"One-owner 1995 Jeep YJ" - probably something you hear often but now you can say you have.
I ordered my '95 YJ Sport 4.0i from Jeep here in Vancouver, BC, Canada, Took possession of her the day she was delivered to the dealership in October '94. Since then I'm still making 30+ years and counting.
Driving her is better than any therapy and has been with me through college, university, on-/off-road adventures, girlfriends, kids and even an ex-wife.
Drove her stock after purchase but then spent big after I'd graduated university and made it through the first few lean years in my career. The build was nothing too extreme (this was the era of SOA lifts and 37" tires) keeping reliability and safety top of mind. I've broken the build down into categories and am surprised at a few things I forgot so likely will update the list as I do.
Drivetrain:
Lift:
Wheels/tires:
Safety:
Body/Interior:
Audio:
Odds'n'ends:
So what's next? After 30+ years ownership and 24+ years since all the mods listed above, baby needs some love and attention. On the list:
More pics to come...
I ordered my '95 YJ Sport 4.0i from Jeep here in Vancouver, BC, Canada, Took possession of her the day she was delivered to the dealership in October '94. Since then I'm still making 30+ years and counting.
Driving her is better than any therapy and has been with me through college, university, on-/off-road adventures, girlfriends, kids and even an ex-wife.
Drove her stock after purchase but then spent big after I'd graduated university and made it through the first few lean years in my career. The build was nothing too extreme (this was the era of SOA lifts and 37" tires) keeping reliability and safety top of mind. I've broken the build down into categories and am surprised at a few things I forgot so likely will update the list as I do.
Drivetrain:
- Stock 4.0i inline 6 cylinder left untouched for reliability
- Stock 5-speed manual transmission
- Stock transfer case with slip yoke eliminator installed (believe it was from Advance Adapters)
- Jeep Wagoneer stock rear driveshaft modified locally to run as a CV rear driveshaft
- Front stock HP D30 with reverse cut gears regeared to 4.88s
- Rear Jeep XJ D44 regeared to 4.88s
- Bicycle parts hand throttle mounted onto gear shift
Lift:
- Rubicon Express 4" Extreme Duty spring-under lift w/ Bilstein shocks
- TJ Rubicon flares over cut and widened wheel openings for clearance when stuffed
Wheels/tires:
- Ultra 15" wheels w/ GoodYear MTR 35"x12.50"x15" for spring/summer/fall driving
- Jeep TJ 16" Rubicon wheels w/ Yokohama Geolander 316/75r16 for winter driving
Safety:
- SMF roll cage built off Jeep main hoop and rear supports
- SMF front bumper w/ Warn 9500 winch
- SMF rear bumper w/ swing-away tire carrier
- SMF built rockers w/ tube sliders
- (SMF = Serious Metal Fabrication was a North Vancouver-based fabrication shop around end of 1990s / beginning 2000s)
Body/Interior:
- Black paint exterior
- Grey interior including original carpet and Jeep floormats front and rear
- Seats are original grey cloth Sport seats - no rips after 30+ years but the driver's seat cushion's barely holding on and the recline's worn leaving me driving leaned back, gangster style
- Dickies' branded front seat covers and a generic, rear bench seat cover
- Fake sheep skin front seat covers for those really cold winter days or trips up north
- Factory hard top with full doors
- Factory soft top with half doors
- New windshield frame, powder-coated before painting and installing new OEM glass and rubber
Audio:
- Sony removable faceplate CD/radio (swapping original Jeep AM/FM/tape deck back in)
- Infiniti in-dash speakers trying their best to drown out road noise
- Stock overhead sound bar currently removed to clear the roll cage and hardtop for winter driving
Odds'n'ends:
- NOCO under hood battery tender
So what's next? After 30+ years ownership and 24+ years since all the mods listed above, baby needs some love and attention. On the list:
- Full interior/exterior detail including a full dry ice clean of the underside and reseal
- Sony aftermarket deck goes out and the the original Jeep AM/FM/tape deck goes back in plus addition of Bluetooth, an amp and revisiting the speakers.
- BMW E46 heated leatherette front seats swapped in using Motobilt mounts (they'll be covered with the Dickie's fabric seat covers to avoid that summer sun and bird shite. I'll rebuild the seat foam in the Jeep's driver seat and keep it and the passenger seat in case the BMW seats don't work out.
- Figure out what's wrong with the fuel tank and/or fuel filler neck - when pumping gas I have to hold the lever just right, trickling gas in to prevent the pump from stopping.
More pics to come...
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