MONSTERxbla
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Fresno
After about 7 months I am finally to the point of being able to get out in the jeep a play a bit. I just wanted to share a few things I have learned along the way.
1.Plan- what are you gonna be doing with your jeep? rock crawling for me. Most of the mods I did were with that in mind, but I learned that as much rock crawling as I think I am going to be doing, I will realistically spend way more time on the street. My detroit in the rear is an example of not thinking about how much time I will spend on the street. Overall I like it, but it always lets you know it there. should have gone with an arb.
2.Budget- kinda goes with out saying but a budget is really important. I wrote everything down and figure out what it would cost, and it eventually cost me about 1.5 times what I figured. Remember all the little things like carb cleaner, brake fluid, wire, ect all cost money. I have more money in grade 8 nuts and bolts than I care to think about.
3. Buy your most expensive thing first. Most of us can't buy it all at once (I couldn't). so I got the big purchases out of the way and just put 'em in my spare bedroom. at one point I had my lift, bumpers, winch, and gears in the room. my girlfriend loved that.
4. Tools. you own a jeep so who knows what is holding it together? metric, sae, torx, hex, ect. you don't have to go out and buy everything but remember that the old saying... "the right tool for the job" was said for a reason. oh yeah, air tools rule!
5. Safety. safety glasses, jack stands, and fire extinguishers should your initial expense.
6. Time. It took me way longer than I thought it would. I had another vehicle so it wasn't to big of a deal. but if this is your sole means of transportation, take the time you think its gonna take, then multiple it by two. One of my biggest issues was interruptions from friends and neighbors. whenever my garage is open it seems like people think it is an invotation to come and bs. I would also get people coming over for advice on fixing their car....I am not a mechanic, do you see the truck in the driveway that say "boiler service" on it?
7. Every mod you make will effect something else. I have so many examples of this, but my favorites are the lift(need sye) and headers (hood vents for the heat)
anyway here are some pictures...http://picasaweb.google.com/jaypeesi/Jeep2#
1.Plan- what are you gonna be doing with your jeep? rock crawling for me. Most of the mods I did were with that in mind, but I learned that as much rock crawling as I think I am going to be doing, I will realistically spend way more time on the street. My detroit in the rear is an example of not thinking about how much time I will spend on the street. Overall I like it, but it always lets you know it there. should have gone with an arb.
2.Budget- kinda goes with out saying but a budget is really important. I wrote everything down and figure out what it would cost, and it eventually cost me about 1.5 times what I figured. Remember all the little things like carb cleaner, brake fluid, wire, ect all cost money. I have more money in grade 8 nuts and bolts than I care to think about.
3. Buy your most expensive thing first. Most of us can't buy it all at once (I couldn't). so I got the big purchases out of the way and just put 'em in my spare bedroom. at one point I had my lift, bumpers, winch, and gears in the room. my girlfriend loved that.
4. Tools. you own a jeep so who knows what is holding it together? metric, sae, torx, hex, ect. you don't have to go out and buy everything but remember that the old saying... "the right tool for the job" was said for a reason. oh yeah, air tools rule!
5. Safety. safety glasses, jack stands, and fire extinguishers should your initial expense.
6. Time. It took me way longer than I thought it would. I had another vehicle so it wasn't to big of a deal. but if this is your sole means of transportation, take the time you think its gonna take, then multiple it by two. One of my biggest issues was interruptions from friends and neighbors. whenever my garage is open it seems like people think it is an invotation to come and bs. I would also get people coming over for advice on fixing their car....I am not a mechanic, do you see the truck in the driveway that say "boiler service" on it?
7. Every mod you make will effect something else. I have so many examples of this, but my favorites are the lift(need sye) and headers (hood vents for the heat)
anyway here are some pictures...http://picasaweb.google.com/jaypeesi/Jeep2#
