Well I've been working on this project for a a few months and have been meaning to make a build thread but haven't gotten to it until now. So I will apologize for the historical narrative up front.
I picked up a 98 TJ se last November for a deal I couldn't resist. WHen I bought the jeep is conisisted of a 2.5, ax5, 231 combo with stock d30/d35 and no top, doors, back seat and carpet. Upgrades already on the jeep were a 4 inch skycrapper lift, 4.0L throtle body and spacer, CAI, electric cooling fan, and sitting on a set of almost new 35" buckshot mudders on a set of AR 15x12 wheels (yes thats right, 15x12s).
First changes to the TJ consisted of selling the wheels and tires and sticking on the stock tires from my jk unlimited rubi with a set of spydertrax wheel adapters. Soon I scored a set of half doors with uppers, factory soft top frame, factory rear seat with brackets (had to for the kiddo), and straighten out the boogered up stereo set up. I dd'ed this for awhile as I managed to score other parts for deals. First deal consisted of a used genright TJ ext tank, which was nice going from 15 gal to 19.5 gal. Still dd'ed it for while as I picked up the following:
Set of CUCV tons, which I managed to find a guy that I swapped the front 60 for a 79 hp60 (yes thats right swapped).
5.13s, master install kits, chromo inners and outers along with 35 spline warn hubs for the front, kingpin rebuild kits, ballistic fab diff covers, 14 bolt truss and diff cover tie in, rear coil brackets, pinion guard, rear disc brakes thanks to gubni, hi steer arms, tnt hp60 truss with coil buckets, and all the stuff to complete the hi steer.
While I was putting all of the axle stuff together I stumbled upon a rolled 98 ZJ with a good 5.2 and trans. Bought the whole truck, kept the harness, motor, and trans and then parted out the rest.
So then I pulled the stock drive line, sold it and swapped in the 5.2, 44re, and then decided to go with a flipped d300. Ended up that the d300 had a small crack in the case (explains why I got it for almost nothing) so I decided to swap in a stak d300 RAC with twin sticks along with a jb conversions 4 to 1 kit.
I got the drivetrain swapped in with some help and parts from evan at backwoods offroad and a 98 ram 1500 pcm from a local junk yard. Got the harnesses blended and the driveline running like a champ. Took it easy as the d35 was still under the jeep and i knew that was a time bomb.
So this leads me to where I am today:
Current specs:
98 TJ
5.2/44re/stak d300 w/ twin sticks
stock axles
jk rubi take offs
genright ext tank
4" skycrapper lift with daystar rear adjustable uppers
daystar 1" body lift
teraflex belly-up skid
btf front bumper and winch plate
warn xd9000
parts to hang:
79 hp60, 5.13s, spartan locker, set up for hi steer
CUCV 14 bolt, 5.13s, detroit, rear discs
genright front and rear suspension builders kits
genright rear coil relocators and rear shock mounts
H2 take offs (with stock rollers)
Plan is to go with mt/r foodees, but might opt for 42's once complete. I will be reusing the 4" skycrapper springs for the time being, and will be adding genright stretch corners with high line tube fenders, strecth rockers, and high line front tube fenders.
The build will be streetable but will mainly be for wheeling.
pics to follow
I picked up a 98 TJ se last November for a deal I couldn't resist. WHen I bought the jeep is conisisted of a 2.5, ax5, 231 combo with stock d30/d35 and no top, doors, back seat and carpet. Upgrades already on the jeep were a 4 inch skycrapper lift, 4.0L throtle body and spacer, CAI, electric cooling fan, and sitting on a set of almost new 35" buckshot mudders on a set of AR 15x12 wheels (yes thats right, 15x12s).
First changes to the TJ consisted of selling the wheels and tires and sticking on the stock tires from my jk unlimited rubi with a set of spydertrax wheel adapters. Soon I scored a set of half doors with uppers, factory soft top frame, factory rear seat with brackets (had to for the kiddo), and straighten out the boogered up stereo set up. I dd'ed this for awhile as I managed to score other parts for deals. First deal consisted of a used genright TJ ext tank, which was nice going from 15 gal to 19.5 gal. Still dd'ed it for while as I picked up the following:
Set of CUCV tons, which I managed to find a guy that I swapped the front 60 for a 79 hp60 (yes thats right swapped).
5.13s, master install kits, chromo inners and outers along with 35 spline warn hubs for the front, kingpin rebuild kits, ballistic fab diff covers, 14 bolt truss and diff cover tie in, rear coil brackets, pinion guard, rear disc brakes thanks to gubni, hi steer arms, tnt hp60 truss with coil buckets, and all the stuff to complete the hi steer.
While I was putting all of the axle stuff together I stumbled upon a rolled 98 ZJ with a good 5.2 and trans. Bought the whole truck, kept the harness, motor, and trans and then parted out the rest.
So then I pulled the stock drive line, sold it and swapped in the 5.2, 44re, and then decided to go with a flipped d300. Ended up that the d300 had a small crack in the case (explains why I got it for almost nothing) so I decided to swap in a stak d300 RAC with twin sticks along with a jb conversions 4 to 1 kit.
I got the drivetrain swapped in with some help and parts from evan at backwoods offroad and a 98 ram 1500 pcm from a local junk yard. Got the harnesses blended and the driveline running like a champ. Took it easy as the d35 was still under the jeep and i knew that was a time bomb.
So this leads me to where I am today:
Current specs:
98 TJ
5.2/44re/stak d300 w/ twin sticks
stock axles
jk rubi take offs
genright ext tank
4" skycrapper lift with daystar rear adjustable uppers
daystar 1" body lift
teraflex belly-up skid
btf front bumper and winch plate
warn xd9000
parts to hang:
79 hp60, 5.13s, spartan locker, set up for hi steer
CUCV 14 bolt, 5.13s, detroit, rear discs
genright front and rear suspension builders kits
genright rear coil relocators and rear shock mounts
H2 take offs (with stock rollers)
Plan is to go with mt/r foodees, but might opt for 42's once complete. I will be reusing the 4" skycrapper springs for the time being, and will be adding genright stretch corners with high line tube fenders, strecth rockers, and high line front tube fenders.
The build will be streetable but will mainly be for wheeling.
pics to follow