Jurassic Park Jeep Forum

1993 Jeep Wrangler Sahara
Light Champagne Metallic
4.0L I6
Manufactured in Toledo, OH in September 1992

I decided to go with #12 for a few reasons. I'm not interested in removing the roll bars, so #10 is right out. #29 and #18 are identical, and seeing as how #29 gets less screentime, if I were to do one of those, it'd be #18. What pushed me to do #12 was mostly the idea of props inside the car. I think it might be kinda funny if everywhere I went, I could just leave a can of Barbasol in the cup holder. It also affords me the opportunity to spend hundreds of dollars on cool marine searchlights that I'll never actually need. On top of that, all the JP Jeep toys that have been coming out are #12.

Unfortunately, I've taken more steps backwards than forwards since I got the Jeep. I damaged the passenger's side mirror to the point that it requires replacement while trying to fix a minor issue, and the overlock bars (or whatever they're called) drooped down and scratched the back corners while I was taking the top down for these pictures. They're not big scratches (you can't even see them in the photos below), but each scratch on it's own is bigger than all the scratches this car has received in the 25 years since it was made. I'm not going to bother repainting the back corners, but I might get a touchup pen.

This is going to be a pretty slow build. My goal is to at least have the paint and decals done by November. I'm in no big rush to get the lights and winch on, though - that will probably take some time (and a lot of help, as this will be the first time I've touched the electrical system of any car except to jump start it).

Anyway, without further ado, here's the car as I purchased it (plus the damage I've done to it ). I'm hoping to get the stock wheels from the original owner soon.

Beautiful Jeep! Can't wait to see the build!

Wow, thats a great start!!! Cant wait to see progress

That my good sir is just about the Cleanest!!! THE CLEANEST starting base jeep for a jp jeep build that I've ever seen!

Yeah, you win, that is one super duper clean Jeep YJ you have there; perfect starting point. What is up with the soft top? That looks like an OD Green to my eyes and OEM I believe as well. I have never seen one in that colour and it looks great.

I think you're right about the OE top. The jeep does have a little bit of wear that doesn't show in the pictures, but it's pretty small stuff - most of which can either be fixed with a $10 part, or is not worth addressing. The story from the dealer is that the previous owner kept the car at his vacation home, parked in a carport when he wasn't around. He traded it in for an automatic transmission after some sort of leg surgery made it difficult for him to drive. The carport story makes a lot of sense. It does look like it spent a lot of time parked outside, but I'd expect more wear if it spent 25 years under the open sky. It also explains things like the relatively low mileage, and tire rot on tires that still have probably 90% of the tread remaining.

This is absolutely mint in comparison to most 20+ year old Jeeps that spend their life in salt, sand and mud and are held together with rot and awful Harbor Freight welds. You scored big, treasure that find.

my god. beautiful platform

Parts parts parts! I finally received my fourth wheel in the mail today. I tried the local junkyard, but all the Jeeps (Cherokee and Wrangler alike) were picked clean. No matter - I got these for about $60 apiece. They're not pretty, true, but since I'm just gonna get them sandblasted and painted anyway and since no one will notice the bigger scratches once it's all put together, it didn't seem like it was worth $140 for pretty newly manufactured wheels. At least I still had the spare - that saved me having to buy a fifth wheel.

The plan is to sandblast the front side only, wash with dish soap and rinse, dry thoroughly, prime, paint, and topcoat using the same materials I'll be painting the car with. I'll definitely have the tire guys replace the valves. Even if I could mask them off before sandblasting, I don't know how old they are. I'm just not sure if I should remove the old valves before or after sandblasting or painting. Thoughts? How does that sound to those of you with experience?




Also, do the insides of these wheels look okay to you? Would a good powerwashing take care of this, or does it require more attention?

Holy bananas Batman, $60 each?!?!?!?!?!?! Wow. Also, remove the valves before you do anything, they're cheap and simple to put back in yourself.