99
- AUXILLARY SPORTSMAN DEEP CYCLE MARINE BATTERY...............154.55

I've got a few stock pictures along with a ballpark drawing of what I would like it to look like, ill have more drawings up soon as well.

My apologies for the crude depiction, but its the farthest my artistic skills will take me. haha Lemme know what you think and if you have any suggestions. I'm not by any means a fully qualified and certified master mechanic so any input and advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[bob91yj]

DO NOT cut corners to save $$$ in the beginning. It's good to have a goal that you are building towards. Start with the vehicle itself. Get ALL of your maintenance caught up. I'd change every drivetrain fluid, coolant hoses, filters, spark plugs/wires, etc, on the car unless I had an invoice showing that it had been done in the last 12 months/12,000 miles.

I'd skip the CB (some clubs/organized runs still require a CB), most folks have switched to HAM radio's. Take a look at Edgestar 12v/120v fridge/freezers, half the cost of the "offroad" brands, generally good reviews, I've had mine close to 4 years with zero issues. Cheap lifts are cheap for a reason, do your research.

Good luck. For now, get out and have some fun with what you have. Find out what it won't do that you need it to do, what works for others in your area, and build the rig to meet those needs.

 

[bob91yj]

DO NOT cut corners to save $$$ in the beginning. It's good to have a goal that you are building towards. Start with the vehicle itself. Get ALL of your maintenance caught up. I'd change every drivetrain fluid, coolant hoses, filters, spark plugs/wires, etc, on the car unless I had an invoice showing that it had been done in the last 12 months/12,000 miles.

I'd skip the CB (some clubs/organized runs still require a CB), most folks have switched to HAM radio's. Take a look at Edgestar 12v/120v fridge/freezers, half the cost of the "offroad" brands, generally good reviews, I've had mine close to 4 years with zero issues. Cheap lifts are cheap for a reason, do your research.

Good luck. For now, get out and have some fun with what you have. Find out what it won't do that you need it to do, what works for others in your area, and build the rig to meet those needs/conditions. I've said it before, say it again. I've seen too many people build vehicles based on what they read on the 'net end up with a monster that they didn't need and now hate to drive.

 

[jscusmcvet]

I don't know much about zj's. I do know that the 5.2 is a good reliable engine platform and the zj suspension is a good reliable suspension, so you are getting a great start with that set up. I would follow the previously offered advice and make sure a 15 year old vehicle is as up to date with basic maintainence as you can get it. Next I would begin with armor. Crawl under the vehicle and ID the low hanging parts. You might have some luck asking on jeep forum in the zj section about vehicle speifics, or PM black ZJ here on expo with specific questions. At some point for real off road ability you will need lockers also.

Hope something I said helps. Good luck on your project! Keep us updated.

John

 

[Firehawkclone]

Keep it simple at first. Check the vehicle out first. The ZJ's like to overheat. Make sure you know about the issues with the factory alarm and the cps. That lift may not be able to handle all of the weight you are going to put on it. I'm not a fan of the snorkels, you will flood the rest of the vehicle long before you'll need one of those. They do look cool! You just don't need a lot of the stuff you listed.

Just get out there and explore at first! You'll find out what you will need soon enough.

Grands don't seemed to be well received here, for whatever reason. We are here though!

Edit:love the 3rd gen. Just some of my toys
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/firehawkclone/a6df88a4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v635/firehawkclone/fff86e75.jpg

 

[jeep-N-montero]

I don't know much about zj's. I do know that the 5.2 is a good reliable engine platform and the zj suspension is a good reliable suspension, so you are getting a great start with that set up. I would follow the previously offered advice and make sure a 15 year old vehicle is as up to date with basic maintainence as you can get it. Next I would begin with armor. Crawl under the vehicle and ID the low hanging parts. You might have some luck asking on jeep forum in the zj section about vehicle speifics, or PM black ZJ here on expo with specific questions. At some point for real off road ability you will need lockers also.

Hope something I said helps. Good luck on your project! Keep us updated.

John

I will respond in detail after dinner.

 

[robertwalker2003]

Looking forward to seeing what you build. After I get my trailer done I need to start om my 2000 XJ. Keeps us up to date.

 

[88Xj]

God man more & more ZJ's keeping popping up. I think I'm going to start finding a cheap zj to swap all my xj stuff over!

 

[hvydrop97]

Wow this one hit off quick. All of the listed parts run about 12 grand my goal is to do it with 5 spending the money where its absolutely necessary and fabricating what I can. bob: 100% agree with you. that's the first with any of my projects get running and driving in tip top shape before any major modifications go into it. I wanna get the gas mileage way up before i take it back down haha. I checked out those fridges too, they look awesome thanks for the suggestion. As far as the CB goes it was already in there, id like to re mount it somewhere else because it hits my knee all the time. Firehawk: lemme start off by saying thats a bad lookin jeep you got there, second i found some marine cabin seals online that are used for the doors on sail boats i plan on trying them out for door seals so the only water i have to worry about is from the floors and firewall. who knows maybe we can get this thing to float

 

[hvydrop97]

i venture to guess black zj is kind of like Confucius in this category haha

 

[xjman88]

i venture to guess black zj is kind of like Confucius in this category haha

Yes he is. Hes been building and wheeling zjs for the last 15 yrs. He converted me over from the xj side of the house. Hes pointed my in the right direction a few times w my 3 zj builds ive done the last 3 yrs. The zj is a very capable rig out of the box. My first one was a 95 w a 3 in lift and 31s. Had the rear a44 w ls diff. That thing wheeled better than my xj on 35s and fr/rr lockers did. And ive been building jeeps for about the same amount of time. Hes my little brother so I pick his brain a lot.

 

[hvydrop97]

Here's the storage box, again a bit crude but gives you an idea of where its going to go. 11" H x 42" W x 32" D and there's 22 inches of space between the top of the box and the rear interior roof trim. I'm debating on whether or not I want to use one side as a drawer and the other side as flip open storage from the top. It'll definitely save me money on heavy duty sliders and It'll give me some good places for the battery, compressor, spare parts/ fluids, and tools. i had a great idea for that 12" of space that's normally not used by the roof too. ill post a picture of it once i design it. My wife should be bringing home cardboard boxes for me from her work today so i can get a mock up done.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

My apologies, right now I have hunting on the brain and am getting ready to head out tomorrow evening for 3 days to put an Elk in the freezer, but the hope is to get one Thursday morning and come home the 1st day.

But my question is, what is the ultimate intended purpose of the Jeep? Then ask yourself if the items on your list are absolutely necessary to reach that purpose? I am going to pick your list apart later and give you better alternatives, at the moment I am trying to make my pack as light as possible and reviewing some terrain maps, hoping to keep my pack under 35 pounds with the rifle strapped to it.

 

[hvydrop97]

The pack I'm working with right now is a red rock compact assault pack built for 1 day use but I can stretch it into 3 days. I plane to get a bigger one with an internal frame later on. My rack is integrated into it right now because my job has a need for it. I appreciate you fine combing my list, I've always loved camping but didn't know about this until recently so I don't know the ins and outs just yet. Not only do I love the concept but I think this is just what I need to get my wife into the outdoors.

 

[hvydrop97]

In addition to my list when I build the rear storage system, I want to have a spot for a compound bow, remington 700, and an AR-15. Maybe a good spot for a bit of extra ammo too.