This isn’t a project like other “projects” on this site. That means… it probably won’t get scrapped and end up in the garbage… it might actually evolve into something useful; a sharp contrast to recent 4AG powered cars. Meh.
When we bought this thing, it was entirely for the daily grind. It will continue to be so dedicated. We leave in a semi-rural setting, which certainly doesn’t render cars useless, but situations certainly appear where anything less than 4WD is not practical. Snow piles up, ground clearance is helpful. Furthermore, certain comforts of an SUV are quite appealing: it easily fits my lanky frame, there is lots of room for carrying stuff (like strollers) and a nice high driving position is often more comfortable when surrounded by other trucks and SUV’s. The ZJ specifically was Car & Driver SUV of the year for many years in a row from its debut in 1993, and received many high remarks from other reviewers as well. Statistically, it’s small size and big motor help it perform better than a lot of the competition (even modern competition) and features like heated seats, leather and climate control make it very comfortable everywhere. For us it was an easy choice.
And then… approaching six months of ownership… we have really come to like this vehicle. I think that is largely because we stumbled upon an excellent example. The paint is fantastic, it’s clean inside and out, and it has run absolutely trouble free everywhere it’s gone. Furthermore when I think about what I’d like to replace it with… something boredom always leads to… I am left dumb-founded. It’s perfect for us. Well… I guess a 3.0L Diesel and long travel IRS would make it better… there are lots of things that could make it better, but I am hard pressed to find a better stockish platform.
Being from 1995, it’s a little newer and laden with electronics than I would prefer, but you really can’t look any older, and find something that really compares in other categories. Besides… as product of JEEP, it’s notoriously simply engineered and affordable to maintain. So… if I don’t get carried away and too high on hopes… it’s quite likely that this is a vehicle that we’ll keep for maybe… 3 years? Ha… that would tie my record, so lets not get too carried away. I hope I don’t tag a deer or do something stupid in the woods.
Final Goal
Nothing extreme or even interesting really. For entertainments sake, I want it to be a true go anywhere truck… well.. as go anywhere as any other stock mid size SUV. For normal use, it already is go anywhere, but I had so much fun on my one wheeling experience that I at least want to be able to take it on the easy trails. Seems like a great way for me to maintain my car life, and get out with my family. However… I don’t really want to sacrifice much in terms of normal drivability. Jacked up ride heights perform poorly and are often dangerous on the highway. Massive tires kill fuel economy, and a trashed, mud filled rig isn’t really easy for a wife to enjoy. We have a few places within Canada and the US we would like to visit, and I’d like the ZJ to be the vehicle that can take us there reliably, safely and comfortably. That’s it.
Ideally I add a few small off-road bits, a few small comfort features, drive it everyday and never be done.
Specifications of the Machine
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FOOTWORK
DRIVETRAIN
INTERIOR
EXTERIOR
SHOES
OTHER
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We all want to be fabricators extraordinare. Custom stuff adds so much to your car life. My problem is that because I have a few tools, I feel like I can do stuff that I really can't. Wife and I are heading off on a week long road trip tonight, and given the amount of driving we'll be doing, and the inadequacy of the factory head lights I thought it was important to add some auxillary driving lights. My past experience with driving lights has been... not that exciting. Everything I've ever bought has left me wondering... upon turning them on... if I had in fact turned them on. So this time around, I bought the biggest lights I could find... and afford. That meant some 7" 100W units that I found at Princess Auto... for... $50. Meh. The other lights I've had have all been 55W or 80W so... hopefully these do the trick. But where could I mount such big lights? They could have easily been mounted in the stock position, in front of the grill, but... given there gigantic size[...]
What have a really said about my ZJ? It's been good... I like it. I'm not entirely fond of it though. Ryan bought a YJ shortly after I bought my Jeep... and it's been a total nightmare, breaking every other week, catching on fire, causing serious bodily harm to it's owner. Apparently it's a Jeep thing. I guess... in someways I get it. I think I may have been living in denial. I've been telling myself that Ryan's nightmare YJ was not a nightmare because it was a JEEP engineered and built in America, but rather because it was a modified, well driven trail rig. After all... I've owned my JEEP for the better part of a year now, and the only work I've done on it has been typical maintenance: tires, fluid changes etc. But now... almost a year in, I can see a LOONNG list of items piling up. The transfer case has never been perfect. The shift linkage actually broke shortly after I bought the truck. It has never gone smoothly in and out of High/Low. I've fixed the linkage, adjusted the linkage, changed the TC oil... and still no luck. Apparently it's not uncommon... likely a result of the wrong fluid being used for a very long time. As we all know... your local repair shop is full of hacks and lazy asses. I know how it works... they only stock one kind of transmission oil. [...]
Hit an easy trail close to the house today. It was fun. Apparently I was slow. Jeep worked ok. Definitely could have done it without the new tires. Nice to get out and experience soft tires and mud.
This is the same road that gave us a 4hr recovery about a month ago. And an hour and a half recovery just last weekend. Warm weather has melted the snow. No recovery needed.
If I called anyone out... it would be an entire population of forum dwellers
31" tires apparently DON'T fit on stock ZJ's. Any forum will tell you that a minimum 2" lift is required, in addition to longer bumpstops... but even then trimming of the front bumper will be needed. This seemed a little bit stupid to me. After all... the Toyota's all fit 33's without any noteworthy trimming, YJ's and TJ's the same... and a lot of newer trucks have no problems with 35's. 31's are peanuts. They are the bare minimum for trail running. Sure you can buy 30's... [...]
lol, sweet tuck… bro