'92 Jeep Wrangler

[Darkrider]

As mentioned in the what did you buy thread i picked up this jeep. My friend offered me a deal that was very difficult to refuse on it. Basically a payment plan of $10/day (so basically tip money at work) and he would get a new windshield installed and go over it to find out what it would need to pass safety. We will be removing the body lift for certain along with a couple other things to bring it closer to stock in some areas but leaving other mods in place. Basically the goal is to end up with a fun little Jeep i can rely on as a back up DD.



Specs as i know them at the moment:


4.0 High output I6
3 speed automatic transmission
Looks like it has around a 2-2.5" suspension lift with 2" body lift
31x10.50R15 tires


As we all like pics..








Plans as of this point:


Remove Body lift
install stock replacement front bumper
winch plate to add a winch
beef up the rear bumper and find ways to add additional support so it can be used to tow.

Install stock rear tire carrier if possible. If it will not clear the bumper i may go to a swing out type tire carrier on the bumper. May just do this either way to allow the addition of a fuel can carrier as well.





Between this Jeep and the K5 Jimmy i will have two solid old school 4x4s to play with. Which in itself will reduce abuse the Patriot sees off road.

[kirbo7106]

I have a 1989 Jeep Wrangler Islander model. It has the old 4.2 and a 5 speed manual.

Keep us posted on your progress!

[cheesy]

That body lift definitely has to go. What was the hp rating on 92 4.0? Look like the same size tires on my 05 LJ.

[Bruces]

About 180 hp cheesy .

[Darkrider]

Ironically enough it has the same size tires as my Jimmy. Kinda kicking around the idea of swapping the Generals off of the jimmy onto the Jeep in favor of something more aggressive on the Jimmy.

[Bruces]

Here is my current “wrongler “ ,it’s an ‘88 with a swapped in 1995 4 litre ,a swapped 1995 tub ,currently running 31” rubber with some junk clapped out lift springs .I bought it like this last year ,and have not messed with anything on it other than I put the hardtop and full doors on it so I can leave it in the lane behind my shed ( it came with a brand new complete bestop soft top ,soft half doors ,hard half doors ) I was worried the punks will either steal the Jeep or mess with the soft top in general .
My plans for it are I am swapping in a cj dash ,cj grille ,and I will fab up some tube fenders ,and figure out a suspension I can live with ,but generally I am building it up like a late 70’s cj and would like to build it up as a golden eagle or another late 70’s special edition .I hated them as a kid ,but have built 103 topless Jeeps to date ,so I want to try something different for me .Sorry for the dark pictures ,there’s really nothing special about it other than the tub is solid ,the frame is solid ,and I bought it real cheap .

[Darkrider]

Nice lil project there Bruces. Feel free to add any progress you make on yours to this thread.



I have finally determined a plan of attack on mine


After closer inspection it appears it still has the stock front springs with unknown lift springs in the rear. Two ways i can deal with this:


Lift shackles up front to bring it closer to level

Or replace all 4 springs with a known type


There is a third option and that is going to a full replacement lift kit from Zone. However this comes with a gotcha in the form of cheap shocks. So that said i am better off spending the extra pennies and doing option two above and getting some good shocks like Bilstiens.



Option two would be the use of a full set of Rubicon Express 2" lift springs and fitting them with some Energy suspension bushings.

Either Rancho 5000 shocks for now or Bilstien 5100 series shocks. More then likely Ranchos for now to get it running then upgrade to the 5100s or some King shocks later down the line.



Transfer case drop kit to improve the driveshaft angle especially the rear.

Terralow upgrades to the transfer case in the form of Slip Yoke Eliminator, better low range gearing kit and possibly the 2Low kit if it is still available.

The SYE will also improve rear shaft angle. What may end up happening is getting ahold of another T case and building it outside the jeep with the above upgrades. That way i can still drive it while getting ready for that.

Warn 8274 winch on 5x2" rectangular tubing bumper up front. Second rectangular tubing rear bumper with tire carrier.

Reinstalling stock side steps to use along with the stirup type steps already on it. This will be to make it easier for my wife to climb into the Jeep as it will be pretty much a built in two step ladder.



In terms of interior upgrades:


Tuffy console with stereo enclosure. I will reuse the stock stereo location as a switch panel for lighting instead. The console moves the stereo to a more ideal location to operate it. This same upgrade may be done to the '86 Jimmy as well pretty much for the same reasons.

Possibly upgrading the glove box with a Tuffy locking glove box. This will convert the passenger side of the dash into a CJ style set up.

Drawer/speaker enclosure in place of rear seat. May just do a shallow type sub to keep the box as compact as possible. May just opt for a pair of 6x9s in the box with the amp center mounted as well. Less BOOM over Sound quality this way.

[Bruces]

Don’t bother with the rubicon express lift springs ,they are crappy and will be all sagged out in a few months ,with your hard top they will be even worse .Dont bother asking me how I know ,I have installed dozens of the rubicon kits and every single was sagged horribly in no time at all .Your a long way away ,but I used to have great luck with SDL springs out of Quebec ,and I will probably go that way again depending on how I set up my Jeep .They have there own slip yoke eliminator kits as well .
The transfer case mods can be done in an hour after you have it removed ,no big deal ,if you plan on running it topless a lot (I always do ) I leave a junker crappy head unit in the dash as a decoy ,along with some crappy speaker boxes ,and I fabricate a centre console out of aluminum with a descent stereo in it ,and a portable speaker box for the rear ,either in the triangles if you have the sport bar ,or just for the tops of the inner fenders if you have the family bar ,I have had dozens of stereos stolen out of my Jeeps ,so I take it with me now and they can have the decoy if they like .Other than that I recommend a marine style head unit if you run without a top .Since you are probably a young whipper snapper ,you probably use your phone for music ? If so they make little hidden systems for motorcycles that use Bluetooth to your phone ,and basically it’s just a little amp that can be hidden under the dash or ? ,might be worth looking into .
I have found that space in the rear is always at a premium with a short wheelbase Jeep ,I try to not fill the floor with speakers if I can help it ,a nice lock box works well for me ,I make my own but have installed a few factory made units that were very nice .

[Darkrider]

Originally Posted by Bruces

Don’t bother with the rubicon express lift springs ,they are crappy and will be all sagged out in a few months ,with your hard top they will be even worse .Dont bother asking me how I know ,I have installed dozens of the rubicon kits and every single was sagged horribly in no time at all .Your a long way away ,but I used to have great luck with SDL springs out of Quebec ,and I will probably go that way again depending on how I set up my Jeep .They have there own slip yoke eliminator kits as well .
The transfer case mods can be done in an hour after you have it removed ,no big deal ,if you plan on running it topless a lot (I always do ) I leave a junker crappy head unit in the dash as a decoy ,along with some crappy speaker boxes ,and I fabricate a centre console out of aluminum with a descent stereo in it ,and a portable speaker box for the rear ,either in the triangles if you have the sport bar ,or just for the tops of the inner fenders if you have the family bar ,I have had dozens of stereos stolen out of my Jeeps ,so I take it with me now and they can have the decoy if they like .Other than that I recommend a marine style head unit if you run without a top .Since you are probably a young whipper snapper ,you probably use your phone for music ? If so they make little hidden systems for motorcycles that use Bluetooth to your phone ,and basically it’s just a little amp that can be hidden under the dash or ? ,might be worth looking into .
I have found that space in the rear is always at a premium with a short wheelbase Jeep ,I try to not fill the floor with speakers if I can help it ,a nice lock box works well for me ,I make my own but have installed a few factory made units that were very nice .

Great suggestions. As my Jeep had its tub swapped at one stage it does have the later family cage set up. I can get ahold of a pair of wedge boxes with 6x9s in them that i could use to mount to the top of the fenders or tuck them in the passenger foot well area. I have also looked at the idea of running a full Rough Country lift kit or Old Man Emu springs if i can find a supplier.



As for the hidden amp idea that is def worth looking into. I know kenwood makes a unit that would be perfect for this that uses both Bluetooth and headphone jack input. So i could easily run music with phone, ipod or even just a sat radio using a vehicle dock. So i can easily pull the sat headunit each time i leave the vehicle parked overnight. Bonus points for the fact i can take the unit with me to my other vehicles after installing docks in them.

[Darkrider]

So we have moved the Jeep from the property it was parked at to my friends place so he could do some work on it for me. It seems that it has 3.5" lift kit in it. I now know the rear springs are BDS 3.5" lift HD springs for the hard top. They were replaced recently and it was pointed out that the fronts have a similar arch. So the theory at the moment is that it got a BDS kit in it at one point and the rear springs sagged out due to the kit being for a Soft top version.



So the plan as it sits currently:


Finish the lift kit (shocks and steering arm if needed)
Pull body lift
Install transfer case drop kit to improve shaft angle
Replace the rear lift shackles with some boomarang shackles set at zero lift
Attempt to find some first year YJ doors and windshield to gain vin numbers from a 1987. This will solve the licensing issues as it will avoid needing to be inspected. Pretty much similar to the whole VT reg workaround for those of you in the states with the unregisterable chinabikes.

[Darkrider]

Now that i have worked out a deal to pick up a second YJ tub it has sparked some more thoughts on this project. The second tub will be used to build a utility trailer. The chassis was cut off just ahead of the firewall where it started to curve up to clear the front axle. Will go into a build plan on that in a moment.



For the Jeep itself:


Replace the front springs with matching BDS 3.5" lift springs

Replace the 2" Bl with a Daystar 1" BL
Besttop Highrock tire carrier.

Stock bumper hoops on the rear

custom built receiver hitch. All of the ones out there for the Jeeps seem to consist of flat plates welded to square tubing with a couple tabs to tie in more bolt points. But lack any sort of bracing. So the plan is to copy one of these hitches but add some gussets in the middle and maybe a couple small ones inside the bumper hoops.



The reason for the bumper/tire carrier/hitch set up is to avoid parts interference even when i go up to 33" tires. This is why i am going to keep using a body lift instead of going full stock there. The tire carrier itself is a lot like the old CJ tub mounted carriers. But it also has a linkage system that connects to the tailgate. So no separate latch for the carrier as it swings back and forth with the gate.



The parts from the original plan i am keeping:


Either Rancho 5000 shocks for now or Bilstien 5100 series shocks. More then likely Ranchos for now to get it running then upgrade to the 5100s or some King shocks later down the line.

Transfer case drop kit to improve the driveshaft angle especially the rear. This will be combined with an SYE kit eventually. At the same time a True Neutral kit will be added to the Tcase. This will allow flat towing without spinning parts in the drivetrain.

Warn 8274 winch on 5x2" rectangular tubing bumper up front.



Interior plans:



Tuffy or Similar CJ style locking glove box
Kicker 4x6 speakers in dash and vdp wheel well speaker pods or overhead sound bar.
Center console built from .50 Cal ammo can

replacing the rear seat so my nieces can ride in the Jeep.



As for the trailer itself:



I will use the springs that came out of the front of the jeep for this combined with a trailer axle. Ideally i will manage to use a trailer axle with the same wheel bolt pattern as the Jeep. If not it is not a major problem as i could adapt it to match the Jeep with adapters. The jeep itself may get some adapters to run some Turbine wheels from my C10 on it.



Cutting out the firewall between the cowl and toeboard
Replacing the dash itself with a flat panel that goes down the floor. Combined with a flat panel in place of the firewall itself this will create a void to put a small battery as well as various trailer related wiring inside of.

The tank is still on the donor jeep so i plan on using it as an aux fuel tank. Still working out how i am going to connect it to the jeep itself. I may just go with the k.i.s.s principle here and just have a transfer hose in a compartment on the tongue.


This pic shows what i have in mind for the trailer for the most part other then the firewall mods. What i may do at a later point is convert the tow jeep to having a soft top so i will probably move the hardtop to the trailer.

[Darkrider]

Hard to believe i have actually had this thing for 3 years and have now just finally gotten it home. Have not done anything to it for various reasons. Mainly lack of time more then anything and it being parked 40 min out of town did not make for an easy time to get to it. But now it is sitting in my yard and i have gone over it a bit better to get a feel for what it needs.



Required items to get it back on the road as far as i can tell so far:

Windshield
Fender marker lights
Shocks
Shock mounts repaired on rear axle
rear shock relocation brackets as the lack of them may be why the rear shock mounts broke.

matching tires
right tail light bulb
rear track bar either replaced with one for lift or deleted. More then likely will just delete it.

Exhaust from cat back
radiator relocation brackets
install a proper length bolt for the rad support body lift block


Planned mods as of this date:

remove receiver tube from rear bumper and reinforce mounts on bumper.
Install an actual receiver hitch meant for a YJ
Mount a stock spare tire carrier to the rear floor in place of rear seat to carry spare in interior
hi lift mounting brackets on rear of roll cage to keep jack inside interior
Jerry can carrier installed in place of spare tire mount on tail gate to carry extra fuel.

Stock replacement front bumper with winch plate
Install 6" HID offroad lights i have here from a previous project.