New Jeep Guy

[Wolf66]

Hey Everyone,
After 35+ years of wanting to be a Jeep guy I have finally arrived. Been a Ram pick-up guy for all of those years mainly through necessity of needing a truck. Finally reached the financial ability to have both.. LOL, a 13 yr old truck(2500 Heavy Duty) and a now new to me 20 yr old Jeep. I began my Jeep search with a 15K budget and a desire for a Wrangler with the 4.0L engine and a STD tranny. After 4 weeks of looking at many offerings within a 75 mile radius of me (South Jersey) I finally found and bought this one yesterday. I know a guy (don't we all) who gave me some good pointers for my search, telling me what to absolutely avoid, mainly rusted out framework and where it is usually a problem. His advice was solid as I turned down all but 1 of ones I looked at due to rust, The other turndown had already been modified into a rock crawler with 6" of lift and 35" rubber. No rust but I had trouble getting my 5'8" into it. (No side steps to give over 50 yr olds a leg up. Isn't that a handicap infraction?) and it was not really the everyday on road, hunting season off road Jeep I was looking for.
My New TJ is an '03 with 159K miles. 4.0L 5spd, 3" lift, 32" KO's with plenty of tread on them. Came with hard top (needs wiring) and new Smittybuilt soft top still in the box. New clutch with <3K on it. Very clean in the engine compartment and most importantly almost no rust underneath. The pan that supports the tranny was dropped for the new clutch and there was no rust anywhere to hinder that operation. My main issues (that I'm aware of after 1 day) are going to be wiring and in cab cosmetics. Not gonna post exactly what I pd but it was under 10K so I have some cash left to make fixes and upgrades.

The first thing I need to deal with is the absence of the driver's side airbag and no horn. Can I get the horn to work without having to replace the whole airbag/module? I have to wait til Tues before I can register it and get tags and it won't pass inspection without a horn.
Thank you everyone, Looking forward to being a member here...and learning the Jeep salute!

 

[TheBoogieman]

Welcome and nice find.

 

[2001slvrstntj]

Yeah, welcome and rust free in that area is a major find. Well done, enjoy you will love it. A ton of knowledge here soak it up.

 

[rebelles]

I have seen posts where people will wire up a push button horn on the dash and use the wires that run into the steering wheel/airbag area. I picked up an extra TJ two weeks ago to tinker with and the horn was out in it (the actual push mechanism in the air bag assemble was stuck together). I searched around and found a used air bag/horn assembly that was about the same color I had for $35 at one of the online Jeep specific wrecking yards. I was a little skeptical at first but it came in cleaner than what mine looked like and was a quick install and worked fine. Maybe worth searching around for something like that before creating a secondary button.

Edit - I just checked where I ordered mine. Looks like the 2003+ model is more expensive than the 2002 and previous was. But still may be a consideration:

https://deadjeep.com/collections/ai...-air-bag-steering-wheel-horn-cover-5jg52dx9ad

 

[JMT]

Hey Everyone,
After 35+ years of wanting to be a Jeep guy I have finally arrived. Been a Ram pick-up guy for all of those years mainly through necessity of needing a truck. Finally reached the financial ability to have both.. LOL, a 13 yr old truck(2500 Heavy Duty) and a now new to me 20 yr old Jeep. I began my Jeep search with a 15K budget and a desire for a Wrangler with the 4.0L engine and a STD tranny. After 4 weeks of looking at many offerings within a 75 mile radius of me (South Jersey) I finally found and bought this one yesterday. I know a guy (don't we all) who gave me some good pointers for my search, telling me what to absolutely avoid, mainly rusted out framework and where it is usually a problem. His advice was solid as I turned down all but 1 of ones I looked at due to rust, The other turndown had already been modified into a rock crawler with 6" of lift and 35" rubber. No rust but I had trouble getting my 5'8" into it. (No side steps to give over 50 yr olds a leg up. Isn't that a handicap infraction?) and it was not really the everyday on road, hunting season off road Jeep I was looking for.
My New TJ is an '03 with 159K miles. 4.0L 5spd, 3" lift, 32" KO's with plenty of tread on them. Came with hard top (needs wiring) and new Smittybuilt soft top still in the box. New clutch with <3K on it. Very clean in the engine compartment and most importantly almost no rust underneath. The pan that supports the tranny was dropped for the new clutch and there was no rust anywhere to hinder that operation. My main issues (that I'm aware of after 1 day) are going to be wiring and in cab cosmetics. Not gonna post exactly what I pd but it was under 10K so I have some cash left to make fixes and upgrades.

The first thing I need to deal with is the absence of the driver's side airbag and no horn. Can I get the horn to work without having to replace the whole airbag/module? I have to wait til Tues before I can register it and get tags and it won't pass inspection without a horn.
Thank you everyone, Looking forward to being a member here...and learning the Jeep salute!

View attachment 310900

Congratulations! What are your plans for it? We’re here to help you spend the extra $5k you saved!

 

[Dunkut88TJ]

Welcome to the cult…I mean club!! I’m a big fan of a silver TJ!

 

[Rcroane]

When you're ready to wire your hardtop, follow this thread. @Scoutmapper did a fantastic job coming up with this approach. I just completed it about a month ago and everything works as it should.

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/2003-2006-hardtop-wiring.28790/

 

[1stStateMatt]

Welcome from your neighbor in Delaware!

 

[Wolf66]

Thanks everyone for the welcome and the advice. I will get to it! I have a good junkyard connection I plan to be using a lot. Gotta talk to him about the airbag. Don't want to buy a new one!
Plan to put a new bumper winch combo on it and use it to deer hunt n scout new areas. When I'm not in the woods I will use it whenever I don't need my truck. Going to love having a stick shift again. Other than the bumper I plan to slowly make it very nice on the inside and solid as a rock on the outside. Lift n tires are right where I want them. Might go up and inch in tire when I have to replace them.

 

[rebelles]

With those wider flares, you can fill out the space a little more if you choose to with the next size taller and wider (33x12.50’s). Also just a thought, you could repaint the hard top to black if you chose to. I just did it on the TJ I recently picked up. I’ve had probably 6 or 7 hard tops over the years and this was the first one I painted and it worked pretty good and was easy (several threads on it). Pics are from last weekend. Removed top, pressure washed and lightly sanded/scuffed with scotch brite pads, taped off windows and sprayed with SEM trim paint (just a little more than 2 cans but my top was already black). Those are 33x12.50x15 BFGs for reference

 

[Wajeep]

Nice looking Jeep. Have fun with it! When I got mine, it had sat in a garage for 3 years. First thing I did was replace all fluids. It gave me a baseline and allowed me to really see the condition of the jeep.

 

[HooDoo]

Hey Everyone,
After 35+ years of wanting to be a Jeep guy I have finally arrived. Been a Ram pick-up guy for all of those years mainly through necessity of needing a truck. Finally reached the financial ability to have both.. LOL, a 13 yr old truck(2500 Heavy Duty) and a now new to me 20 yr old Jeep. I began my Jeep search with a 15K budget and a desire for a Wrangler with the 4.0L engine and a STD tranny. After 4 weeks of looking at many offerings within a 75 mile radius of me (South Jersey) I finally found and bought this one yesterday. I know a guy (don't we all) who gave me some good pointers for my search, telling me what to absolutely avoid, mainly rusted out framework and where it is usually a problem. His advice was solid as I turned down all but 1 of ones I looked at due to rust, The other turndown had already been modified into a rock crawler with 6" of lift and 35" rubber. No rust but I had trouble getting my 5'8" into it. (No side steps to give over 50 yr olds a leg up. Isn't that a handicap infraction?) and it was not really the everyday on road, hunting season off road Jeep I was looking for.
My New TJ is an '03 with 159K miles. 4.0L 5spd, 3" lift, 32" KO's with plenty of tread on them. Came with hard top (needs wiring) and new Smittybuilt soft top still in the box. New clutch with <3K on it. Very clean in the engine compartment and most importantly almost no rust underneath. The pan that supports the tranny was dropped for the new clutch and there was no rust anywhere to hinder that operation. My main issues (that I'm aware of after 1 day) are going to be wiring and in cab cosmetics. Not gonna post exactly what I pd but it was under 10K so I have some cash left to make fixes and upgrades.

The first thing I need to deal with is the absence of the driver's side airbag and no horn. Can I get the horn to work without having to replace the whole airbag/module? I have to wait til Tues before I can register it and get tags and it won't pass inspection without a horn.
Thank you everyone, Looking forward to being a member here...and learning the Jeep salute!

View attachment 310900

I bought a custom chopper with no horn or turn signals from out of state. When I went for a tag I was told it had to have a horn and turn signals and a state inspection. I installed turn signals. Looking at the regulations no mention of "electric" horn was made, just horn. I put a squeeze bulb clown horn on the handle bar. When the inspector said let me hear the horn, I squeezed the bulb a couple of times, he looked at me slightly pissed, shook his head and I passed the inspection.
Have fun with your Jeep.

 

[AaronPaul]

Hey Everyone,
After 35+ years of wanting to be a Jeep guy I have finally arrived. Been a Ram pick-up guy for all of those years mainly through necessity of needing a truck. Finally reached the financial ability to have both.. LOL, a 13 yr old truck(2500 Heavy Duty) and a now new to me 20 yr old Jeep. I began my Jeep search with a 15K budget and a desire for a Wrangler with the 4.0L engine and a STD tranny. After 4 weeks of looking at many offerings within a 75 mile radius of me (South Jersey) I finally found and bought this one yesterday. I know a guy (don't we all) who gave me some good pointers for my search, telling me what to absolutely avoid, mainly rusted out framework and where it is usually a problem. His advice was solid as I turned down all but 1 of ones I looked at due to rust, The other turndown had already been modified into a rock crawler with 6" of lift and 35" rubber. No rust but I had trouble getting my 5'8" into it. (No side steps to give over 50 yr olds a leg up. Isn't that a handicap infraction?) and it was not really the everyday on road, hunting season off road Jeep I was looking for.
My New TJ is an '03 with 159K miles. 4.0L 5spd, 3" lift, 32" KO's with plenty of tread on them. Came with hard top (needs wiring) and new Smittybuilt soft top still in the box. New clutch with <3K on it. Very clean in the engine compartment and most importantly almost no rust underneath. The pan that supports the tranny was dropped for the new clutch and there was no rust anywhere to hinder that operation. My main issues (that I'm aware of after 1 day) are going to be wiring and in cab cosmetics. Not gonna post exactly what I pd but it was under 10K so I have some cash left to make fixes and upgrades.

The first thing I need to deal with is the absence of the driver's side airbag and no horn. Can I get the horn to work without having to replace the whole airbag/module? I have to wait til Tues before I can register it and get tags and it won't pass inspection without a horn.
Thank you everyone, Looking forward to being a member here...and learning the Jeep salute!

View attachment 310900

Awesome rig and welcome to the club! Enjoy it my man

 

[Wolf66]

With those wider flares, you can fill out the space a little more if you choose to with the next size taller and wider (33x12.50’s). Also just a thought, you could repaint the hard top to black if you chose to. I just did it on the TJ I recently picked up. I’ve had probably 6 or 7 hard tops over the years and this was the first one I painted and it worked pretty good and was easy (several threads on it). Pics are from last weekend. Removed top, pressure washed and lightly sanded/scuffed with scotch brite pads, taped off windows and sprayed with SEM trim paint (just a little more than 2 cans but my top was already black). Those are 33x12.50x15 BFGs for reference

View attachment 311097

View attachment 311098

View attachment 311099

Thanks for the tips. Appreciate it. Definitely going to paint the hardtop black as soon as it warms up here.
Your TJ looks sweet!

 

[Wolf66]

I bought a custom chopper with no horn or turn signals from out of state. When I went for a tag I was told it had to have a horn and turn signals and a state inspection. I installed turn signals. Looking at the regulations no mention of "electric" horn was made, just horn. I put a squeeze bulb clown horn on the handle bar. When the inspector said let me hear the horn, I squeezed the bulb a couple of times, he looked at me slightly pissed, shook his head and I passed the inspection.
Have fun with your Jeep.

Love it. Maybe I'll buy a foghorn in a can and blast it during the inspection!

 

[Westtown Willy]

After 4 weeks of looking at many offerings within a 75 mile radius of me (South Jersey) I finally found and bought this one yesterday.

I'm a member of the 'found in New Jersey' jeep club too, tracked mine down there back in 2016 (live in PA); they weren't easy to find without rust even back then but they're certainly there if you put the time in, so congrats on it.

Now it's time to give the old bank account a real workout

 

[HooDoo]

Please give him a break. He already has the stigma of living in "New Jersey". I lived in CT and never got to see how bad the "Old Jersey" was.

The old Jersey moved to Florida along time ago.