A Jurassic Overland Dream
- Thread starter DustyRhodes03
- Start date
Thanks guys! I have a blast driving it lol It's just something that puts a smile on my face every time I'm in it.
I honestly never expected peoples reactions around town to be as big as they are. Seeing kids reactions is priceless, especially if I'm just driving in the middle of nowhere, I think it's great so many kids get such a kick out of it. But hands down, the most hilarious reactions always come from the adults lol
BUT, for the love of God I need a second vehicle lol It's my daily driver and it'd be nice to be able to leave my house SOMETIMES without that all eyes on me feeling lol
I've heard the phrase "I like your Jeep!" so many times that now I just reply with "Thanks, my Ferrari is in the shop."
I have a couple mini ones by my computer desk! haha
And some dinosaurs that my son got me for fathers day lol
He got me four, and we decided to each pick our favorite, and then we super glued them to the dash
I've gotten stuck in a bit of a limbo with the Jeep atm and what it's future is going to be.
I've come into a decent chunk of disposable income, and have a property selling next month.
So it's had me contemplating the Jeep and possibilities and now I'm toying with the idea of finding a nice solid base TJ, something close to stock, and then really sink some $$$ into making it a proper build and something that's going to last another 10+ years. 100% redoing the Jurassic Park theme if I do of course lol
So with an uncertain future, here's a shameless glamor post with random pictures. It's definitely been a summer of exploring, camping, and road trips. Gonna try to avoid reposting any pictures.
Pics of the pooch are always better than my TJ shots
So hopefully within the next 3-4 weeks I'll have a decision made, and either way things on a TJ are going to start picking up towards Christmas!
I've come into a decent chunk of disposable income, and have a property selling next month.
So it's had me contemplating the Jeep and possibilities and now I'm toying with the idea of finding a nice solid base TJ, something close to stock, and then really sink some $$$ into making it a proper build and something that's going to last another 10+ years. 100% redoing the Jurassic Park theme if I do of course lol
So with an uncertain future, here's a shameless glamor post with random pictures. It's definitely been a summer of exploring, camping, and road trips. Gonna try to avoid reposting any pictures.
Pics of the pooch are always better than my TJ shots
So hopefully within the next 3-4 weeks I'll have a decision made, and either way things on a TJ are going to start picking up towards Christmas!
This one was patched together and repaired from a bucket of rust to be what it is now, and don't get me wrong it was done well by the people I got to work on it, but it's all the little imperfections, and all the patchwork that can be seen underneath. For me it just comes down to not having enough faith that this current TJ is going to be alive in another 5 years. I don't want to sink a bunch of money into parts and upgrades, just to have the body or frame start to deteriorate away in the next few years.
I'd just love the opportunity to find a rust free TJ to use as a base, and something that hasn't been pieced together by 10 different people before I got my hands on it lol
And living on the coast, and somewhere the roads get salted every winter, it would be awesome to have the peace of mind of a blank slate that I can rust proof right from the start, and build on something that will at least have a better chance at lasting the test of time lol
An extra 15-20k for a Jeep project just leaves lots of options to explore.
Look at it this way, you've seen what you can do with a poor base and it came out, IMO, great looking. All the little things you didn't like in this build you can avoid or do differently with a solid platform and my guess is it will come out even better!!
That's kind of where my mindset is right now.
It's been a frustrating back and forth in my head, sometimes I even jump to a scenario where I have 2 TJs....I'm a wreck hahah
You wouldn’t be the first to have two tjs! But really, you need an LJ
You wouldn’t be the first to have two tjs! But really, you need an LJ
Man don't think that thought hasn't crossed my mind either haha
From the standpoint of someone who does a lot of camping with their Jeep, an LJ would elevate things a lot comfort wise lol
After taking a trip with my friends who have an LJ...I can't believe how much more room they have. Its crazy how much extra stuff you can fit with only an extra foot and a half of space.Man don't think that thought hasn't crossed my mind either haha
From the standpoint of someone who does a lot of camping with their Jeep, an LJ would elevate things a lot comfort wise lol
I thought I was gonna be done with 2 footitis when I sold my boat...
Anyone know of a good overall guide on how to rust proof a vehicle? I've got my TJ and another project vehicle ('60s ford product) that are going to need protection from the elements.
I don't have a link handy, but if you search here on the forum I remember seeing a really great guide someone wrote up for rust proofing our Jeeps.
Vtx531
TJ Addict
Strange circle of events here.
I ended up selling the TJ after Christmas, the body was getting too rough for what I was capable of handling at the time.
Aaaaaaand then it popped up on FB a couple days ago for sale
I'd always been thinking about building another one, and seeing this back up for sale just brought a literal flood of emotions up, remembering how much time me and my son put into it, and thinking about how big a part it played in my mental health when I had cancer, and lost my brother, overall just remembering how much THIS specific Jeep was one of the best things in my life during the worst time of my life. There really wasn't even any debating buying it back lol
Being realistic about the nitty gritty with this 'ol girl, I got rid of it because of the body, aaaaand that situation has NOT improved lol
The tub is a write-off as far as I'm concerned, there's no way of reliably killing every bit of rust hiding inside this thing. Im in a solid position this time where I can do a tub replacement no problem once I get my hands on one. It's not my only vehicle this time, so it can be laid up when it needs to be for however long it needs to be.
Step 1. Tub replacement, timeline for this is realistically spring, I'm not working with a heated garage, and it's a tight space as is, so this gives me some time to shop around and find a good solid tub to start fresh with.
There are some pros to throw in, mechanically it was taken care of, the guy who bought it off me really loved driving it, it was his daily driver, and he drove it practically from one end of the province to the other on a regular basis, so as far as running and driving down the road it was well looked after.
Within the last few months it's had new Rancho shocks all the way around, all new brakes front to back, he did regular oil changes with high mileage oil (332,000kms), I think if I can look after it and make it to 400,000 I'll rebuild the engine or replace it, he fixed the driveshaft issue giving it 4X4 again, pretty much any part or maintenance it needed over the years, he got it done, the interior looks nearly the same as it did the day it left my driveway, which is a big plus, he replaced the headlights and replaced the front fogs as well, tires he replaced with the same Coopers I'd had on it before, he swapped it to the hard top, and installed a pretty decent stereo in it, it sounds as good as it can in a Jeep anyway lol
Anyway, I'll cut this off for now but yeah, we're back I guess
Coming at it this time with some hindsight, a tiny bit of wisdom (not much though), and most importantly more money, more tools, and more time lol
I ended up selling the TJ after Christmas, the body was getting too rough for what I was capable of handling at the time.
Aaaaaaand then it popped up on FB a couple days ago for sale
I'd always been thinking about building another one, and seeing this back up for sale just brought a literal flood of emotions up, remembering how much time me and my son put into it, and thinking about how big a part it played in my mental health when I had cancer, and lost my brother, overall just remembering how much THIS specific Jeep was one of the best things in my life during the worst time of my life. There really wasn't even any debating buying it back lol
Being realistic about the nitty gritty with this 'ol girl, I got rid of it because of the body, aaaaand that situation has NOT improved lol
The tub is a write-off as far as I'm concerned, there's no way of reliably killing every bit of rust hiding inside this thing. Im in a solid position this time where I can do a tub replacement no problem once I get my hands on one. It's not my only vehicle this time, so it can be laid up when it needs to be for however long it needs to be.
Step 1. Tub replacement, timeline for this is realistically spring, I'm not working with a heated garage, and it's a tight space as is, so this gives me some time to shop around and find a good solid tub to start fresh with.
There are some pros to throw in, mechanically it was taken care of, the guy who bought it off me really loved driving it, it was his daily driver, and he drove it practically from one end of the province to the other on a regular basis, so as far as running and driving down the road it was well looked after.
Within the last few months it's had new Rancho shocks all the way around, all new brakes front to back, he did regular oil changes with high mileage oil (332,000kms), I think if I can look after it and make it to 400,000 I'll rebuild the engine or replace it, he fixed the driveshaft issue giving it 4X4 again, pretty much any part or maintenance it needed over the years, he got it done, the interior looks nearly the same as it did the day it left my driveway, which is a big plus, he replaced the headlights and replaced the front fogs as well, tires he replaced with the same Coopers I'd had on it before, he swapped it to the hard top, and installed a pretty decent stereo in it, it sounds as good as it can in a Jeep anyway lol
Anyway, I'll cut this off for now but yeah, we're back I guess
Coming at it this time with some hindsight, a tiny bit of wisdom (not much though), and most importantly more money, more tools, and more time lol
IIRC, I followed you for some of that build, and really liked what you did and how it came out!
Now it’s even better! You’ve got a great and sentimental project you can really sink your teeth into! I’m looking forward to seeing you do it, and how it turns out!
Now it’s even better! You’ve got a great and sentimental project you can really sink your teeth into! I’m looking forward to seeing you do it, and how it turns out!
Thanks! The wife and I are really excited to start ripping into it and bringing it all back to life.
I'm most excited to replace the tub, I really wished I could've before so this time it's #1 on the priority list, more out of necessity but still lol
Later today im going to sit down and do up a list of everything that needs to be done and everything we want to do with it .
I did get a start redoing the doors this weekend, the passenger side door especially all the paint was scratched off/peeling and the JP sticker on that side was held on with clear tape lol
Wheels are finally moving on this "project/life commitment"
Picked up this Jeep yesterday for parts, after months of trying to find a decent tub to work with, it's a '97 4cyl 5-speed with about 100,000 less kms on it and the body is in a lot better shape, it's definitely more salvageable than what I'm currently working with anyway.
So now I've owned my Jeep twice, and this black one will make the 3rd TJ put into the build lol
I honestly considered using this black one as the base, and my current one as the parts vehicle, I still might go that route, but I want to drive it for a few days just to see how I like it, it's a 4cyl and it feels so sluggish compared to what I'm used to, but the P/O did the exhaust by welding on a "whatever he had" muffler on it, so that could be playing a part in how it feels driving.
Big head scratcher for me right now with it is none of the signal lights work, and my brake lights don't work, but every bulb is getting power because when I turn on the headlight switch, all my lights illuminate just fine, they just wont respond to the signal light switch or the brake pedal switch. I haven't dug too far into yet outside of going through my fuses and checking the bulbs themselves, I'm hoping to get into it a bit more tonight with a friend who knows wiring better than I do, reading wiring diagrams and things like that is like reading Chinese backwards and upside down for me.
Regardless, I'm considering this Day 1 of putting SOMETHING back together
Picked up this Jeep yesterday for parts, after months of trying to find a decent tub to work with, it's a '97 4cyl 5-speed with about 100,000 less kms on it and the body is in a lot better shape, it's definitely more salvageable than what I'm currently working with anyway.
So now I've owned my Jeep twice, and this black one will make the 3rd TJ put into the build lol
I honestly considered using this black one as the base, and my current one as the parts vehicle, I still might go that route, but I want to drive it for a few days just to see how I like it, it's a 4cyl and it feels so sluggish compared to what I'm used to, but the P/O did the exhaust by welding on a "whatever he had" muffler on it, so that could be playing a part in how it feels driving.
Big head scratcher for me right now with it is none of the signal lights work, and my brake lights don't work, but every bulb is getting power because when I turn on the headlight switch, all my lights illuminate just fine, they just wont respond to the signal light switch or the brake pedal switch. I haven't dug too far into yet outside of going through my fuses and checking the bulbs themselves, I'm hoping to get into it a bit more tonight with a friend who knows wiring better than I do, reading wiring diagrams and things like that is like reading Chinese backwards and upside down for me.
Regardless, I'm considering this Day 1 of putting SOMETHING back together
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