Before the Bronco, there was the jeep

tcm glx · Post by **tcm glx** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 10:53 pm

So, here is a quick list of how the Jeep Ended up when I sold it:
Exterior:
97+ front clip including Mirrors
Ajax FIberglass Fenders
Lebaron Hood vents
33's BFG Muds
4.56 gears, locked front and rear, disc brake rear conversion
Fully caged, Unibody completly plated front to
Bilstein 7100s 12"(f) and 14" (r) with Air Bumps front
Currie Steering
TNT Long Arm
Mastercraft Baja RS

Pics from day one through its many stages:
Day I bought it

tcm glx · Post by **tcm glx** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 10:56 pm

more

Silverslk · Post by **Silverslk** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 11:01 pm

If no body noticed. Tony has a thing for wheels. His KMC's will get powdercoated one day but shortly after expect them to be for sale and something new on it.

Those pics make you miss it much Tony? I miss mine (wish I could have both).

tcm glx · Post by **tcm glx** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 11:06 pm

Silverslk wrote:If no body noticed. Tony has a thing for wheels. His KMC's will get powdercoated one day but shortly after expect them to be for sale and something new on it.

Those pics make you miss it much Tony? I miss mine (wish I could have both).

Miss it, not really, more like smile from all the good times I had with it..., it was a great toy, but man o man I love my Bronco.

And on the wheels... your probably right...

tcm glx · Post by **tcm glx** » Thu Dec 24, 2009 11:37 pm

Una mas:

redwagon · Post by **redwagon** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 10:05 pm

Tony, thats one bad ass jeep

Drilim · Post by **Drilim** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 10:26 pm

Definitely a good looking Jeep, Tony

Rednek Renegade · Post by **Rednek Renegade** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 12:06 am

Always liked XJ's, too bad they never made them compatible for people with Norwegian builds!

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 12:09 am

Rednek Renegade wrote:Always liked XJ's, too bad they never made them compatible for people with Norwegian builds!

Are you saying that you're fluffy?

Very cool jeep T. You had my little sunroof beat with that rag top.

Rednek Renegade · Post by **Rednek Renegade** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 12:18 am

Nick wrote:
Rednek Renegade wrote:Always liked XJ's, too bad they never made them compatible for people with Norwegian builds!
Are you saying that you're fluffy?

Hair over 6'2" and 245, 250 after todays festivities but yeah, me and jeeps arent built for each other

tcm glx · Post by **tcm glx** » Sat Dec 26, 2009 7:57 am

I'm fluffy myself (the fourth stage of being fat for those of you who know Gabriel Iglesias, the comedian) and it actually wasn't to bad. I will tell ou the bronco is like a palace in comparison though.

Anyways, thanks for the nice comments guys. I was very fortunate with that Jeep, in my last year of ownership, Crown Automotive (largest aftermarket dist of Jeep reman parts) decided to sponsor my jeep and build it for display in their Off Road Expo booth as well as their Sema booth. Out of that, the jeep got quite a bit of extra work done to it and although ORE happened, Sema was a no go about a month before the show. Change of plans on Crowns side, they decided to run a smaller booth that did not have a vehicle on display, so I took the chance to put the Jeep up for sale at its prime, and now, I have the Bronco.

And for those who do not know Gabriel Iglesias... go to minute 1.05 on this video and enjoy....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGHgUZbA ... re=related

billy1911 · Post by **billy1911** » Tue Jan 05, 2010 8:13 pm

I remember seeing it at the expo that year in the crown both. Looked awesome.

Becks_Bronco · Post by **Becks_Bronco** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 3:56 pm

Diggin this up for relevancy, lol.

How did you like the long arm setup Tony? Any local shops that you would trust with jeep fabrication in the trail rig/go fast category?

Thanks!

Agui-E7TE · Post by **Agui-E7TE** » Thu Mar 22, 2012 12:29 am

I know of one place that builds pretty cool XJs.. T&J Performance in Aneheim, CA. I'm sure Tony knows of a few other places that could help you with your XJ.

robertcrav · Post by **robertcrav** » Thu Mar 22, 2012 5:51 am

T&J does build cool XJs but they are also very proud $$$$ of the work they do too, nothing wrong with that but when I ha my XJ I couldn't afford their prices...

Currie has a nice short arm kit and 'stuff' for the XJ, although they are moving to Corona

I would also talk to OffRoad Evolution in Fullerton, they build some of the sickest JKs, Mel Wade races a 'production' JK with his parts in KOH...so XJ stuff should be cake

Shame Off-Road general store is no more, back in the day they created a lot of really cool parts that started on XJs, like rock rails and the ACOS Adjustable coil spacer that JKs now sells

tcm glx · Post by **tcm glx** » Thu Mar 22, 2012 6:14 am

Becks_Bronco wrote:Diggin this up for relevancy, lol.

How did you like the long arm setup Tony? Any local shops that you would trust with jeep fabrication in the trail rig/go fast category?

Thanks!

Will,
The long arm setup was cool, and it drove fine. Honestly though, if I bought another XJ, I would do it differently. I think a 3-4" lift, short arm (Currie has a great setup for that) with Bilstein 5160s all around will do awesome all around. Do a SYE, mount up either a 265.75.16 (32") or a 33x10.5x15 and trim to make it work.

As for shops, I spent alot of time on NAXJA and made some great friends, most if not all of the work on my XJ was done at a friends house, with friends wrenching. As a amatter of fact, I met Andy (SilverSLK) on those forums and we became great friends. He spent 13 hours on Labor Day weekend helping me install the long arm lift.

So, let me wrap it up.... keep it simple, this thing is not a long travel rig, and never will be...

For inspiration:

tcm glx · Post by **tcm glx** » Thu Mar 22, 2012 6:32 am

Good deal on some 5100s:

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1081235

Silverslk · Post by **Silverslk** » Thu Mar 22, 2012 9:08 am

I agree and disagree with Tony.

I had the Rubicon Express long arm lift on mine and would do it again every time. That said, like I mentioned before, go on NAXJA and start making friends. They have/had lift partys all the time. A group of guys will show up and help you install your lift and get everything on. All you provide is beer and pizza. This allows you to get a better (more expensive) lift and not have to pay crazy labor for install.

Hey Tony......you should get him a set of the frame stiffeners you had.......I think Dean would sell his.

Agui-E7TE · Post by **Agui-E7TE** » Thu Mar 22, 2012 9:32 am

robertcrav wrote:T&J does build cool XJs but they are also very proud $$$$ of the work they do too, nothing wrong with that but when I ha my XJ I couldn't afford their prices...

Currie has a nice short arm kit and 'stuff' for the XJ, although they are moving to Corona

I would also talk to OffRoad Evolution in Fullerton, they build some of the sickest JKs, Mel Wade races a 'production' JK with his parts in KOH...so XJ stuff should be cake

Shame Off-Road general store is no more, back in the day they created a lot of really cool parts that started on XJs, like rock rails and the ACOS Adjustable coil spacer that JKs now sells

I can't believe I didn't think about Off Road Evolution. Mel's an awesome dude and does nothing but top notch work. All his stuff is really awesome, I saw that JK for KOH when it was first being built alongside the Poison Spyder KOH Jk at his shop. I've been to a lot of photo shoots at his shop and they've always been really friendly and cool.

I do like Tony and Andy's suggestion about building it with friends since that would make it more affordable and you would meet some cool people. I've only ridden in an XJ with a Rock Krawler long arm kit with TJ unlimited coils and it was awesome. It also had Bilsten 5160's and it would handle the washes and whoops really nice even at 65 mph on our way from Victorville to Primm through the dirt. It's the black XJ in this months Off-Road magazine.

Becks_Bronco · Post by **Becks_Bronco** » Thu Mar 22, 2012 3:45 pm

Tony, already have 4 5160's on their way, and i plan on 4" deaver leafs in the rear, and 4.5" deaver coils up front, ACOS bumps for the front and currie steering. I'll look into currie's short arms

I don't plan on it being an all out desert rig, or a crawler by any means. Just a reliable, capable trail rig that i can comfortably DD.

I was planning on 32x11.50's, but thanks for the advice! It's well taken. I really would like to do things only once, seeing as how clean mine is to start.

And i'm digging the front glass you had. Not a fan of the bushwackers, or trimmed stock fenders.