New here and to TJ ownership

4xFord

4xFord

Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2020
Messages
29
Location
Houston, TX
Hello TJ forum group! Just purchased my TJ this past weekend after lurking here for awhile. I was shopping locally here in Houston, TX. and wanted a closer to stock Rubicon. Compared to the others I looked at, thats what I got.

Its a 2004 5 speed with 117k miles. looks like an old Procomp ~4” short arm lift., old BFG A/Ts at 33”, unknown bumpers. Can’t wait to get to work on making Improvements and taking my son off-roading.

Shelby

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Nice looking TJ, and well done on purchasing a Rubicon as well.

Got any immediate plans for it? I know I've seen you active in the long arm vs short arm thread.
 
Chris said:
Nice looking TJ, and well done on purchasing a Rubicon as well.

Got any immediate plans for it? I know I've seen you active in the long arm vs short arm thread.
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Yes sir, it feels like a bit of a Jalopi at the moment, so I will be getting into it soon I hope (but I'm not used to driving a SWB Jeep either).

End plan is 35's, tummy tuck, flat fenders, JJ short arms, on and on.

Immediate plans are to pull the Jack off the hood and remove like 90% of the stickers.

I'm going to start with the tummy tuck and go from there. A flat belly is my priority for the build and so that will come first and I think then fenders, tires, springs, shocks in that order. Control Arms can come at basically anytime.

Certainly open to input. Hope to start a build thread early in the new year and get that jack off the hood asap.
 
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4xFord said:
Yes sir, it feels like a bit of a Jalopi at the moment, so I will be getting into it soon I hope (but I'm not used to driving a SWB Jeep either).

End plan is 35's, tummy tuck, flat fenders, JJ short arms, on and on.

Immediate plans are to pull the Jack off the hood and remove like 90% of the stickers.

I'm going to start with the tummy tuck and go from there. A flat belly is my priority for the build and so that will come first and I think then fenders, tires, springs, shocks in that order. Control Arms can come at basically anytime.

Certainly open to input. Hope to start a build thread early in the new year and get that jack off the hood asap.
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A SWB TJ is definitely interesting to drive, especially at higher speeds. However, if you play in the rocks at all, you'll quickly see where the SWB comes in handy, that's for sure. You can have just as much fun with a LWB model, but they generally require bigger tires (and a lot more work) in order to minimize the break over angle.

Good job on pulling that stupid jack off the hood and the decals too. That stuff just screams "look at me".

I think the flat belly is one of the best mods you can have on these things. Hell, even if I was running 31s and a 2" lift, I'd still want a flat belly.
 
If you are going for a TT as the next mod, I think you'll need a double cardan rear drive shaft and adjustable control arms to adjust the pinion angle to the drive shaft. I guess it depends on how much tuck you are going for. The drive shafts won't know the difference when it comes to operating angles.
 
Chris said:
A SWB TJ is definitely interesting to drive, especially at higher speeds. However, if you play in the rocks at all, you'll quickly see where the SWB comes in handy, that's for sure. You can have just as much fun with a LWB model, but they generally require bigger tires (and a lot more work) in order to minimize the break over angle.

Good job on pulling that stupid jack off the hood and the decals too. That stuff just screams "look at me".

I think the flat belly is one of the best mods you can have on these things. Hell, even if I was running 31s and a 2" lift, I'd still want a flat belly.
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The goal is a reliable rock/trail jeep. I used to compete in RC Rock Crawling when I was younger and had less coin for hobbies. Then I got into side x sides for a brief period, then built a 4runner. 4runner was a daily and couldn't get wild with the build or my driving due to that.

Finally have a solid platform to build exactly what I want. Also I am much more inclined to do the work on this myself more than I was on the 4runner for some reason.

The short wheelbase and a somewhat conservative track width is what I am after. I am used to the proportions and their trade offs from the smaller scale and 33-35" tires on the SWB seems perfect to me for my use. LJ's and stretched wheelbase TJ's look like they need >35" tires. That would defeat the purpose of buying a rubicon if I am only to trust these Dana 44's up to 35" tires.

Totally agree on the belly. That will be the "center point" that other decisions revolve around. And I know about the stickers and the hood ornament....not my thing. I like simple and clean. While the seller was going to grab the title I started picking at the stupid hand sticker on the mirror and my girlfriend said I should wait until I completed the purchase...:p

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bobthetj03 said:
If you are going for a TT as the next mod, I think you'll need a double cardan rear drive shaft and adjustable control arms to adjust the pinion angle to the drive shaft. I guess it depends on how much tuck you are going for. The drive shafts won't know the difference when it comes to operating angles.
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I believe you are correct. Im going for flat, so like 3" higher on a Rubicon. I was hoping to be able to do this step by step but it looks like I'll have a large ($$) first step. Crap.

Malteser said:
That's a beautiful Jeep!
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TWiG01 said:
Welcome, and nice Rubi. Sounds like you have a pretty solid plan for it
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Thank you kind Sirs.
 
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