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KP's JW JP29 Build [Complete]
Posted: November 20th, 2015, 9:59 pm
by KPtheMP
So, like many, I went and saw JW on 6-11-15, and as soon as the kids walked into the garage and found the old YJ's sitting there, and old spark caught inside me and ignited a fire I could not contain. I spent the next few day searching high and low and finally found an old 1994 Jeep Wrangler Sahara on CL. Not having a lot of funds at the time, I opted for something a little lower on the food chain rather then mint condition. As it turns out this jeep is going to need a whole lot more than I planned, but that's not going to stop me. We've got a little catching up to do, so let's get started...
I traveled about 400 miles to Chicago, Il to pick up the YJ on 6-15-15, this jeep had more rust then thought and some busted old lift kit, but I had come a long way to go home empty handed so we negotiated and I got the jeep for about half the asking price:
First order of business was to get it home and remove the soft top for summer cruising since I have a garage to store it in:
Since this was going to be a winter project I decided to pretty much drive the jeep as is for the summer and being medically retired from the army I don't drive this that far or that often.
Next up, I started to gather parts to get this jeep back to stock. I found a local guy[*important, remember this guy] that was selling stock leaf springs, shocks and the correct 5 spoke jeep wheels and bfg tires (instead of 4 mismatched), so I picked that stuff up and went home and installed it
Re: KP's JW JP29 Build
Posted: November 20th, 2015, 10:31 pm
by KPtheMP
Re: KP's JW JP29 Build
Posted: November 20th, 2015, 10:42 pm
by KPtheMP
looking forward...
Re: KP's JW JP29 Build
Posted: November 21st, 2015, 12:52 am
by Jurassic Vic
Damn, you northerners have it rough. It feels so good to live in Texas
Good luck with the build! Looks like you have your work cut out for ya
Re: KP's JW JP29 Build
Posted: November 21st, 2015, 2:45 pm
by KPtheMP
Thanks, I grew up in NY and moved south with the army. I thought I gave that rusty life up, but i keep finding the best donors in the north, mostly because they rot away before high mileage and the interiors are exposed to less sunlight. I've included a few of my prior jeep builds in my signature, bringing them back from extinction is my specialty
Re: KP's JW JP29 Build
Posted: November 21st, 2015, 3:02 pm
by KPtheMP
Re: KP's JW JP29 Build
Posted: November 21st, 2015, 3:42 pm
by KPtheMP
also over the past few months i've been on the hunt for a few small missing parts without costing an arm and a leg, as it turns out these were extremely hard to find.
My Jeep was missing the factory rear floor brackets for the fold and tumble seat, I patiently waited and managed to locate a set on ebay for cheap
also my sahara had the factory mounting brackets for the front driving/fog lights, but was missing the light body, i searched high and low on eBay, CL and a few others across the nation but couldn't find a set. On a whim, I decided to shout out to the guy I mentioned earlier (the one that i got the suspension and wheels from) because he also had a sahara and said how he was installing some led lights. I asked if by chance he had the factory lights and he said yes and that he would like to sell them. I went the next day and picked them up for $20, so glad that search is over !
ok, now the fun parts, so as many of you are aware, there are a few differences between the JP and JW Jeeps. I know there is a ton of criticism about JP29 running and driving in JW, but there is also a lot that we do not know. In some promotional material it was mentioned that Dr. wu returned to the park in 94. So it is unclear if the jeeps sat for an extended period or were used up until JW opened. That being said, it could also be speculated that the jeeps were modified and maintained by the park in that time as well to reflect their current state.
one of the notable differences is the rear facing amber fogs are bigger and of a different design they are KC 735 series 5x7 (black plastic) as opposed to the 4x6
another lucky score from eBay, I found some NIB from back in 1987 a set of KC Hilites #587 5x7 lights of the same dimensions, just stainless housing which i will paint black
Re: KP's JW JP29 Build
Posted: November 24th, 2015, 11:17 pm
by KPtheMP
Re: KP's JW JP29 Build
Posted: November 27th, 2015, 10:17 pm
by KPtheMP
Found a good used '88 tub on CL and went and picked it up 2 days ago, ran it though the car wash on the way back. Got it home and unloaded and spent some time today removing the left over parts and got it down to a bare tub.
Re: KP's JW JP29 Build
Posted: December 1st, 2015, 11:13 am
by KPtheMP
Moving along daily, got the tub inside and got the roll bar transferred over. Welded a few small spots, sanded all the minor surface rust and threw down some POR15.
got the fuel tank and fuel lines cleaned up and swapped over, going to need a new fuel tank skid in the near future. Located a clean, like new evap line and fuel filter holder off a 92 XJ at the local JY and installed them.