87Warrior

The empty parking lot training has proved to be the most valuable driving lessons I ever had. Sure, my Jeeps might not handle the best on the slick stuff, but I absolutely hate driving my girlfriend's car in the stuff. She does not get it. I like knowing exactly how the Jeep will behave when I input a change in the throttle, brake, or steering.

I was wonderin' why it was calm 'round these parts :typing:

God speed for a speedy recovery. My girlfriends cousin has C.F. and I have an idea what's going on. Gah, hospital food is terrible. Was there for a week a few year back when I was diagnosed as a Diabetic. I wanted nothing more than a Taco Bell burrito!

Big hat, no cattle.

Went to look at a '01 XJ today about 50 miles away. Checked it out around 1:30 and went shopping with the girlfriend (XJ was close to a city with real stores :dunno: Headed home around 6:00 on interstate when it began to spit. Wound up in a stand-still for 35 minutes because of a one car accident in the median. Then saw a newer GMC pickup on its side in the ditch. There is about 1/4" on the ground now. Coulda swore I was back in CO trying to drive home from work :rotf: People just don't know how to drive in snow! And it is usually a pickup/suv or AWD car in the ditch or flopped. 4wd means four GO not four STOP!!!!!!! :doh: Will say the narrow 30" bfg ATs on the XJ do pretty well in the snow. (My folks '93... did not buy the '01, today)

I-Beam is a bit much :rotf: You know, I was thinking of that too. This will be going on a daily driver, so safety is a concern for me. I have been unsuccessful at finding an image of the backside of the WP bumper to see how it is built. My gut tells me that the 1/8" steel would deform during a hard hit but probably not in a minor bump. I will not be using the bumper as a rock slider to get up and over ledges or the like. Gah, just pour salt in the wound :dunce: I have seen reports of $50-$100 off WP Jeep stuff last weekend :ack: Thats what makes this such a great country :yes: I actually turned away from the WP bumpers for a while since they typically had the tacky brush guard stuck on there. I find the basic bumper smooth and clean. Classy bumper :rotfl2: That one follows the vehicle lines.

Still doing some playing. Have not touched the MJ rig since Thanksgiving though. I've been busy! Flying is interesting.

:yes: Isn't NOS an energy drink too? How can we be sure what this guy actually has? Typically if your car is on the bottle, you would provide more information than "NOS". That is like saying 'my Jeep has big tires'.

Don't forget to reassemble with anti-seize :waving:

I know some of you guys like these things: http://omaha.craigslist.org/pts/1489571686.html

Good call on the Hanson. They make beautiful bumpers. The basic is "only" $650 (never been a big fan of the winch guard type tubing). Might look silly with the winch mount empty... Hey now, thats cheating. Gotta throw out some better options for me to ponder :waving: Got to keep in mind, this is not a going to be dedicated wheeling truck, just a tough DD.

Well, I'll be bamboozled! IDK - this guy has a cone air filter, over sized fuel injection tubing, 3" exhaust pipes, new old stock parts, and over priced spark plugs... Does the car run?

The JCR Stage 3 is a close contender for me. It looks pretty good on the original style front end. I will be going to the +97 style. I have no doubt the JCR is a much more utilitarian bumper and worlds tougher than the Warrior Products. The shape of the WP is what really grabbed my eye. At this point, I am trying not to dwell on price a whole lot. Might end up nixing a good option early! I did notice the JCR ads some $60 to ship, Warrior $10.

I say do it... as long as you don't get DW! Would be interesting. I say the Jeep could take it. Drop the tailgate and hammer down.

This evening I really tested the MJ's stopping distance. I was driving down a busy collector street in the left lane (4 lanes, 2 in each direction) when a car shot out from a gas station. The red caviler made it through the right hand lane traffic but stopped directly in front of me because she could not cross the center line. :shake: I stood on the brake with both feet, somehow managing to keep it in my lane. Squealing tires, smoke, and the smell of burnt rubber surrounded me when the truck stopped, inches from the cavalier's drivers side door. (thank goodness the vehicles following me could stop too!) That situation got me wanting to pick up a heavier duty front bumper for the truck. I have looked at XJ/MJ bumpers in the past, but have always felt the front bumpers looked out of place. The ARB has truly been the only front bumper on an XJ/MJ I could see myself using, but it costs well more than an arm-and-a-leg. I am looking for something that follows the lines on our trucks, does not have a brush guard or the like and is stronger than the tinfoil stocker. Also do not need any winch provisions for this DD truck. Light tabs and d-rings are not really necessary either. I have found one, the Warrior Products Rock Crawler Front Bumper. It comes in many forms, but I just want the basic front bumper. It is only 1/8" but should be stronger than the factory and keep the weight down. I could also see myself incorporating some extra frame tie-ins to keep it snug on the unibody rails. http://www.jeep4x4center.com/warrior-pr ... kee-xj.htm Some clicky pictures with the brush guard thing that I would not have. http://web.mac.com/kyjd75/iWeb/Site/War ... hotos.html Does anybody have experience with this product? Have a suggestion for me to check out another one? Or do you just want to make fun of me for finding one of the only XJ/MJ bumpers with no light tabs, brush guard, or winch plate :rotfl2:

To save you some headache in the future, you might want to consider replacing your new cork valve cover gasket with the more expensive rubbery option. The corks are known to start leaking again in relatively short order. Your truck looks very solid. I will be following your build closely :typing:

Beautiful truck. Love the paint selection you made. :bowdown:

Happens to the best of us :???: :ack:

His for sale tread: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=15361 :wavey:

Take care of the rear frame while you are in there. Otherwise, you will just be doing it later down the road anyhow ;) You should start a build thread and fill it with pictures :D

Bench seat or couch, I know it sat in the corner outside in the rain, hence the funny smell :ack:

Welcome :waving: Don't worry, we like the SUV version of our pickup almost as much as the truck its self. We need pictures. It is an illness! :redX:

1000 words. Isn't that just 5 pages or so of text single spaced? Should be a piece of cake if you work with a detailed outline ;)

Pretty sure he is a member here. From northern Michigan, IIRC. I was looking at driving the 12 hours to buy one of those beds. Just was not cost effective.

When I joined the CC earlier this year, Don's truck was the first I took a hard look at. At first I was simply amazed at how shiny and smooth his truck was compared to my 'rode hard and put away wet' truck. It was at that point I decided my truck needs to try and be as CLEAN as his someday. Talk about a phenomenal job and absolute perfection (well, if it had a transfer case :D ). Congratulations Don, you are very deserving of this and so much more :bowdown: