Okay, so you may or may not know or care but I got a Jeep the other day. However, as jeeps go, it's pretty tame (and for some reason it has different wheels...I have no idea why.)



So, I need help in deciding what I will buy to make it look a bit better. At the moment I have no money, but this is jsut a planning stage. I use the jeep mostly for getting around my smallish town, but I frequently go out into the country and screw around. It does snow here in the winter, and it rains a lot too. I am not the kind of person who likes his car to be like a little cocoon (and actually, at the moment I have the top off the jeep since it has been nice, except for a litte bit of rain which required me t put the top back ON for only a day)

So, any jeep owners or car knowers have good idea for what to get to make it more functional and more attractive?

Current plans include a cover so that I don't have to find a friend or two to help me carry that heavy-*** hardtop every time it rains, probably some metal bumpers, and possibly some kind of less-than-full door to replace the full doors when I have the top off. (my dad will not allow me to remove the doors entirely)


Thanks!

A hoodscoop and a spoiler! ooh! and leopard print seat covers^_^

You might want to try checking out the forums at http://www.ollllo.com

Two words: pimpmobile.

BIGGER WHEELS

and something cool thats also entertaining, like a minidisc player, they seem like funky devices for a car.

Awesome, another Jeeper.

You have a Jeep Wrangler "TJ" which is basically any Wrangler manufactured from 1997 till now. Hopefully you have the 4.0L inline 6cylinder engine and a manual transmission, but if not, that's okay. The main advantages of the TJ (over older models like my YJ and the famous CJ series) is the coil-spring suspension which allows you much more suspension articulation off-road. Also, the 4cyl engines in the TJ are more powerful (horsepower-wise) than the 6cyls in pre 1989 models (which have the 258 inline 6).

Anyway, first of all, your dad is a moron for not letting you take the doors off. There is a big warning on the Jeep that clearly states that the doors and hard top provide NO STRUCTURAL STABILITY in the case of an accident, they are merely there to keep the weather out. With a seatbelt on, there's no way you can just fall out or something. Your first priority should be convincing your father to let you take the doors off... but if you don't wear your seatblet, you are a moron.

Regarding the hard top, they sell kits that allow you to hook a bracket to the top and lift it off with only one person - in fact my brother and I fabricated something like that at his house so I just drive my jeep under, hook the ropes to the four corners of the hard top, and pull. Then I drive my jeep out, lower the top down, and I'm on my way. You can also get a relatively cheap soft top to protect you in the spring and fall (they're easy to fold down). I'm not a fan of soft tops, even when I had one, I never used it, so I don't know what a good aftermarket brand is. You can get an AWESOME jeep catalog from [url]www.quadratec.com[/url] - have them mail you one, their print catalog is 900times better than their web site.

Also, go to the store and pick up a copy of JP Magazine... it comes out every two months I think and it's only like 5 bucks - they have a lot of sweet Jeeps in there and tips for building up your own. Also there are a lot of parts places advertising in the back.

Here's the modifications I've done to my '91 YJ:

30" Goodyear MTR (those are tires... heh)
replace the battery with a gel-cel unbreakable one
stainless steel hood & hinge hardware to replace the painted steel ones
chrome grill & headlight bezels
replace the steering wheel with a grant GT one (this is hard on TJs since they have airbags)
replace the leaky oil filler cap & valve cover gasket grommets (take care of the small oil leaks ASAP so they don't cause problems later)
new windshield & wipers
full front brake job and replace the stock rubber hoses with extended aftermarket stainless steel ones (longer for the lift kit)
replace the plastic center console with a steel Tuffy locking security console
build up a toolbox for when off-roading, currently contains a full set of torx, metric, and standard sockets, 3 adjustable wrenches, pair of leather gloves, pair of mechanics gloves, 6-way screwdriver, #3 screwdriver, 2 socket wrenches
add a shovel, fire extinquisher, and tow strap or chain
god rid of the crappy overhead "sound bar" which blocked my view of the air and annoyed the piss out of me

Things I'm going to do within the next year:

4" lift kit
33" Goodyear MTRs
line-x the inside
replace the plastic dash with a custom aluminum one
replace the sun visors since they're broken
replace the rollbar cover because there are holes where the soundbar was mounted

I'll get my GF to take some pictures with her digital camera and I'll post them later... for now I have one picture of what my jeep looked like the day I bought it (it's different now):

Hooboy is that a lot of stuff, haha! Thanks!

As I said, my jeep is pretty tame, including the fact that it's a 4-banger (though I specifically sought out a manual transmission, I get all itchy and fidgety when My left foot and right hand aren't doing something productive)

As far as the doors go, that was my argument, though I was not aware of any large warnings statign that they provide no protection...I had just assumed. I'll have to show that to him, that should make an even more convincing argument.

We are thinking about rigging something up as you mentioned to allow the lifting of the hardtop right off in the garage, but at the moment the garage is full of crap that I'll have to clean out. Plus...winter is coming, and I don't think i'll be taking the top off when it's snowing.

I'm saving your post in a .txt, that's a whole lot of useful stuff. I had forgotten that you drove a jeep, but now I remember the..uhh..story of how you got a new one.

Aww, no one else has a jeep?

GET BIG RIMS

Replace these hardcore 15" rims? is you crazy, boy? they's phat.

15s are fine for an off-road vehicle, you want big tires to protect your vehicle from the rocks and stumps, not big rims which will just collapse when you hit hard.

I think it'd look quite goofy with any larger rims....most non-cars do.