Hello all. I thought I would go ahead and start a build thread, as hopefully this ends up being a productive thread (for me not you-haha) on my little project I picked up. Like probably 90% of you on here, I am constantly scouring CL for deals, etc. I am a first time Jeep owner, but have been looking for quite some time. TJ’s have ALWAYS been my favorite model, hence why I am here on this forum. So about two weeks ago, I found a 97 Wrangler on CL with a salvage title where they were asking 5k. Short version - I go and look at it and after seeing a few things, I end up driving away (ok towing on my car trailer) with it for 4k. The Jeep is an auto (oh well) and has 144,000 miles. I ended up doing a compression check when I was looking at it and all 6 cylinders were well within 5% of factory specs - that made me happy. The Jeep was repainted (obviously since it was salvaged) and I actually like the new blue (pretty much Dodger blue). I didn’t like the fact it was 4 hours away and I wasn’t able to throw it on my lift. I noticed the nerf bars angled backwards, but saw they mounted the rear wrong, easy fix. I noticed the hood line of the the Jeep tilted left, the decals weren’t even remotely placed in the right place and a few other items.
The Jeep was salvaged early on in its life (1999) so of course the owner had no idea why or what happened. So I get the Jeep home, throw it on the lift and BAM - first issue I see - it has a body lift (grrrrrrr) on it, and the driver side body lift spacer doesn’t line up and isn’t bolted through.
Passenger side:
Drivers side:
The grommet for the steering column is missing and is way off-centered. I strip out the interior and on the drivers side, the wonder backyard mechanic body work shines through!
Actually all in all, compared to some things I have seen, it isn’t that bad, and at 4k - I really can’t complain. Even more amazing is there is not any rust to be found.
So after opening Pandora’s Box, this is where I am at. I have ordered parts and gotten the fluids for the running gear and will be going through that. Hopefully all looks good when I drop the tranny pan, swap out differential covers and replace the oil pan gasket (only doing that so I can sneak a peak). I have already torn out the interior (it was DISGUSTING), including the birds nest of wiring, done sound deadener and have a new Bed Rug interior enroute, Wet Okole seat covers, a Tuffy Storage Center console and new speakers/headunit/etc. I have a few neighbors who are amazing body guys, so I will get their input as to how to fix the undercarriage. If it is a huge dollar pit, I will make it right as well as making it mechanically sound, putting new tires and wheels on it and the Jeep will be a great toy for the kids to be able to take out to Pismo and have fun with friends, etc. If it is a somewhat straight forward fix, I will end up ditching the combo suspension/body lift (NO clue who its by) install a new 4” lift, regear it and make it my NEW official money pit.
So with that - wish me luck and I apologize ahead of time for all the questions I’ll be asking!
The Jeep was salvaged early on in its life (1999) so of course the owner had no idea why or what happened. So I get the Jeep home, throw it on the lift and BAM - first issue I see - it has a body lift (grrrrrrr) on it, and the driver side body lift spacer doesn’t line up and isn’t bolted through.
Passenger side:
Drivers side:
The grommet for the steering column is missing and is way off-centered. I strip out the interior and on the drivers side, the wonder backyard mechanic body work shines through!
Actually all in all, compared to some things I have seen, it isn’t that bad, and at 4k - I really can’t complain. Even more amazing is there is not any rust to be found.
So after opening Pandora’s Box, this is where I am at. I have ordered parts and gotten the fluids for the running gear and will be going through that. Hopefully all looks good when I drop the tranny pan, swap out differential covers and replace the oil pan gasket (only doing that so I can sneak a peak). I have already torn out the interior (it was DISGUSTING), including the birds nest of wiring, done sound deadener and have a new Bed Rug interior enroute, Wet Okole seat covers, a Tuffy Storage Center console and new speakers/headunit/etc. I have a few neighbors who are amazing body guys, so I will get their input as to how to fix the undercarriage. If it is a huge dollar pit, I will make it right as well as making it mechanically sound, putting new tires and wheels on it and the Jeep will be a great toy for the kids to be able to take out to Pismo and have fun with friends, etc. If it is a somewhat straight forward fix, I will end up ditching the combo suspension/body lift (NO clue who its by) install a new 4” lift, regear it and make it my NEW official money pit.
So with that - wish me luck and I apologize ahead of time for all the questions I’ll be asking!