Wildman's TJ is getting a face lift

So my new tail lights came in today. If everyone remembers I am going to be taking my steel armor off my TJ and will be putting it on my daughters TJ. So I wanted to change my lights. I like the look. I'm going to be putting aluminum armor on mine.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mike Alfano
Not Jeep parts or work but I got some parts in for my shop compressor and figured since I could sit for most of it I would work on it. I develop a sore on my stump and was not suppose to wear my prosthetic until it healed. Well wearing my leg wasn't such a grand idea. I didn't make it worse I don't think but it's hurting now.

So I had just been running my compressor straight to my hose reel and with the temperature changes I was getting a lot of moisture in my air line. So I have been wanting to add filters to trap the moisture but just hadn't got it done. So here last week I ordered a TP Tools 1/2" Moisture Metal Air Line Piping Kit and a better filter kit 1/2"COMPRESSED AIR INLINE FILTER/DESICCANT DRYER 3 STAGE so I think I have it covered now. I also got the TP Tools Compressed Air Metal Piping Wall Mounting Bracket Kit to make it easier to mount on my walls.

So the compressor makes 150 psi and I set the regulator to 120 PSI. I'm going to put a T there at some point and run a line over by my 3 prong 50 Amp plug for my welder and plasma cutter. Then put a 25' hose reel with filters before it to make double sure my air is clean for the plasma cutter. So the shop is now a little more updated and ready for me to start working on the Jeep. Now my DANG NAB leg just needs to heal.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mikester86
This site contains affiliate links for which Jeep Wrangler TJ Forum may be compensated.
So to stay off my leg I didn't do much today but I had been trying to revive my last Optima battery with their fancy Optima battery charger that is suppose to be the shizzle for AGM batteries. I've gone out every few days and reset the charger to make it go thru the whole testing/charging process. So I went out and tried it again today and the Optima yellow top is DEAD worthless and junk. Looks like I need to order a new battery and sure the heck ain't going to be an Optima.
My choices are either and Odyssey
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00249CSS2/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Or if I take a chance this XS Power
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0089XO498/?tag=wranglerorg-20
 
Well I thought I was going to be getting more done to my TJ this week or at least some rearranging done in my garage. On Tuesday I had to go over to the VA for an appointment and also had stopped by the dental clinic because I had an infection in a tooth. Well it ended up being two teeth and I had to get them both pulled Tuesday. Then I came home to my infection kicking my butt for the rest of the week. I am almost feeling normal again and should be back out in the garage again tomorrow.
 
Something I don't think I have talked about is the wiring for the engine swap that was done on my TJ. The shop that did the swap is no longer in business but that part doesn't matter. When I started asking about this swap and what it would look like he had sent me pictures of a finished swap on a TJ. Looked really great.

magnum318_zpsaulfq9cy.jpg


rightside_zpseminwbt0.jpg


Now my TJ didn't have a factory air box so I wasn't worried about that. But when I got it home the wiring really didn't look anything like what I had been shown pictures of. On top of which as I got into putting my TJ together some of the wires weren't hooked up or in the proper spot in the PCM plugs.
Here were the in progress pictures he sent me.

Accwiring2.jpg


Accwiring.jpg


Finalassy2.jpg


This is what I came home with. And mind you it was 6 weeks past the promised delivery date also. When I got to the shop to pick it up he and his helper were still working on it because it wouldn't stay running. They had swapped out the crank position sensor and then threw in a different PCM. Now I've been in town since the day before and he wanted cash payment for the final delivery. I didn't have a CC with that much credit so I didn't have a choice. I honestly don't remember if I even looked at all the wiring the day I picked it up since I was just happy to finally be getting it back. So yes it was part my fault but I wanted to get started on my build back then. Plus I was dazzled by the V-8 and STaK's transfer case.

IMG00550.jpg


IMG00693.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mike Alfano
And then a little bling for the valve covers. Becasue of the 6pack intake I can't use the Jeep logo air cleaner.

View attachment 80396
If you can't use that air hat I could make a good home for it! Doing the Magnum swap now and the owner of the doner didn't include anything intake related besides the air hat. Send me a PM if it needs a home.
 
Something I don't think I have talked about is the wiring for the engine swap that was done on my TJ. The shop that did the swap is no longer in business but that part doesn't matter. When I started asking about this swap and what it would look like he had sent me pictures of a finished swap on a TJ. Looked really great.

View attachment 88135

View attachment 88136

Now my TJ didn't have a factory air box so I wasn't worried about that. But when I got it home the wiring really didn't look anything like what I had been shown pictures of. On top of which as I got into putting my TJ together some of the wires weren't hooked up or in the proper spot in the PCM plugs.
Here were the in progress pictures he sent me.

View attachment 88137

View attachment 88138

View attachment 88139

This is what I came home with. And mind you it was 6 weeks past the promised delivery date also. When I got to the shop to pick it up he and his helper were still working on it because it wouldn't stay running. They had swapped out the crank position sensor and then threw in a different PCM. Now I've been in town since the day before and he wanted cash payment for the final delivery. I didn't have a CC with that much credit so I didn't have a choice. I honestly don't remember if I even looked at all the wiring the day I picked it up since I was just happy to finally be getting it back. So yes it was part my fault but I wanted to get started on my build back then. Plus I was dazzled by the V-8 and STaK's transfer case.

View attachment 88140

View attachment 88141
Nice swap...looks factory...What's it like driving a TJ with that under the hood??
 
Nice swap...looks factory...What's it like driving a TJ with that under the hood??


Mike sorry for the late reply I hadn't seen you had posted. To be honest I never got my TJ to run right to say what it was like to have a V-8 under the hood. While it did good off-road and on back roads the ONE MAJOR issue I had was that on the freeway the Jeep couldn't hold 70 MPH even with the throttled pinned to the floor. Then I started having other engine issues which is why it was parked back 2012.
Once I get done building my new engine and get all the suspension work done I HOPE I will finally have a rig that can be driven everyday but still be awesome on the trail.

As a side note: I have been distracted for the past month since I got my motorcycle endorsement back. Instead of working on the Jeep I have been concentrating on my Harley. All my time and funds have been going into my bike.
I've even got a trip to Deadwood, SD planned now for Aug so the Jeep is not getting my full attention.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mike Alfano
As I posted before the wiring harness that was built for my engine swap was done by ANOTHER person along with the engine swap. Now I HATE farming stuff out to someone else but I was recovering from a gun shot wound to my right leg and just didn't feel like I was going to be able to handle the job at the time. The shop that did the work is no longer in business to the best of my knowledge. He was about 10 hours away from my home so I never took the Jeep back to him to try and have him correct any of the issues I had. I learned a lot from this experiance and would never do it AGAIN.
So now to move on: I want to build a new wiring harness for my TJ for a few reason.
1) I want to clean it up and try to make it look more factory in appearance.
2) I have had to add pins to the PCM plugs becasue some of the needed wired were not installed as they should have been when the harness was made.
3) If I build my own harness I'll understand more about what is going on so that if I am having a problem it will make it easier for me to try and troubleshoot the issue.

So now for some INTERESTING information for those who try and do a V-8 magnum swap into their TJ. The early model TJ's 01/96-05/96 have a different wiring harness than 06/96 forward. So if you are going to try and build your own wiring harness and have a 1997 TJ you need to look and see what your build date is to determine which one you are dealing with. @RangerRick is who first brought this to my attention and who is helping my out as I try to build a new harness. Because I didn't know about this information before I had bought a 2001 TJ wiring harness to use to build my new harness with. Once I knew about this I bought a early 97 TJ wiring harness off Ebay. As I said this applies to 01/96-05/96 build date TJ's.

For those who might not remember Jeep stopped production of the YJ Wrangler in 1995. They didn't make a Wrangler model for the 1996 model year. The TJ Wrangler was released mid year 1996 as a 1997 model.

20200207_163203.jpg



So the Brown Santa came to my house today. I had decided I wanted to replace my fenders & corners so that I could stretch my wheel base. Along with this I wanted to have fenders with flares that would cover my tires to try and help keep me street legal in WA state. Our laws require that the tires be covered by the fender flare and that you have mud flaps to fall to the center of your rear axle. Based on the Poison Spyder fenders and Crusher corners I currently have on my TJ with 3" flares I calculated that I needed a 6-8" flare to cover my tires. But I also wanted to have a way to remove the flares when running tight trails. Well there isn't a lot of options on the market for this other than Metal Cloak. So I had ordered their Overline fenders for the front and Extended Streched Corner Guard for the rear & their 8" fender flares.

20200210_132246.jpg
20200210_132257.jpg
20200210_132304.jpg
20200210_132321.jpg


Yes I wish they offered their fenders in a highline version but they don't so I may try to modify them into some custom highline fenders myself. It may or may not work but it will worth a try. If it isn't feasible I'll just run them as they are stock. I didn't buy them for any added clearance over any other fender as I am already running 38" tires with my current fenders. I went with this manufacture BECAUSE I can remove the flares.
 
Great bit of into about the wiring harnesses!

Why didn't you go with GenRight highlines as oppose to the Metalcloak. That's what I would have done in your situation, since the highline would be a must in my mind.
 
Great bit of into about the wiring harnesses!

Why didn't you go with GenRight highlines as oppose to the Metalcloak. That's what I would have done in your situation, since the highline would be a must in my mind.

I wanted the removeable flares for tight trails and Metal Cloak is the only ones who offer that without having something CUSTOM made. $$$$

I am going to try to document what I do with this wiring harness to try and help other people who want to make their own. There are a TON of threads on the net about doing the magnum swap into a TJ but NO ONE has ever done a write-up on which pins to change. The closest I have found is a youtube video's about how one guy did it but he was cutting and splicing in the connectors needed for the V-8 instead of pulling the plugs apart and installing the wires.
 
I wanted the removeable flares for tight trails and Metal Cloak is the only ones who offer that without having something CUSTOM made. $$$$

I am going to try to document what I do with this wiring harness to try and help other people who want to make their own. There are a TON of threads on the net about doing the magnum swap into a TJ but NO ONE has ever done a write-up on which pins to change. The closest I have found is a youtube video's about how one guy did it but he was cutting and splicing in the connectors needed for the V-8 instead of pulling the plugs apart and installing the wires.

Ahh, I didn't even think about that, but it makes sense.

If you do document that wiring harness information, be sure to put it in a new thread (so it doesn't get lost in this build thread) and then I can move it to the TJ Resources section so it's easily found.

I have a feeling this information probably exists out there, but it's buried deep in some long thread that no one wants to bother to take the time to read through. Anyways, this would be a great resource to have for current and future TJ owners who are considering this swap (y)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wildman
Ahh, I didn't even think about that, but it makes sense.

If you do document that wiring harness information, be sure to put it in a new thread (so it doesn't get lost in this build thread) and then I can move it to the TJ Resources section so it's easily found.

I have a feeling this information probably exists out there, but it's buried deep in some long thread that no one wants to bother to take the time to read through. Anyways, this would be a great resource to have for current and future TJ owners who are considering this swap (y)

I thought LONG & HARD about this because I know all the reasons NOT to use Metal Cloak but I wanted the removable flares so I will try them out. Worst case someone will end up with some MC stuff for 10-20% off.

Yes when I start the wiring I will make sure to make a new thread if I can pull of documenting all of it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chris
I thought LONG & HARD about this because I know all the reasons NOT to use Metal Cloak but I wanted the removable flares so I will try them out. Worst case someone will end up with some MC stuff for 10-20% off.

I hear you. I suppose in the forest like we have up here in the PNW, removable flares are probably more desirable than they would be down in the desert. Maybe I'm wrong, but we do have a lot of trees and tight trails.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wildman
I hear you. I suppose in the forest like we have up here in the PNW, removable flares are probably more desirable than they would be down in the desert. Maybe I'm wrong, but we do have a lot of trees and tight trails.

Actually it was a conversation on here about some of the flares on fenders bending that made me really start to think about it. And it was pointed out that in places like JV that you have to run no flares or you will crunch the flares into the fenders.

Even with my 3" flares I have gotten stuck between a few trees where I had to back up and take a different angle thru them. Had the Jeep climb up some trees until they angled out enough to let it pass thru.
And again I am the non-norm here I kept my axles NARROW. Even with my bigger tires and 4" back spacing I am 74" outside tire to outside tire. So I am narrower than many. It's caused a few fitment issues but I have worked around them to this point. My build isn't for everyone but I like it. Once I get a new suspension under it I think it will be fine.

With the stretch corners MC says I can move the rear axle back 4" but I'm going to push it back as much as I can. And I plan to push the front forward 2-3" so it should get me to that 100" WB I hope.
 
With the stretch corners MC says I can move the rear axle back 4" but I'm going to push it back as much as I can. And I plan to push the front forward 2-3" so it should get me to that 100" WB I hope.

What are you doing about the fuel tank? I assume you must have a GenRight tank for the stretch?

Would be cool if you could get that magic 103" wheelbase ;)
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Wildman
What are you doing about the fuel tank? I assume you must have a GenRight tank for the stretch?

Would be cool if you could get that magic 103" wheelbase ;)

Actually I have a 25 gallon GenRight tank in there right now and am going to install it into my daughters TJ when I swap out to either a stretch tank or a cell. I haven't decided yet which I am going to do.

Dang Nab it 100"WB is that MAGIC number...…. I don't want to go comp cut on the rear so it would be either push the front WAY out there of stretch the frame/body.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chris
Actually I have a 25 gallon GenRight tank in there right now and am going to install it into my daughters TJ when I swap out to either a stretch tank or a cell. I haven't decided yet which I am going to do.

Dang Nab it 100"WB is that MAGIC number...…. I don't want to go comp cut on the rear so it would be either push the front WAY out there of stretch the frame/body.

Yep, then you'll end up like @pcoplin with his TJ, which at first I mistook for a LJ being as how long it was. He's stretched his far enough that I'm not even sure where he's at now.

Of course I'm not even sure how much "Jeep" his is anymore either :LOL:

Either way, your daughter will like that 25 gallon tank I'm sure!
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Wildman
Yep, then you'll end up like @pcoplin with his TJ, which at first I mistook for a LJ being as how long it was. He's stretched his far enough that I'm not even sure where he's at now.

Of course I'm not even sure how much "Jeep" his is anymore either :LOL:

Either way, your daughter will like that 25 gallon tank I'm sure!

The daughter is going to enjoy the fuel tank, Crusher corners & front tube fenders. All my take offs are getting handed down to her TJ. Now I just need to win the Lotto so I can afford all the other stuff I need to buy...….

Believe me I have thought about extending the body & frame. I have a old tub I can use if I decided to do that. I don't know how long of a WB I would go for if I decided to do that.
First priority right now is to get the engine into the machine shop and get all the work done to the block and heads. Then get it back in the garage and get it together. Once the engine is back in the frame I'll build my new wiring harness and get to fire off that V-8 again. I then have to figure out what I am going to do with the suspension. Still really looking at the Savvy mid arm. Stopped and talked to Dave at Jeep West a few weeks ago and thought about sending the Jeep to him but I have a hard time wanting to allow someone else do the work.

I wish I had a tube bender so I could bend some tube for stuff but I will deal with not having one.
 
Last edited:
  • Haha
Reactions: Chris
I do sort of have an excuse for not working on my TJ last year like I had planned.

Becasue of my amputation here in WA I had to retake the ride test on my motorcycle to get my endorsement back.
Now it had been 14 years since I had last taken a motorcycle safety class so I figured since it had been over 4 years since I had been on a motorcycle I would just take the basic motorcycle safety class so I could use one of their smaller bikes to take the ride test with.
Now the first problem was finding a company that would allow me to take the class because I was a amputee and then also allow me to use one of their bikes to take the ride test since I had to have a state tester administer the test.
My daughter has been riding on the back of a motorcycle since she was 5 years old. So when I was looking for a school she asked me if she could take the test with me and get her endorsement also. So I figured why not since it would be some good father/daughter time.
So in May 2019 we both went and took the class. Now when I had my amputation done they told me it would be 2 years before I could ride my motorcycle again. Well I passed the class and 2 days shy of 1 year since my amputation I got my endorsement back.

I was ecstatic about this and started working on my Harley to get it ready for riding. Plus I started shopping around looking for a good beginners bike for my daughter. While looking for a bike for her I came across my DREAM bike. I kept telling myself I didn't need that bike and wasn't going to go look at it but then I was in the area where the dealership was so I gave in and went to look at it. My daughter turned 17 on 16 May 19 so for her birthday I surprised her with her own bike.

20190521_172326.jpg
20190521_172736.jpg


Then 2 weeks after that I went and bought my dream bike. Harley makes what they call their Custom Vehicle Operations bikes. These bikes come with all the bells and whistles on them. Custom paint, larger engine, heated grips, heated seat, steel braided brake and clutch lines plus a ton of other features and options.
Right now a new CVO costs about $42K and I just wasn't going to spend that kind of cash. But I had found a 4 year old CVO Road Glide Ultra with only 6,400 miles on it for $24K. My current bike was paid for and was worth about $11K so I went and worked a deal on the CVO. Got them to take $1500 off the price plus give me 15% off any parts or labor I got in the deal on the bike. Stock that bike came with a 110ci V-Twin engine but HD has a big bore kit that would bump it up to a 117ci engine.

Then in Aug I went on my first long motorcycle trip in about 10 years. I rode out to South Dakota for a Road Glide rally that was the week after Sturgis. So instead of working on the TJ last year I got distracted and spent all my time on my bike. My bike now had 12K miles on it so I put almost 6K miles on it in 4 months.

20190615_142903.jpg

20190819_153944.jpg

20190907_123604.jpg
20190907_123618.jpg


So there is my excuse to why I didn't work on the Jeep last year. Too many toys and not enough time....