Hi everyone! I figured I'd start a build thread now that I'm going to start getting some work done to the Jeep before winter.
Like the title says, I want to build a Jurassic Park inspired overland/adventure rig out of my Jeep.
These are my inspirations for the kind of look I'm going for in the end.
It might not be everyones taste, but seeing Jurassic Park as a kid is what made me fall in love with Jeeps so, here I am lol
I bought my 2000 Jeep TJ in July, it's a 5-speed with the 4.0. It has a 2" lift (maybe?), it had a Rough Country sticker on the windshield and it has 31's with no rub so I'm guessing at 2". That's really the only mod done to the Jeep other than the Ford rims. It came with a hard top and a soft top that is worse for wear, but it worked fine enough for this summer.
So here's what I'm starting with the day I bought it.
I really haven't done a whole lot with it since I bought it. I've been off work for medical reasons so I took the summer to just enjoy the Jeep as it was while doing a couple minor things just to keep the itch scratched a little lol
The fender flares were gross so they got redone. I used Matte Camo Black and it turned out pretty good IMO. I also bought a can of color match paint and sprayed the black diamond plating to match.
Before on the flares
After
This was the last time it was cleaned up with the ragged soft top before putting the hard top on.
I also re-dyed the padding for my roll bar covers. My picture for this is absolutely terrible so I apologise. The padding is still dirty from the last trip out but it gives you a good idea of the contrast between old and re-dyed.
And other than some minor maintenance here and there I haven't had to do a whole lot to the Jeep. Which given my employment status right now is a major plus lol
My first plans are all priority based which means no fun stuff yet.
Before winter hits and the salt starts flying I need:
-Passenger side floor pan
- Passenger side body mount repaired
- New rubber
- Some surface rust repairs on the tub.
Now for all the stuff that comes after lol
- I want to replace the lift to a new 2.5"reason one being my intentions to upgrade the suspension as much as possible, my goal is to make the most comfortable cruising TJ I possibly can haha, but also because my ride quality right now is crap and I think a lot of it is to do with the old suspension, and right now I have no clue what lift is even in it so it would be nice to know everything I have.
- Winch
- Half doors
- Sahara seat swap
- Lightbar with fog lights
- I do a lot of backroad and field driving at night so I'd like to get a pair of spotlights to mount up near the windshield
- Install sound deadening under the carpet
- CB & antenna
- Rear fogs
- Rugged ridge dash tray
- And of course the JP paint job lol
There's probably a lot of little stuff I'm forgetting and lots of big stuff that will pop up along the way, but that's the gist of where I'm headed. I don't do much rock crawling, like at all. A lot of back roads and mountain trails, coast line drives. I do a lot of photography, hiking, and camping, so the Jeep is going to be getting a lot of good use, hopefully lol
Here are just some random pictures of it taken over the summer
This was my first 2+hr drive in the Jeep and the first time using it for anything lol
I'll try to update as much as I can! Tomorrow the hurricane hits so the Jeep will get a pretty good test come then, fingers crossed lol
Like the title says, I want to build a Jurassic Park inspired overland/adventure rig out of my Jeep.
These are my inspirations for the kind of look I'm going for in the end.
It might not be everyones taste, but seeing Jurassic Park as a kid is what made me fall in love with Jeeps so, here I am lol
I bought my 2000 Jeep TJ in July, it's a 5-speed with the 4.0. It has a 2" lift (maybe?), it had a Rough Country sticker on the windshield and it has 31's with no rub so I'm guessing at 2". That's really the only mod done to the Jeep other than the Ford rims. It came with a hard top and a soft top that is worse for wear, but it worked fine enough for this summer.
So here's what I'm starting with the day I bought it.
I really haven't done a whole lot with it since I bought it. I've been off work for medical reasons so I took the summer to just enjoy the Jeep as it was while doing a couple minor things just to keep the itch scratched a little lol
The fender flares were gross so they got redone. I used Matte Camo Black and it turned out pretty good IMO. I also bought a can of color match paint and sprayed the black diamond plating to match.
Before on the flares
After
This was the last time it was cleaned up with the ragged soft top before putting the hard top on.
I also re-dyed the padding for my roll bar covers. My picture for this is absolutely terrible so I apologise. The padding is still dirty from the last trip out but it gives you a good idea of the contrast between old and re-dyed.
And other than some minor maintenance here and there I haven't had to do a whole lot to the Jeep. Which given my employment status right now is a major plus lol
My first plans are all priority based which means no fun stuff yet.
Before winter hits and the salt starts flying I need:
-Passenger side floor pan
- Passenger side body mount repaired
- New rubber
- Some surface rust repairs on the tub.
Now for all the stuff that comes after lol
- I want to replace the lift to a new 2.5"reason one being my intentions to upgrade the suspension as much as possible, my goal is to make the most comfortable cruising TJ I possibly can haha, but also because my ride quality right now is crap and I think a lot of it is to do with the old suspension, and right now I have no clue what lift is even in it so it would be nice to know everything I have.
- Winch
- Half doors
- Sahara seat swap
- Lightbar with fog lights
- I do a lot of backroad and field driving at night so I'd like to get a pair of spotlights to mount up near the windshield
- Install sound deadening under the carpet
- CB & antenna
- Rear fogs
- Rugged ridge dash tray
- And of course the JP paint job lol
There's probably a lot of little stuff I'm forgetting and lots of big stuff that will pop up along the way, but that's the gist of where I'm headed. I don't do much rock crawling, like at all. A lot of back roads and mountain trails, coast line drives. I do a lot of photography, hiking, and camping, so the Jeep is going to be getting a lot of good use, hopefully lol
Here are just some random pictures of it taken over the summer
This was my first 2+hr drive in the Jeep and the first time using it for anything lol
I'll try to update as much as I can! Tomorrow the hurricane hits so the Jeep will get a pretty good test come then, fingers crossed lol
