Okay got a YJ (thanks Terry) it's an 88, 4.2, carter BBD. Things appear solid, strong up hills, drives straight, no carb or suspension issues.
Over the next couple months I plan to do a lot to it. Paint, POR-15 the underside, Herculiner the interior, stainless exhaust, replace most hardware (hinges, tie downs etc.) with stainless (more for rust prevention than looks). The idea being a capable utility vehicle that I'm not waxing all the time; and that will see moderate off road use. Mostly it will be a winter beater so I want to protect it as much as possible from salt and rust.
How good are the stock jeep rims for off road? are they strong enough for moderate use? Same for the tires... How useful is a lift and 31's as opposed to stock? Are the stock size tires a real disadvantage if you're not looking to make the ultimate mudder? I'm not looking to make this basically stock Jeep into a wannabe or "poser" Jeep. I do want it to be capable off road... So if it's a lift and bigger tires then that's what I'll do.
Has anyone here ever used "Hammerite" paint? This stuff is tough as s**t from what I've seen. I'm considering painting the body with it. It should be more abbrasion/chip resistant than your average auto paint; but I've never used it on an auto. Are there any other recommended paints I should look into?
How much do fiberglass body parts lower the weight? In general I mean.
20%? 10%? what does a 2800 pound jeep weigh if everything including the tub is replaced with glass?Also is there any good reason (besides slightly more cost) not to replace any bolts and nuts I pull off with stainless ones? In the course of painting and de-rusting things, and replacing other hardware, I could end up taking out most of the fasteners on this thing (besides engine and tranny of course but their time may come).
Lastly, any good jeep project web sites out there that feature good mods (besides the standard stuff like lifts suspension upgrades, and MPI/head swaps?) I'm thinking of beefing up the roll bar, and fabricating my own spare tire/gas can utility rack among other things.
Any thoughts much appreciated. Some things I plan to do further down the line -- axle/dif, gears, tranny upgrade, fuel injection 4.0 head swap -- for now the cheaper stuff will have to do.
Simon
95 Mustang GT Vert 88 Jeep YJ