New from Seattle

BumbleJeep

BumbleJeep

New Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2017
Messages
14
Location
Seattle, WA, United States
Hey all!

I've been reading this site for months, and I have to start off with a big "Thank You" for all of the incredible info about our TJs on this site. Love the knowledge and contributions everyone is so willing to share.

This is my first Jeep, but like my 30th vehicle since I learned how to drive a very long time ago. Most of my wrenching (there's been a lot!) has been on German/Italian/Japanese cars.

I bought a 2001 TJ Sport stick with 135k miles last September, and like many others have already learned about spending lots of money on mods - amazingly addictive... Pic:
WP_20161225_12_17_53_Pro.jpg


When I bought it, the seller had put JK wheels with 32's on it. It has 3.07 gears... that didn't work too well :) SOOOO.... I used it as an excuse to learn how to powder coat! Bought some OEM Canyon's cheap, powder coated them black (used a free oven from Craig's list!) and put 30" General Grabber AT2's on.

Other things I've done:
Bilstein 5100's and H&R springs (so far I love this setup - I think it will serve my intended use well)
New front brake rotors, calipers, EBC yellow pads, brake lines.
Cleaned and adjusted back brakes
Changed All fluids
New subwoofer, Polk 5.25 fronts, Polk 6.5 rears, JVC marine digital media receiver

Just ordered new sway bar bushings and end links for front and rear...

Really appreciate all the info that's helped me make my choices so far, thanks! Hope to start a build thread...

Cheers
 
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Reactions: Kyle_W and cj8
Welcome to yet another fellow Pacific Northwesterner (there sure are a lot of us on this forum). Glad you finally came out of the shadows!

Anyways, that's a great looking TJ you've got there, I always like the yellow. Good choice on getting rid of the JK wheels, I don't like the way they look on the TJ. I think those canyons look much, much better!
 
Welcome aboard! Looks great, nice and clean. Just need to get rid of those 3.07's. What trans does it have? Gotta agree with Chris, I just don't dig the 17/18" JK wheels on the TJ.
 
I love the yellow, and you don't see snow too often in Seattle! I'm getting ready for a journey towards the PNW soon and right in time for La Nina to really hit home.

The GG AT2's are a legit contender, i've ran them before on an AWD hatchback and they are great, but why did you drop back down to a 30" and not keep a 31"?
 
Thanks all!

Full disclosure on the snow: we have a cabin up against national forest land east of the Cascades in WA, and at that elevation we get a lot of snow! one of the major reasons for getting the jeep :) miles and miles of forest roads and trails!

the General Grabbers turned out to be great - super in the snow, relatively quiet, and cheap! I picked the 30's to complement the 3.07 gears more than anything - I'll end up doing the highway thing a lot to get back and forth to the cabin. And narrower helps in the snow. Probably change out gears and go larger once these are worn...
 
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Reactions: EJD and Chris
Sounds like a great setup for the snow! The narrower tires help in the snow, and also in the crazy PNW rain we get!
 
Nice job with the powdercoat. Sound like the 30" General tires will work well with your plans for the Jeep, especially with 3.07 axle gearing. Good choice.

As much as I would love to see 4" of lift and 33" tires on my Rubicon, 2" & 32s is more practical for how I use it. I wouldn't mind getting some 32" Duratracs though...:D
 
How did you fit those wheels in an oven? Seriously looking into a powder coating set up.
 
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Reactions: Chris
Chris said:
Welcome to yet another fellow Pacific Northwesterner (there sure are a lot of us on this forum). Glad you finally came out of the shadows!

Anyways, that's a great looking TJ you've got there, I always like the yellow. Good choice on getting rid of the JK wheels, I don't like the way they look on the TJ. I think those canyons look much, much better!
Click to expand...
x2. I saw a TJ for sale yesterday with the 18" JK Sahara wheels on it. Was not a pretty sight.
 
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@glwood - I hear you on the Duratrac's!! I aspire to those some day, but I have to say I've been very impressed with the GG AT2's. I know everyone's scratching their head on the choice of 30's, but it works for now - I actually can go over Snoqualmie Pass in 4th gear on I90!

I purchased the Eastwood dual voltage powder coating system, and kept my eye out for a cheap full size range/oven on craigslist. Turns out a guy in my town had just swapped his out in a kitchen remodel, and I got it for free. 15x8 wheels will easily fit in a full size kitchen oven. Might even be able to fit Rubicon 16"... anything larger would need a bigger commercial oven. Don't try using your wife/significant other's oven though, it puts out a bit of a toxic smell while baking! :)

Powder coating turned out to be incredibly easy to do. I did 5 wheels - the first was an experiment and it's now the spare. Came out good, but I had to do two coats and it is more satin than gloss. The next two I didn't sand enough, and they came out good but not great - they're on the passenger side. The last two came out great, so those are on the driver's side. Figured no one would notice :)

It is definitely all about the prep - you need to remove all traces of the previous finish, and "prebake" the wheels in the oven at curing temp before powder coating to burn off any remaining oils or contamination.

Here's a shot with the JK wheels on it - they're rubicon-like, so not really bad. just too big for the gears:

1.jpeg
 
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Reactions: Chris
Ahhh the JK wheels are too big and the tires are too small. I like it better when the wheels are smaller and the tires are bigger.
 
yeah, it has more of a "city jeep" look to it with the bigger wheels/smaller tires.

Funny story - I was talking with the guy who built our cabin when I bought the TJ. Said I bought a jeep... his face lit up and he asked "cool! is it a willy's? An old CJ?" I replied - "no, it's a 2001 TJ"

He looks at me dead serious and says "Oh. A Barbie Jeep." And it actually looked like one with the JK wheels :)
 
BumbleJeep said:
yeah, it has more of a "city jeep" look to it with the bigger wheels/smaller tires.

Funny story - I was talking with the guy who built our cabin when I bought the TJ. Said I bought a jeep... his face lit up and he asked "cool! is it a willy's? An old CJ?" I replied - "no, it's a 2001 TJ"

He looks at me dead serious and says "Oh. A Barbie Jeep." And it actually looked like one with the JK wheels :)
Click to expand...

Haha! A Barbie Jeep? That's hilarious!
 
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