Jurassic Park Jeep Forum

Hi Everyone,

I decided to make a JP18 by rebuilding my old 1989 Laredo
There are few reasons why I choose for nr 18. For me,one of the most iconic scenes in Jurassic Park is when the 2 Jeeps encounter the Brachiosaurus. I love Jeep 18 and 29 in the wide open setting (trivia,it's at the Jurassic Kahili Ranch in Hawai) where they can be seen in full glory (and daylight). Jeep 18 also was the vehicle of one of my favorite characters,Alan Grant and Ian Malcolm.
Second (smaller) reason is the building cost,we all know Jeep 12 is a bit more expensive to make with the Jabsco Lights,and I prefer the look of the jeep without the softtop (although needed in the summer when it rains)

After a few months of collecting jeep parts,I finally started dismantling the car. I have no experience in car mechanics and dismantling them, at all,but removing the body parts and interior is surprisingly easy with a jeep.
I don't have a garage,and leaving a dismantled car outside...probably not a good idea Therefor I bought a cheap-ish partytent to use as a workshop. It's windy and cold,but it keeps me and the car dry. I keep the hardtop on,just in case
The Jeep is in pretty good condition after 26 years of belgian rainy weather,but there are obviously some minor paint damages,scratches and a dent in the hood,nothing I can't fix myself.

The full doors have some rust at the typical places around the windows,and most rubbers needs to be replaced.

The hood latches are rusted (but still works) and needs be replaced as wel

Removing the torx bolts from the windshield frame are a pain in the ass because of the Loctite used to fasten them. Someone I know decided to use a blowtorch (a flamethrower if you ask me) to make them glowing hot,hence the surrounding damage. Not a pretty sight,but it needs to be repainted anyway. Most of the old bolts will be replaced with new stainless steel ones. The windshield has a small crack in the corner (not visible on this picture) and needs to be replaced,the original windshields are not easy to find where I live and are expensive,so this will have to wait.

The carpet looks ok but is actually in bad condition as it tears very easily. After removing the carpet I noticed some minor surface rust spots in front and behind the driver seat and some behind the passenger seat,not too much to worry about.
In the coming days I will grind the rust away and put on a primer.
Removing the seats was easy,only 1 bolt wouldn't budge until I heated it with a heating pistol (paint remover).
I also removed the old black padding of the rollcage,the zippers were stuck so I had to cut them open. The padding will not be thrown away,I will sew new zippers onto them and the will be used during the winter when I put on the hardtop (not to damage the spice padding I bought on ebay for 120$ (50$ shipping + import tax).

In Belgium,and europe in general,it's not easy to aquire original body/interior/screen used parts. That's why I had to order most of them in the US.
It's not always easy to find these parts for a cheap price,and the shipping costs and import taxes can make an item cost 3 times the original price. (even with the dollar at lower value than the euro).

For the european forum members,I'll add the website's where I bought these items,and the total price I payed (shipping + import tax) in the hope it helps.

KC hilites are the holy grail,and I haven't found them listed in europe,or somewhere on ebay,so I decided to buy the eagle eye fog lights after reading about them here on the fog light topic.

http://www.eagleeyelights.com/catalog2/ ... cts_id=202

They costed me 181$,shipping included and I had to pay 53 euro import tax,the import tax can be different in other countries of the EU
The eagle eye fog lights are sold as a set,are made of stainless steel and needs to be painted black if you want more or less screen accurate lights. I believe their looks come very close to the original KC Hilites (the back is different,but who will notice anyway?)

I bought the stainless steel Whip Antenna and ballhead at CB World ,Radioshack won't ship them outside of the US. I found a few other website who sells them,but again no shipping to europe.
I chose stainless steel so it won't rust,and if not mistaken, the older ones were regular steel and rusted quite fast.

Whip Antenna : http://www.wearecb.com/102-inch-cb-whip-antenna.html
Ballhead : http://www.wearecb.com/hustler-ssm-1-pr ... pring.html

I payed 195 euro (212$) for all items,shipping and import tax included.
Except for the KC Hilites,the REP6000 Ramsey winch is the hardest to get,again,I haven't come across one yet.
I decided to buy the Runva Kew 8000 chinese knock off. It's not a 100% replica but it comes close. The solenoid pack needs to be removed and mounted somewhere under the hood. The 2 chrome bars on top are missing and needs to be made from scratch.As seen on the picture,the color is grey,not black. I believe all this can be fixed. I'll probably try to look for an original Ramsey,but this will do for now.
Strange thing,I ordered it from a website in the netherlands,and I got a different one than shown on the website picture,I'll contact them for more info.

website : http://www.toolworld.nl/products/9012/T ... roupId=286

I payed 452 euro,shipping included.

For the winch plate I bought an original Ramsey plate and fairlead from the belgian Ramsey dealer.

website : http://www.hartgerink.be/website.html

The original ramsey winch mounting plate used in the movie is not made anymore (36",810mm lenght),so I had to choose the new version which has a 900mm lenght. The local metal shop shortened it to match the original size,re-drilled the holes and powdercoated,cost : 15 euro

Winch plate and fairlead costed 275euro,I collected them so no idea about the shipping cost.

Good looking start! If you need door panel pouches let me know

Looks like you grabbed a fantastic Jeep to start with! Great condition!

So now in Belgium, are you required to keep those additional turn signal lights (At least I think that's what those are) on the front fenders? Or will you remove them for accuracy?

@ ProjectVic : hehe we already mailed (sahara seats fabric) Your door panel pouches are a must have and looks great. Thanks for all the help,it is really appreciated!

@JP Junkie : From the info I gathered regarding the additional turn signal lights,they are not required to be on the fenders (and they are ugly as hell),so I can put them back at the orginal places. A daytime running light is required in Belgium though so I'll probably use the signal turn lights the american way (lights stays on and only blinks when you signal). If not mistaken,in the movie the signal turn lights from Jeep 12 kept burning too,so I presume it would have been the same with Jeep 18 and 29 if we would have seen them at night

Great jeep!
I look forward to follow your progress.