Shrek is Back in Black

[Mr.Shrek]

Figured it was time to get a build thread started for my latest project. First off here is a little info of my last XJ.

October 2008 2wd-4wd swap, motor swap, coils and Add-a-leaf w/ 31's.

Fast forward to fall of 2011.
Same jeep now with 6" of lift, adjustable lower control arms, 33's , fender trim, quarter trim, OEM front skid, gas tank skid, trimmed rear bumper, tube front bumper, quick disconnects, bored TB, full interior swap from tan to black, exterior swap black to tan, SYE, and ford 8.8.

After taking my time to find something a little more comfortable for DD, I picked this little buddle of joy up for $900. (Swapped the starter in the PO's driveway for $65 and 30 min. PO was none to pleased at all lol.)

As you can see she has a little cancer, but the planned armor will be taking care of that.

 

[Mr.Shrek]

Couple of interior shots. (A trip to Pull a Part took care of the missing trim on the door and dash)

Soon after the old tan beast started giving up it's goodies for it's younger sister.
Not pleased with the road manors of the junk yard lift of the tan jeep I spent a little cash and picked up a rough country lift from my good friend High2by. I added to it the procomp shocks, adjustable LCA's, and quick disconnects I already had.

Shortly after stripping all of the tan jeep of it's goodies it was loaded up on the trailer and taken to the scrap yard with the help of JeepAddict85.

Soon after the lift I had to replace the heater core.

 

[Mr.Shrek]

Now there are some parts from the swap I have not shown just due to being to dirty and busy to take pics. I swapped the SYE, and 8.8. The 8.8 did get a new piece of bling thanks to Solid.

Another trip to PAP gave way to some to cushion for the ogre's butt. Not bad for $85 if I do say so myself.

After some time she needed some new shoes.
33X12.5X15 Micky Thompson ATZ's.

Elvis approves.

Here are the parts I have waiting for install.
2X6 Tubing for the rockers.

VisionX Rock Lights

Thor Quarter Guards

A couple header panels from PAP for my Commander headlight conversion.

Also have 4.10 gears for the front and the D30 diff cover to be installed.

 

[Cottontail]

Looks good Shrek. Now we need "Shrek Back in Red!"

Looking forward to wheeling with you one day soon.

 

[Dozer11B]

Sweet score Shrek. Would have been funny to see the PO's face after you fixed it in his driveway. :flamemad:

Nice buildup on it too. What kind of bumper is that (unless I missed it)?

Good to see you back here too.

 

[Mr.Shrek]

It was actually a freebie gift thanks to Brian (Spawn) when he come over for the wrenchfest in his honor replacing his bumper with a winch bumper and winch. Think he said it came from JCR, not sure on that one though. Not the best built as the brackets are not square to the tubing and jeep.

 

[VAhasnoWAVES]

Soon after the lift I had to replace the heater core.

this picture does not make me excited about doing mine.

Elvis approves.

nice boxer.

 

[PacificEd]

Not the best built as the brackets are not square to the tubing and jeep.

I don't think the XJ it came off was square..........

 

[Lowrange2]

A couple header panels from PAP for my Commander headlight conversion.

I can never find header panels at the PAP. They're always gone when I get there.

 

[Mr.Shrek]

Oh a couple things i forgot to mention. It was t-boned 8 days after i bought it and I could see the PO's house from where I got hit lol. You can notice the driver's side door trim is nice and black while the front fender piece is old and faded.

Also have extended SS brake lines from Rancho front and rear.

 

[DeftwillP]

I can never find header panels at the PAP. They're always gone when I get there.

Same thing here with nice leathers.

 

[Spawn 93]

I don't think the XJ it came off was square..........

Mine or Shrek's tan one??

Lookin good, for an Ogre......

That bumper was a homebrew piece........

 

[Mr.Shrek]

Oops my bad Spawn lol. I thought you said you bought it. Redrilled a couple of bolt holes and how it fits nice and level. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth either. Thanks again for it.

 

[DirtRoadXJ]

Nice lookin XJ man. good score. Too bad you had to scrap the old one. Woulda made a nice chop top.

 

[Mr.Shrek]

Knocked out some more progress on the jeep this weekend.

First I swapped around some of the trim and put the rear leather seat in.

Then I repurposed a projector cart into my welding cart.

Then it was time to finally get these freebies installed.

Cleaned up some tabs I had laying around the work bench thanks to wingnutooa.

Played around with placement.

I went with them hanging from the top because it gives me more room to upgrade to larger lights in the future, stays tucked a bit behind the bar, and most importantly it's the one I liked.

Prepped the bar.

Driver's tab, clamped, and tacked.

Passenger side.

After I had both tabs tacked in, I took the clamps and lights off to finish burning them in.

Tabs welded, cleaned up and ready for paint.

 

[Mr.Shrek]

After some paint and mouting the lights back on, it was time to get them wired up.

Pulled my two apprentices out of the house to learn how to use relays, wire, loom, and fan the fire of cardom that burns inside all guys.

Didn't get any pictures of the wiring because I was to busy teaching the boys, but if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Let there be light!

As most things with upgrading stuff on your jeep goes, one upgrade leads to another, leads to another, etc.

This was a perfect time to replace my worn out factory battery terminals. I also upgraded the power, ground, and alternator cables to 4ga. Few pics of the old and new.
Old and busted.

Side by side comparison.

New hotness.

 

[Mr.Shrek]

More progess this weekend. Washed the jeep, then I got started on my Thor Quart Guards install. I know there has to be a few write ups on this one already so here is a mock up shot.

As you can see I had to pull the fender flare to make it fit properly. Instead of trimming the guard, as well as not being ready to trim the fenders, i trimmed the edge of the flare to accept the thickness of the guard.

I do need to mention thought that the guards are not bare. I cleaned them up really well and gave them a shine with a wire disk. Then I hit the back with flat black to help protect it. The outside got a few coats of high gloss clear coat. Wanted to go against the grain of most where they just paint them black and bolt them on.

Quick parking garage shot of the finished product minus the reverse light.

I was running out of time for the weekend so I only got the one side finished. Here is a comparison betweet the stock tail lights and the new LEDs.

Parking Lights.

Brake Lights.

 

[Mr.Shrek]

With not enough time to knock out the passenger side I took care of the 3rd brake light. I've had a bar of 30 LED's laying around from an old shop light for a while and finally put it to use. Turns out it's the perfect size for the 3rd brake light.

Parts layed out on the cart.

On the bottom side of the houseing I used a tooling line as my point of reference for my cut.

Which happens to be the right length for the LED bar.

I used my handy dandy hand saw to lop the back of the housing off.

Cut.

Profile.

Mock up.

Stole the wife's hot glue gun for a bit.

The hot glue proveded a nice bond and seal all the way around.

Cut the factory light socket pig tail and soldered it in so this could still be unplugged like the factory unit.

After that I taped it up and installed the light back in. Here is the comparison of the 3rd brake lights.

Stock.

LED's

Not a giant difference, but it is brighter, was free, and I know these won't burn out for a long time to come.

 

[N8N_99xj]

Like the 3rd brake light thing. I'm guessing the drop light was 12V already so you didn't have to futz around with dropping resistors, etc.? I have to replace mine (well, I don't have to, but my original is scratched and I got a nicer one from a part out) so I'm thinking of maybe stealing your idea.

 

[Mr.Shrek]

Yeah it was already 12v. So it was pretty much plug and play on that part.