I am going to write this thread in the free time I have, which sometimes comes and sometimes goes. I really would like a place I can look back to and point to others and say "see how hard it was." To start I have a BS in Industrial Design and have built custom motorcycles in the past. Both for a living and as a hobby. This is the first real "Car" (please don't hate me for calling my jeep that) that I've remodeled/designed and built for a purpose. I have completely remodeled a 1979 toyota dolphin 14 ft camper which I drove across the country from Montana to my brothers wedding in New Jersey. I grew up fixing equipment on a family dairy farm and have always done my own vehicle repair also. Oh yeah and I build homes for a living, so I had a pretty huge leg up in terms of required skills for the job. That being said I've done everything to this point, so far, except installing the new windshield myself. Also what a stupid name for a part. Windshield. Why not call it a Facesaver or a Invisashield. Makes us sound like we can't handle a little breeze. I mean we are jeepeople for goodness sake. Anyway, My family has owned this 05 Jeep Tj Sport since 2009. It has around 150k. It had almost nothing other than standard maintenance until about 2 years ago when I started saving for my build. It came from Florida and belonged to my mother and step father. When my mother who was 4-11 figured out she couldn't see over the steering wheel, or push in the clutch at stop lights, and had hit a ice/snow bank and dented the driver rocker panel. She decided that that If I bought her a volvo xc wagon AWD, that I could have the jeep. I used it for work and as a daily for a few years and now am turning it into my, emphasis on "my" perfect daily/overland rig.
I named my project MTMT-E, because I wanted my jeep to look as stock as possible but at a moments notice be able to transform into something much more capable than it appears. Hence the name, more than meets the eye. I'm also a star wars fan and MTMT_E sounded like a droids name and my jeep has always made enough noises It would rival any droid in star wars. Anyway as the TJ sport had aged it finally got to a point where it became clear it was going to need major love if it was going to serve me into the next decades of my life. I also have an idea for a custom camper that I am going to build to make a old Yj top into pop up style hard sided tent. Don't hate yet, I have a model and it actually works. I will essinatilly be engineering a frame into a factory Yj hardtop to get the support needed for the walls. It will end up looking like a cab over camper on a pickup. I estimate a few hundred pounds lighter than a traditonal rooftop tent/frame combo. More on that concept and build a little later.
To start I had to completely go through my Jeep. This meant dealing with all the frame rust, tub surface rust, pretty much any rust I saw I have fixed. I should also mention for the last year I haven't had my own car and have had to borrow my roomates. Luckily I work from home and don't go out much anyway. But as anyone could imagine that has been hard. I also had some relitively major engine work to get done, like a timing chain and rear main seal. So I decided to design for a very comfortable daily, that also did fairly exceptional on trails. Although I am not the guy who likes to hit the hardest stuff. I'd rather help you out or up after I've gone around. Sorry, my Jeep just means too much to me. I had already moved up to 35's with a metalcloak overline fender system, some affordable raceline alum wheels, and a budget 2.5 inch lift. Thats the work I did about 3 years ago. Simple paint and bolt on. Well my Jeep kept going downhill and the waterpump started failing. After a very pretty young lady told me in the parking lot to the grocery store that my jeep sounded like it was laughing, and I told her it was, and it was laughing at me! I decided I had to block out the time and do my build. That was about a year ago Spring 2020.
Now comes the hard part for me, trying to remember everything I've done to this thing. For this part I am going to go back and pull pics and write a blurb to go with the pics to helpfully jog my memory about all I did. I will come back at my earliest leisure and make a complete list of what I bought for my build. That list will probably grow over time. So there's the first post. Second coming hopefully soon. You can also check out my podcast for some things jeep related anywhere you find podcasts by searching for "LIVE, from Montucky"
EAG front bumper
18" 4.25 backspaced I believe, Raceline Wheels
JW Speaker LED Front Projector Headlights
Hardtop with Carpet Lining
Metalcloak Overline Fenders, 4" flares
Metalcloak Integrated Rub rails
Poison Spyder Grab handles
Coursair MXT 35 inch tires
Fox 2.0 shocks
Budget springs 2.5" lift
Fox 2.0 steering stabilizer
Synergy Heavy Duty tie bar and drag link
Pics on this post are after I removed the factory soft top and repaired a hard top I bought from a guy near Spokane. 500 bucks, top was in a light rollover, I repaired the fiberglass, Raptor lined the top (following all recommended procedures), and had the new window and seal that came with the top installed. This top came with a full interior carpet lining, and I absolutely LOVE it. Its quiet, Cool (temperature wise) and aesthetically, and it makes the Jeep interior really feel more like a finished car. 10 stars out of 5 for that. These pics also show the budget lift and move to 35" Coursair MXT's not bad tires. They do hold and throw rocks pretty bad. I have a set of RZR's on my toyota beater and those I love. I did a poor job getting the fenders and rails painted the first shot and rust found its way in quickly. I did not have the time on that go round to get a good job done, where I needed the vehicle to access a jobsite. I also had "experimented" a bit with the Raptor liners mix. Experimentation that on the first go round didn't go as intended but that I perfected in round 2. Also note the terrible surface rust on the hinges. Yes they were all that bad, No absolutely none of it is concerning all on the surface, but the frame, gas skid, cross members. All of it needed sanded and POR-15'd. I also had installed a set of JW speaker LED headlights by this point. Which are incredible and worth every penny. As you can also see I'm rocking a pretty sweet EAG bumper here. I also had beefed up my front steering with a drag link and tie rod from synergy and a fox 2.0 stabilizer to match the shocks. new shocks for the hardtop were installed also. That was pretty much where I started. Next post we'll get into tear down and paint prep.
I named my project MTMT-E, because I wanted my jeep to look as stock as possible but at a moments notice be able to transform into something much more capable than it appears. Hence the name, more than meets the eye. I'm also a star wars fan and MTMT_E sounded like a droids name and my jeep has always made enough noises It would rival any droid in star wars. Anyway as the TJ sport had aged it finally got to a point where it became clear it was going to need major love if it was going to serve me into the next decades of my life. I also have an idea for a custom camper that I am going to build to make a old Yj top into pop up style hard sided tent. Don't hate yet, I have a model and it actually works. I will essinatilly be engineering a frame into a factory Yj hardtop to get the support needed for the walls. It will end up looking like a cab over camper on a pickup. I estimate a few hundred pounds lighter than a traditonal rooftop tent/frame combo. More on that concept and build a little later.
To start I had to completely go through my Jeep. This meant dealing with all the frame rust, tub surface rust, pretty much any rust I saw I have fixed. I should also mention for the last year I haven't had my own car and have had to borrow my roomates. Luckily I work from home and don't go out much anyway. But as anyone could imagine that has been hard. I also had some relitively major engine work to get done, like a timing chain and rear main seal. So I decided to design for a very comfortable daily, that also did fairly exceptional on trails. Although I am not the guy who likes to hit the hardest stuff. I'd rather help you out or up after I've gone around. Sorry, my Jeep just means too much to me. I had already moved up to 35's with a metalcloak overline fender system, some affordable raceline alum wheels, and a budget 2.5 inch lift. Thats the work I did about 3 years ago. Simple paint and bolt on. Well my Jeep kept going downhill and the waterpump started failing. After a very pretty young lady told me in the parking lot to the grocery store that my jeep sounded like it was laughing, and I told her it was, and it was laughing at me! I decided I had to block out the time and do my build. That was about a year ago Spring 2020.
Now comes the hard part for me, trying to remember everything I've done to this thing. For this part I am going to go back and pull pics and write a blurb to go with the pics to helpfully jog my memory about all I did. I will come back at my earliest leisure and make a complete list of what I bought for my build. That list will probably grow over time. So there's the first post. Second coming hopefully soon. You can also check out my podcast for some things jeep related anywhere you find podcasts by searching for "LIVE, from Montucky"
EAG front bumper
18" 4.25 backspaced I believe, Raceline Wheels
JW Speaker LED Front Projector Headlights
Hardtop with Carpet Lining
Metalcloak Overline Fenders, 4" flares
Metalcloak Integrated Rub rails
Poison Spyder Grab handles
Coursair MXT 35 inch tires
Fox 2.0 shocks
Budget springs 2.5" lift
Fox 2.0 steering stabilizer
Synergy Heavy Duty tie bar and drag link
Pics on this post are after I removed the factory soft top and repaired a hard top I bought from a guy near Spokane. 500 bucks, top was in a light rollover, I repaired the fiberglass, Raptor lined the top (following all recommended procedures), and had the new window and seal that came with the top installed. This top came with a full interior carpet lining, and I absolutely LOVE it. Its quiet, Cool (temperature wise) and aesthetically, and it makes the Jeep interior really feel more like a finished car. 10 stars out of 5 for that. These pics also show the budget lift and move to 35" Coursair MXT's not bad tires. They do hold and throw rocks pretty bad. I have a set of RZR's on my toyota beater and those I love. I did a poor job getting the fenders and rails painted the first shot and rust found its way in quickly. I did not have the time on that go round to get a good job done, where I needed the vehicle to access a jobsite. I also had "experimented" a bit with the Raptor liners mix. Experimentation that on the first go round didn't go as intended but that I perfected in round 2. Also note the terrible surface rust on the hinges. Yes they were all that bad, No absolutely none of it is concerning all on the surface, but the frame, gas skid, cross members. All of it needed sanded and POR-15'd. I also had installed a set of JW speaker LED headlights by this point. Which are incredible and worth every penny. As you can also see I'm rocking a pretty sweet EAG bumper here. I also had beefed up my front steering with a drag link and tie rod from synergy and a fox 2.0 stabilizer to match the shocks. new shocks for the hardtop were installed also. That was pretty much where I started. Next post we'll get into tear down and paint prep.
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