95 YJ Build (Sleipnir)

[crewchief_chick]

Just picked up my new Jeep project! it's a 95 YJ roller project. Previous owner had decided he wanted to do an LS swap and then ran out of time/energy/money/umph/whatever, and posted it on marketplace. I picked it up for 1k. That is my plan as well.

Thankfully, the gentleman had the foresight to reinstall all the hardware for the front clip back into the original locations, so I was easily able to mock up the front clip in about 30 minutes to see how good/bad things looked.

Check out that awesome DIY bumper yall!

 

[ytradio]

Excellent find.

 

[crewchief_chick]

Excellent find.

Thank you. He tossed in the brand new soft top he had for it as well, so I'm counting that as a win as well. First real step will be remove the tub from the frame and inspect it for any major rust issues and address those first. The front body mount under the radiator is pretty wallowed out, but luckily a new mount for that is only 30 bucks from quadratec, and I have a fantastatic fab guy who I've used for all my horse trailer work who will burn a new one on super cheap.

 

[Superbird17]

Very cool, nice find for 1 large. What's your plans?

 

[crewchief_chick]

Very cool, nice find for 1 large. What's your plans?

For now the plans are a somewhat budget lift, leave it spring under and on open diffs and put the majority of the money into the LS swap. I'm not going to super cheap the budget lift, but for now the goal is to clear 33's with some room to spare. Probably a BDS lift kit with the M.O.R.E. boomerang shackles. It's going to get basic armor all the way around (front/rear bumpers, rock rails/gas tank skid). I'm going to leave it white. Havent decided if i want to flat-fender the front fenders or not, so they'll stay stock for now.

Way down the road I may either go to coil overs or a spring over on 1-tons with 4.88's or 5.13's. This is going to be a slow-moving process, kind of how money/time dictate. If it takes me a year to get it on the road and going then it takes me a year. Not really in any rush, since my time for now will mostly be limited to weekends. First step is to address any rust issues on the frame and body, and clean up where the previous owner did a half-ass job cutting off the stock motor mounts.

Some things will definitely come from Novak like the motor mounts. I like their work, and it takes any guessing out of it. Probably run a Holley Terminator since I'm going to put a full chevy drivetrain in it (engine/trans/transfer). Definitely going to shop around for the best deal on a good radiator, and some of the other major parts I'll need.

 

[crewchief_chick]

Started working on the doors yesterday. A previous owner decided that a super thick skim coat and bedliner was the best idea to cover a dent, so out came the aircraft stripper, a scraper, and a stiff bristle brush. After that it was a quick job with a wire wheel to scuff down the remaining high spots, prep with acetone, tack cloth, Upol Raptor 1k primer and paint.

The other door is going to take longer, because its got more buildup of stuff on it.

 

[ytradio]

I have seen some bed liner jobs that looked ok, but most have looked like the one that someone put on mine, piss poor. Trying to get mine off little by little but will probably end up just sanding it down some and calling it a day. My YJ will not be a show piece just a functional wheeler. Think Roadkill, or Roadworthy Rescues.

 

[crewchief_chick]

I have seen some bed liner jobs that looked ok, but most have looked like the one that someone put on mine, piss poor. Trying to get mine off little by little but will probably end up just sanding it down some and calling it a day. My YJ will not be a show piece just a functional wheeler. Think Roadkill, or Roadworthy Rescues.

aircraft stripper will be your new friend. apply it thick with a cheap chip brush, let it sit about 20 mins, then use a plastic scraper to take it off. It will probably take a couple of rounds. You can get it at Autozone in the autobody section with the paint.

The paint we applied is literally rattle can paint. The key to a good finish is light sweeping coats.

 

[ytradio]

aircraft stripper will be your new friend. apply it thick with a cheap chip brush, let it sit about 20 mins, then use a plastic scraper to take it off. It will probably take a couple of rounds. You can get it at Autozone in the autobody section with the paint.

The paint we applied is literally rattle can paint. The key to a good finish is light sweeping coats.

Yea I have used stripper and it’s not my favorite thing. Used to support myself in between jobs by doing body work and paint jobs. My YJ is going to lead a rough life anyway so I am not going to go through that much work of stripping then painting only to beat the hell out of it. I would do a better paint job if it were not for the extra work caused by the bed liner but it is what it is.

 

[crewchief_chick]

Yesterday we tackled door #2. I was given the advice that a propane torch and a stiff scraper would save me a couple of pizza's in $$ on stripper, so figured we would give it a whirl. That actually worked way better than what we expected!!!

Once we got the top layers stripped off, out came the aircraft stripper, then the torch again for the paint. Finally, wire wheel time!

Yea..... Now we know the reason for the incredibly thick bad skim coat/bedliner job....

Proper skim coat application:

Did a couple of light coats, sanding in between, then finally tack cloth, and we are ready for primer and paint!!

Basically finished doors. They'll get a block sanding and some more coats later. We just wanted a good base coat laid to avoid any flash rusting or other issues forming.

 

[Superbird17]

Is that 2k epoxy primer you're using out of that rattle can over bare metal? If not, moisture will penetrate that rattle can primer and you'll lose your base coat and all that hard work.

Also a heat gun (Harbor Freight) can be your friend when removing old filler. Able to control the temp setting so you won't warp the metal

All food for thought..looking good, keep us updated

 

[crewchief_chick]

Is that 2k epoxy primer you're using out of that rattle can over bare metal? If not, moisture will penetrate that rattle can primer and you'll lose your base coat and all that hard work.

Also a heat gun (Harbor Freight) can be your friend when removing old filler. Able to control the temp setting so you won't warp the metal

All food for thought..looking good, keep us updated

It's the 1k Raptor primer and paint. Believe it or not that door was warped when we started, and by carefully using heat in a few strategic places we got the door to pop back out to where it needed to be! My friend helping me with this build has been working in the automotive industry for 20 years. We will be block sanding and doing 2k here in the next couple of weeks.

 

[Superbird17]

It's the 1k Raptor primer and paint. Believe it or not that door was warped when we started, and by carefully using heat in a few strategic places we got the door to pop back out to where it needed to be! My friend helping me with this build has been working in the automotive industry for 20 years. We will be block sanding and doing 2k here in the next couple of weeks.

Cool, Not sure of the level of restoration you're looking for or lasting durability and I'd hate to see all your/friends hard work go down the drain after a few months.

If you're wanting something that look good for a few months and you're planning to just beat around off road then 1K material will work. 1K products do not have a hardener and sealer in them and break down fast...perfect for a beater offroader

If you're looking for a nice driver that'll last years use 2K epoxy, specially over bare metal, it acts as a sealer so that moisture will not get under it. Also, never use an etching primer. If you have to put filler over etched primer the two do not play well together and again all will break down ruining all the hard work.

I just finished my restoration on a 93. I have a build thread on it also. It's just a beach cruiser never to see off roading.

93 Restoration Project Complete

Here's my restoration of my recently purchased (July 2022) '93 YJ. Was a 9 month project that I completed in May 2023 Purchased out of Georgia for $5000 from the second owner for $5000. Needed lot's of TLC but over all it was a solid body with no dents or rust as well as a solid frame. Has a...

wrangleryjforum.com

Looking forward to seeing the progress

 

[crewchief_chick]

Cool, Not sure of the level of restoration you're looking for or lasting durability and I'd hate to see all your/friends hard work go down the drain after a few months.

If you're wanting something that look good for a few months and you're planning to just beat around off road then 1K material will work. 1K products do not have a hardener and sealer in them and break down fast...perfect for a beater offroader

If you're looking for a nice driver that'll last years use 2K epoxy, specially over bare metal, it acts as a sealer so that moisture will not get under it. Also, never use an etching primer. If you have to put filler over etched primer the two do not play well together and again all will break down ruining all the hard work.

I just finished my restoration on a 93. I have a build thread on it also. It's just a beach cruiser never to see off roading.

93 Restoration Project Complete

Here's my restoration of my recently purchased (July 2022) '93 YJ. Was a 9 month project that I completed in May 2023 Purchased out of Georgia for $5000 from the second owner for $5000. Needed lot's of TLC but over all it was a solid body with no dents or rust as well as a solid frame. Has a...

wrangleryjforum.com

Looking forward to seeing the progress

We did not use an etching primer. This jeep is gonna be a fun trail rig, so the 1k base should be sufficient to get us started on it. It'll be pretty easy to pull the doors off and touch-up as needed. The body/tub will get 2k epoxy on it as needed. At this point, any progress looks way better than what was on the doors!