97 Sport with Rubi axles

[Caveman1965]

Hi! My name is Marcus and I’m a new member of this forum. This little red TJ caught my eye sitting in front of a local off road shop near my home in Fenton Michigan. The shop was still up fitting this Jeep and she looked impressive. I have been searching for a project Jeep for a while and the list of new upgrades on this 21 year old beauty was too good to pass up. The owner of the shop sent me a partial list of upgrades as follows:

This 1997 Wrangler has had an extensive list of fresh upgrades. From the Rubicon Dana 44 axles with lockers and 5.13 Yukon gears, Tom Woods rear CV drive shaft, Tom Woods SYE Kit, 4" Long arm lift kit with FOX shocks and steering stabilizer, 37" Mickey Thompson BAJA ATZ tires, New Poison Spyder High Line aluminum fenders, New rear corners with fold down tail gate, New soft top, custom front and rear bumpers, Optima Yellow top battery, New black steel wheels, JKS trac bar, UORC rock sliders, NV3550 5 speed manual Transmission, 4.0 6 cylinder engine, aftermarket roll cage.

The interior is a little rough. The carpet and seats are out of an 04 and the “new” soft top doesn’t seem to fit very well at the corners of the windshield. I think the aftermarket roll cage is going to make installing door surrounds difficult if not impossible.
The stereo is stock and I’m betting the speakers are too. I’m adding from and rear sway bars and I’ve asked the shop that’s selling it to me to replace one of the torque boxes due to rust. The frame and the tub are solid. At least what I can see anyway.
This is my third Wrangler.

 

[JamesAndTheSahara]

Hi! My name is Marcus and I’m a new member of this forum. This little red TJ caught my eye sitting in front of a local off road shop near my home in Fenton Michigan. The shop was still up fitting this Jeep and she looked impressive. I have been searching for a project Jeep for a while and the list of new upgrades on this 21 year old beauty was too good to pass up. The owner of the shop sent me a partial list of upgrades as follows:

This 1997 Wrangler has had an extensive list of fresh upgrades. From the Rubicon Dana 44 axles with lockers and 5.13 Yukon gears, Tom Woods rear CV drive shaft, Tom Woods SYE Kit, 4" Long arm lift kit with FOX shocks and steering stabilizer, 37" Mickey Thompson BAJA ATZ tires, New Poison Spyder High Line aluminum fenders, New rear corners with fold down tail gate, New soft top, custom front and rear bumpers, Optima Yellow top battery, New black steel wheels, JKS trac bar, UORC rock sliders, NV3550 5 speed manual Transmission, 4.0 6 cylinder engine, aftermarket roll cage.

The interior is a little rough. The carpet and seats are out of an 04 and the “new” soft top doesn’t seem to fit very well at the corners of the windshield. I think the aftermarket roll cage is going to make installing door surrounds difficult if not impossible.
The stereo is stock and I’m betting the speakers are too. I’m adding from and rear sway bars and I’ve asked the shop that’s selling it to me to replace one of the torque boxes due to rust. The frame and the tub are solid. At least what I can see anyway.
This is my third Wrangler.
View attachment 29925 View attachment 29926 View attachment 29927

What a great start! Other than the sway bars what are your plans for her?

 

[Chris]

Wow, looks like the previous owner did quite a bit to that thing! I've never been a fan of the no spare tire look, but in this case, it doesn't look bad! Can't go wrong with red either!

Are you going to turn this into a build thread and post updates as you go? If so, I'm subscribed!

As for that interior, get some BedRug for it. That stuff is amazing!

 

[Caveman1965]

I'm planning to go through the mechanics and make sure everything is right. The motor felt strong, but it's got about 110,000 miles on it. I test drove it, but without sway bars, it handles like a Jeep without sway bars. My motto is "everything can be fixed. The previous owner was an employee of Unlimited Offroad (who just had a Jeep that they built featured on the cover of JP magazine). The owner bought it as a basket case and basically rebuilt this Jeep. The only thing '97 is the tub and the frame. He had the Ruby axles out of an '04 which he had his shop rebuild. 5:13 Yukon gears and all new bearings with chromolly axle shafts. The tires are brand new Micky Thompson 37's. He sells them at his shop. So, all the new parts were professionally installed at his shop in Fenton MI.
Years ago, I sold my friend my hardtop off my '98 TJ. it's hanging in his barn right now in TN and I'm planning on buying it back from him. That takes care of the door surround problem. The same guy (who hordes Jeep parts) also has a set of full doors that he's agreed to sell me for $500 which are already red . The door panels are the wrong color (tan) but I can dye them black. I'll get the locks re-keyed at a Jeep dealer. I hear the cost is $35 per lock. the only thing left is to clean up the interior and put a decent stereo in it. Of course, every Jeep is a project and never really done, so I'll keep you posted.

 

[Caveman1965]

one more thing.....
I've never tried to run tires this big on any of my previous Jeeps. When I test drove it, the pinch seam on the passenger side rear was rubbing that giant tire. I complained to the owner and his solution was to put wheel spacers on it. his cost, not mine so, that's fine. I've never liked them though and I may look for another solution. I have a feeling that the sway bars will stiffen up the suspension so that the rubbing will stop. At least under normal conditions. I was thinking that if it rubs, cut it off. Or, at least hammer it over. what are your thoughts?

 

[Kevlarr]

the right sized bump stops will keep the tires from rubbing as well as sway bar links but do yourself a favor and get the disconnect kind so you don't get beat up on dirt roads. Nice start on your jeep with the Ruby axles! I'm jelous!

 

[Mike_H]

Just hammer the pinch seam over...If you bumpstop the 37s to not get into the seam, I don't think you'll have much uptravel. You could do a 1" body lift too...That would probably fix it.