"PayDay" my 2000 XJ Build

I will be getting 35" Cooper STT pros after i install the SYE and then u can start flex test and cutting fenders

But anyways i pulled the valve cover and painted in the rain with my table makeshift booth



I used the duplicolor metalcast paint qnd they recommend a base layer of silver after your primer to get the metalcast effect





Then i pulled out the grinder and cut a hole in the fender to install the cowl intake



Im happy with how it all came out and now wondering how to build a splash shield that wont get torn up by the suspension



Then i installed the fan shroud i have had sitting in my living room for almost 6 months and realized i didnt have the bolts for it, so instead of bolts i found these turn knob bolts which i was happy to find doubled as a home for the overflow tube and also makes quick work of removing the shroud





The grand cherokee i was using as a donar vehicle has found a better home, i sold it to a man and his son that were very happy to have found it. It will be getting a new engine and be back on the road as his first project rig. I'm happy to know all the new parts that were in it aren't going to be going to waste.

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Evan03 said:

Man your builds awesome, your going to love the long arms I think.

Whats the warn killer being bolted on to?

Share some more photos

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i haven't fully decided on a bumper yet, most likely JCR but if i can find something with the same quality for a lower price or a someone to weld up a DIY JCR i may go that route as well.

ShoeterMcgav said:

Attention to detail is fantastic here man.. love the fully restored feel ya got to the interior. Where'd you find the carpet? Was it xj specific, or didja have to cut and bend it to fit? Everything looks killer man

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It was From Quadratec and yes XJ specific, just a lot of cutting to make it right and thank you

Valve cover came out cherry man! I lack patience for painting... but nownya got me thinking I'm lacking being under my hood- that looks absolutely great! Cowl came out niiiice too

ShoeterMcgav said:

Valve cover came out cherry man! I lack patience for painting... but nownya got me thinking I'm lacking being under my hood- that looks absolutely great! Cowl came out niiiice too

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Thanks man, painting can definitely be time consuming and i put it off until last as well but knowing it was the last thing to do kind of helped. This is the only thing iv actually spent the time to sand down the primer and finish up with 2000 grit but since its kind of the main thing you see when you open the hood it makes it worth it even if its the only thing painted its a difference for sure.


Heres a few more shots with better lighting








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Everything is so fresh looking! Was it garaged its whole life or did you replace the condenser, compressor, cooling hoses, wire looms, and what not??

Even the firewall ground looks minty... on that note, one of the best upgrades I've done is the jeepcables.com big 7 wiring connections. You can buy welding wire and lugs and do it your self, but the 0 guage kit comes plug and play ready to rock. My grounds were trash before leading to no starts, dash cluster intermittently going bananas, and even an aftermarket sterio smoking itself. While yours looks far from my dire straights.... the stock grounds and battery cables leave much to be desired especially running an amp(s), subs, lights, winch, etc etc so on and so forth.

Keep up the stellar work! It's a joy to see a decades old vehicle looking like it just rolled off the lot

ShoeterMcgav said:

Everything is so fresh looking! Was it garaged its whole life or did you replace the condenser, compressor, cooling hoses, wire looms, and what not??

Even the firewall ground looks minty... on that note, one of the best upgrades I've done is the jeepcables.com big 7 wiring connections. You can buy welding wire and lugs and do it your self, but the 0 guage kit comes plug and play ready to rock. My grounds were trash before leading to no starts, dash cluster intermittently going bananas, and even an aftermarket sterio smoking itself. While yours looks far from my dire straights.... the stock grounds and battery cables leave much to be desired especially running an amp(s), subs, lights, winch, etc etc so on and so forth.

Keep up the stellar work! It's a joy to see a decades old vehicle looking like it just rolled off the lot

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Thanks man, nah this jeep had definitely been used and abused its mostly just me being a nit picker and polishing everything i could in my spare time. I believe i have pictures of it all before in some earlier posts. Theres still alot to do but iv gone through and done the majority of the "backyard restoration" and im now slowly pushing my way towards axles and lockers yeah cables are on the list for sure and definitely a good upgrade once i find the time.

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Iv been out in New Mexico the last 36 days on Fire so i havent been able to do alot but She finally got some shoes! 35" Cooper stt pros on 15x8 Raceline Defenders with 3.5" backspacing Now i gotta get trimming some more and im torn on a few different flare options. The Notch X-Max flares, Custom tube flares. Or some flat style bolt on plastic flares for now. I love these tires. I have an advance adapters SYE sitting in my living room im going to be installing here soon but oddly enough i didn't get any driveline vibrations on the way home from les schwab granted i was only going 55 but thats good news for the long run on this build!

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I only had 1 complaint with running the STT PRO's in 35" when i had them on my old JKU is they absolutely killed my fuel mileage but mine were also 10 ply sidewall. But the ride quality and trail/ terrain had no chance against them. Many creeks, hills and valleys and some light technical trails and some ugly muck. Those tires performed very well for me. Enjoy them sir! And love the XJ so far, giving me lots of ideas

Da XJ nut said:

I only had 1 complaint with running the STT PRO's in 35" when i had them on my old JKU is they absolutely killed my fuel mileage but mine were also 10 ply sidewall. But the ride quality and trail/ terrain had no chance against them. Many creeks, hills and valleys and some light technical trails and some ugly muck. Those tires performed very well for me. Enjoy them sir! And love the XJ so far, giving me lots of ideas

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Thanks man, yeah im very happy with them they had great reviews and tons of youtube videos sold me, i love how quiet they are for mt's and i'm excited to see how they perform offroad.

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So i wanted to the cut the fenders more than the aftermarket fender flare market supported and had to go back and unbend my cut and fold job to keep it street legal for now. I stayed up for 2 nights trying to find a flare that would be bolt on without spending weeks in the shop so i could enjoy her for a little bit in between fire calls and came to the conclusion that im just gonna have to wait and have custom fenders and sheet metal work done to the rear so im going to wait to do that and do it while i build the axles but in the meantime im running these im happy with how they came out.

















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Ive seen these tires do killer on the trails.

Your jeep is looking great.

The one pic looks like your tires are over inflated. Id chaulk tune the pressure before you wear the centers out. Probly with a 5-10 Variante on each tire come from less swhab. With a were shooting for 35 psi ball park.

Im running 15" psi in 35x12.5 on 8" wheel could probly go down even more to get more tread on thr asphalt. Im not quite 100% contact across the tread face.

Lets see some dirty pics.

Ohh good choice to wait on fenders youl be glad you did.

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About how much tread you look to be putting down.



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Sorry for the late reply , i did air down a bit. I did the tires on one of my 2 days off and iv been busy on fire all summer so havent gone much farther than that. Havent done much on it lately. I added some led marker lights but Iv reached the dreaded point where i have to decided to polish a turdy 30 or find another solution to match the 8.8 thats going in the rear. I keep ending up at the same conclusion of building the dana 30 being the best course of action . Iv looked at the g2 and the pro rock dana 44 prebuilds that use the jk ring and pinion and are built right and would love to put one of those in just for piece of mind but so far havent been able to convince myself i would be able to drop that kind of money without feeling guilty on a front axle, i may buy the tools and do the gears myself but would like to avoid that as well. fire season is winding down though so ill have to figure it out so i can regear and take it out for some much needed relaxation as soon as its possible. Its not much of an update but figured id post and let you guys know whats going on with the build and thanks again for all the support you guys have given me with it, hopefully the gears will be greased and ill be posting up the axle swaps here soon.

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Well iv got some more done now, ordered the JCR vanguard prerunner front bumper and it should be here in a couple days and bought a used jcr rear bumper.

When i pulled my bumper caps the driverside quarterpanel had a pretty good dent in it, i managed to get it pretty straight, Ordered a can of OEM matching paint and im waiting for some better weather to add filler and paint it.

When i bought the rear bumper the guy threw in the smittybilt quarter panel armor he got with his new bumper so while i could just throw those on to completely hide it id rather it be done right and ill be able to use that paint on any chips.




i swapped out my marker lights for these leds









I went with the rubicon express Slip yoke Eliminator









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I guess i went went with the advance adapters SYE lol disregard the last post,

So i ended up settling on an 06 rubicon dana 44 for the front axle. Axle is in good shape with fresh 4.88's, New Seals, Sleeved with the OEM Air Locker.

According to my research i can get the compressor they used in the rubicon from a range of vehicles that used it as an axle disconnect at the junkyard.

I was going to build the hp dana 30 housing i had but this ended up being half the price it would have cost me. Ill be throwing chromolys in it to keep from breaking u-joint ears. Only thing past that is C gussets and possibly a truss but i may wait to do that.





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Do a cut and fold on the rear corners. Skip the armor.

I think the cut and fold looks silly with some bumpers... never seen anyone crush that lower corner either. Not like it's killing depart angles right? Cut and fold can look slick, but without a custom bumper idk it's worth it? Plus an obstacle that would actually hit that corner, would probably have ya high centered after the front tire clears, no?

Maybe I need a visual of "why"

Nice score on the Rubicon 44! Whatd it set ya back?? I'd love one, but fear the investment might be too steep and nearly to a 60/ 1ton set up. Like I'll ever be on 40s with my budget lmmfao

No joke those rubi 44s are lined with gold local to me... the jk rubi stuff is currently lined with diamond though hahaha

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