Our 1997 Wrangler SE Story (a thread to document my build)

[BigGeigs]

So, I got married in April 2023 and as a wedding present my father-in-law gifted us my wife's first car - a manual 1997 Wrangler SE. She bought it with her own $4,500 in 2009ish. Dad held on to it all these years and we are STOKED. The jeep needed TONS of love. It needed four new tires, new brakes, and new fluids to get it safe to drive, but then the obsession began. I'm 6'6", so BigBoy seat extender was next up. Game changer. Then on to the check engine light. My father-in-law swore it could never be fixed. His mechanic said it could never be fixed. Lots of research on this forum and 2 oxygen sensors, new purge valve solenoid, and new charcoal canister later and BOOM! No more CEL. Then the real fun began:

• 3 of 4 speakers were blown. Replaced sound bar speakers with Kenwood marine speakers and replaced the dash speakers with pods and Kenwood 5-1/4"
• The carpet was original and was disgusting. All new BedRug front and rear.
• Front, rear, and cargo WeatherTech floor mats.
• CoverCraft Vinyl seat covers.
• Tuffy Locking Center Console.
• Rugged Ridge Multi-Mount dash storage.
• New shift boot.
• Bottle jack was missing - eBay.
• Soft top frame welds were broken, soft top was destroyed. BestTop Sprint Top.
• The plan was to get rid of my wife's 2015 Patriot and she would daily the Wrangler. Added JeepAir AC kit (I got halfway through the install in my driveway and got so frustrated I drove it to my mechanic to finish it).
• Fender flares were super faded. Went cheap with Omix-Ada replacement.
• Replacement flares were way wider than stock, gave me wheel gap I couldn't deal with, added Rough Country 1.5" spacers all the way around.
• Hooke Road Grill inserts.
• Fuel filler door was cracked - Hooke Road replacement.
• Discovered with the tinted soft top on, I couldn't see anything in reverse - MetalCloak LED tails and license plate lowering bracket.
• Got rid of the milk jugs and added the angled plastic caps.

At this point I thought I was done for a while. Went to a holiday lunch with one of my best clients who happens to be a Jeep guy himself. Drove the TJ to lunch so he could check it out. First thing he does is point to the Warn winch on his JKU and says, "you need to get one of these if you ever plan to off-road." Okay... then he says "when you're ready to lift it, bring it down and we can do it together at my shop. I've got a full lift and every tool you'll ever need." Welp...

• Warn M8000S.
• Garvin G2 Bumper Guard (to keep the winch safe of course).
• Factory tow hooks.
• 2.5" OME light duty springs (with .75" spacers up front).
• Rancho RS5000x shocks.
• 20mm OME rear bump stop spacers.
• MetalCloak DuroSpring Bump Stops.
• JKS quick release front sway bar links.
• Moog rear sway bar links.
• MetalCloak adjustable rear track bar.
• Rear tow hitch (OfferUp find) so I can add a hitch carrier for ski season.

We did the suspension this past Saturday. It took us 6.5 hours total with some breaks along the way. It was an absolute blast. Drove it home about 30 miles on the highway and I was AMAZED how great it felt. Like an actually comfortable car to drive now. The whole suspension was basically stock with the exception of the front track bar that my father-in-law replaced at some point. I felt just the slightest vibration on the drive home, so I preemptively ordered the M.O.R.E. motor mount lift (which it sounds like I should've done anyway). She is set to get an alignment this Thursday and then once again, I think I am done for now. Once these 29s are at the end of their life, 31s will go on. No re-gearing for me. At least that's what I'm telling myself now.

Safe to say I have caught the bug. This is a long post but I wanted to share my build and say thanks to this community for sharing all your knowledge. It made doing all this work myself SO MUCH EASIER. Attached are some photos of the finished product. She's come a long way!

 

[P man]

Awesome story and not long winded at all

 

[SSTJ]

Wow, congrats and welcome to the forum. Welcome also to the club of 97 SE owners. If you haven't already, check out the quirks of 97s thread, and the SE / 2.5 thread, both in my signature. Let us know what you find that we should add.

 

[BigGeigs]

Wow, congrats and welcome to the forum. Welcome also to the club of 97 SE owners. If you haven't already, check out the quirks of 97s thread, and the SE / 2.5 thread, both in my signature. Let us know what you find that we should add.

Woah, what an incredible resource you've put together. I discovered when I installed the LED tails that my TJ has at least YJ wiring for tail lights! lol

 

[SSTJ]

Woah, what an incredible resource you've put together. I discovered when I installed the LED tails that my TJ has at least YJ wiring for tail lights! lol

Yep, I just came across that one again, and went to update the resource thread, but found it was already in there.