Rymanrph

I like BFG A/T KO (I've had a set for a short period before), but at about $160 a piece, they are rather pricey. Honestly, I don't keep my vehicles long enough (or long enough in the same configuration) to go through a set of tires. I just don't know a good place to get used tires.

The tires on my new XJ have seen their better days. They have decent tread, but they're old and don't hold air very well. The truck is going to be my daily driver. I have 275/30/15s on the wheels now, but I could see going up to a 30/9.50/15 just for a little better look (I'm on stock suspension, but may do a small budget boost of 1.5-2"). I have Goodyear Duratracs on my MJ and they have been great, but I just don't need anything like that for a pavement pounder. I've never bought purely street tires for a Jeep before, so I have no idea what to get. Honestly, I'd love to find some slightly used tires to save a couple bucks, but I haven't had much luck so far. So, any suggestions?

I replaced one of the motor mounts when I did the swap; the other was perfectly fine. I've had the transmission mount in and out a couple times and don't remember it looking worn, but its worth looking into.

My exhaust keeps rattling against the transmission cross member. Every couple weeks I crawl under there and use a pry bar to separate the two, but it always sags back. Any tips?

the '97?????!?!?!?!? Never. I traded my '88 Olympic for a '99 XJ two door. It needs a little love, but its a solid truck.

These are the wheels (on the white truck). Its the best of the 4 (which isn't saying much), but I don't think it has any clear coat on it.

Yeah, I've had a couple part-time jobs there in the past, but I just started there full-time. My dad went there before transferring to UNCC and my mom has worked there since I was in kindergarten, so its been pretty good for my family.

I have some decent aluminum wheels that have been neglected for far too long (before I acquired them). I'd like to get the nice polished look back, but I think I'd destroy my arm doing it by hand. I have a buff ball that I put on the drill and it worked a little but nothing substantial. They look fine from a distance, but terrible up close. Any ideas?

It's finally official: Seemed to be the best place to put it because of my work sticker.

I traded it..... sad face.

I did something to my truck today. Here is the before: And here is the after: You're probably thinking, "he did the '97+ front end swap," but you're wrong. I actually traded it for a '99 2 door XJ. Its a Sport model with power options and cruise control. They guy that I traded wanted to keep his wheels and tires, so we swapped. Its going to be my new daily driver. It will get better gas mileage than the green MJ and since I'm working in uptown Charlotte now, not having to drive the stick shift in the cobalt will be nice. I'm going to miss the '88. Its been driving really great recently and I've got a lot of compliments on it. For where I live and work and what my needs are, this is going to be a good swap for me. I gave the new owner a CC card and told him to swing on by. For posterity, here is one last shot of both MJs this morning:

Is the whole header panel custom? It looks like a ZJ to me.

The samples you have up look great :clapping:. I want to see the rest of the months! How much are they?

I didn't realize this was in NC. What yard is it in?

Doesn't look like an Olympic package. They were only red, white or blue with gold stripes.

Nah, don't do that. I won't look good at all, especially in rescue green :nuts:

Yeah, its going back in. The problem is that its a little wide, a little tall and the mounting plates need to be redone..... and I can't weld. Otherwise, it would have been back in the truck a long time ago. The big things left on my list are: 1. Roll bar 2. Lights for the roll bar (2 forward facing and I'd like to flush mount a reverse/cargo light or LED strip) 3. Bed liner 4. Factory fog lights 5. Window tint 6. Small subwoofer (maybe down the road)

I finally got a new job, so I treated the truck to a small upgrade. Can't do a whole lot right now because I need to build some funds back up and Christmas is just around the corner. I had clear turn signals on the truck before the swap and really liked it; plus I didn't really like the way the amber looked with the Rescue Green paint. Anyone know where to get some chrome turn signal bulbs? These clears ones won't cut it.

I like my roll bar, but I would really rather have a factory one. Looks good.

That was done in Photoshop. I put a solid color layer on top of the truck, lowered the opacity and then used a layer mask to get rid of the areas where I didn't want color. I think its easier to change the color (like red to blue) than it is to add color (black to green). Wasn't a professional attempt by far, but it gave me an idea of what it would look like when it was done.

My new job is in Charlotte, so I will be around a whole lot more; we should get together. Albemarle isn't that far away, but it definitely feels that way some times. You're brother got me pumped for Rockingham on the 3rd; I was bummed to hear it was cancelled.

Thanks! I've still never seen your truck in person. I'll have to check it out some time.

I've always liked the original wheels you had on there. What made you decide to swap them out?

I've gotten to the point where I take most everything. I've had too many times where I left the right tool at home. I'm just glad the yards have wheel barrows.

Sorry to hear about your troubles man. I lost my job back in July of this year and it turned out to be one of the best things that could have happened to me. I got out of a job I hated and now I have a much better job making more money. Sometimes God closes doors when we don't think we're ready, but he is. When I lost my job, I just kept telling myself, it could always be worse. Its just a job - no one died. Every day is a gift and we just have to move forward making the best of what we have. As far as managing stress, stay busy. I found that I was a lot less stressed when I had something to do whether it was cleaning the house or tinkering with the Jeeps. Hope everything turns around for you quickly.