FitchVA - The Good

[FitchVA]

there's not much "built" about this xj, but i've done a few things to it

stock specs:

1998
4.0L I-6
AW4
NP231 TC
D30/CHRY8.25 - stock 3.55 gears

pics from when i bought it:

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album40/01_G.jpg

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album40/02_G.jpg

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album40/03_G.jpg

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album40/06_G.jpg

[FitchVA]

first order of business was to get rid of the side steps:

before:

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album39/IMG_2121.jpg

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album39/IMG_2122.jpg

after:

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album39/IMG_2154.jpg

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album39/IMG_2162.jpg

[FitchVA]

next order of business was to make night driving more safe. for all xj's, that means HEADLIGHTS

i upgraded the stock wiring harness myself. full writeup -> http://fitchva.com/jeep/?p=57

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album76/IMG_3713_01.jpg

results:

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album76/headlight_comparison.jpg

soon after i installed the harness, i installed a set of Auto-Pal e-code headlights and bulbs (no pictures...sorry)

[FitchVA]

both the tires and shocks were SHOT, so it was a great time to upgrade :2thumbsup: but i wanted to do it as cheaply as possible. so i did a home-brew 2" budget boost. i had also traded for some 2006 TJ Rubicon Moabs.

full writeup on the lift -> http://fitchva.com/jeep/?p=56

results:

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album83/IMG_9715.jpg

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album83/IMG_9757.jpg

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album83/IMG_9763.jpg

[FitchVA]

next up, i put on some clear markers and front turn signals.

full writeup on how i dealt with the amber bulbs -> http://fitchva.com/jeep/?p=55

results:

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album88/IMG_0156.jpg

[FitchVA]

that same weekend, i candied my taillights. i had gotten rid of the amber up front, so i figured i'd get rid of the amber in the rear taillights.

full writeup: -> http://fitchva.com/jeep/?p=54

results:

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album90/IMG_0176_01.jpg

[FitchVA]

it FINALLY went up in the air to get the replacement shocks. OEM JK Rubi shocks on the cheap. i scored mine for around $25 with less than 5k miles on them.

full writeup: -> http://fitchva.com/jeep/?p=62

hover jeeP!!!

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album107/IMG_0530.jpg

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album107/IMG_0539.jpg

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album107/IMG_0544.jpg

[FitchVA]

i worked on my laptop mount. i've always wanted a carputer, but just couldn't bring myself to do it. so i've been tinkering with trying to get a laptop setup that would give me the functionality of a carputer, but not being tied down to 1 vehicle.

my first "poor boy" attempt. it was simply 2 layers of thick cardboard with a cardboard leg. all covered in packaging tape. :rotflmao5:

it worked. but that's about it

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album120/IMG_0133.jpg

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album120/IMG_0135.jpg

[FitchVA]

well needless to say, i couldn't leave it at just that.

i had seen a post on one of the jeep boards where the poster used a mount for a Dish Network satellite dish (for the adjustments). so i gave that a go...

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album121/IMG_0413.jpg

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album121/IMG_0416.jpg

i could even swivel it for the passenger to use if needed

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album121/IMG_0418.jpg

but that laptop was a little too large IMO. it completely blocked my view of the side mirror. and it was so top heavy that it vibrated way way too much for my liking. so i went back to the cardboard setup.

[FitchVA]

not too long ago, i acquired a new laptop. well, it's really a netbook. once i didn't have to deal with a 15" screen in my way (the dell mini has an 8.9" screen), i decided to give it another go at a better mount.

here's what i made out of some scrap angle, pipe, and some flat stock:

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album122/IMG_1016.jpg

what you can't see is a long piece of 3/16" flat stock on the inside of the center console. to give the bracket some stability, the bracket extends almost all of the way to the back of the console.

from the driver's seat (the black stuff is that anti skid stuff people put on cabinet shelves. it was temporary for the test run):

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album122/IMG_1013.jpg

and the back side:

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album122/IMG_1015.jpg

[FitchVA]

and plenty of room for a passenger

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album122/IMG_1018.jpg

tons of room between the top and my leg (at it's lowest - it can raise up about 8-10 inches from where it's at)

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album122/IMG_1020.jpg

and swiveled around for the passenger to use

http://fitchva.com/jeep/gallery1/albums/album122/IMG_1023.jpg

it's not 100% finished. i need to finish the top and clean it up. my dad has some thinner stuff that i think i'm gonna use. i'm heading to see them this weekend so i'll be able to pick it up and hopefully cut it out. i'll probably have to wait until i get back to roanoke before i can paint it.

and once i'm 100% sure that i'll be keeping this setup, i'll be making a matching backing plate that i can put in my green xj so i can easily move the mount (2 bolts) between the 2 xj's fast.

[xjtrailrider]

Nice! Looks like the patrol car set-ups:D

[FitchVA]

:rotflmao5: just with that "back woods" feel to it ;)

[hadfield4wd]

Great idea Steve. I had a laptop specific mount in a tahoe 8 years ago, before palm pilots. I used it for contacts. Anyway let me know when you want ot get rid of that cheesy plywood. That is not up to your anal standards. My dad has cherry, oak, chestnut, walnut etc. It can be finished and edges routered. It will look really nice. Just give me a dimension and he'll get on it. In fact I'm going there this weekend and we could get it cut out and routered and bring it back and you could finish it with polyeurothane. That would be pimp.

[DAZYDG]

Sweet! Your cute little 9" mini is portable! :thumb:

[hadfield4wd]

Sweet! Your cute little 9" mini is portable! :thumb:


I have many things I could say, but I'll refrain.:sSc_eek2:

[FitchVA]

Great idea Steve. I had a laptop specific mount in a tahoe 8 years ago, before palm pilots. I used it for contacts. Anyway let me know when you want ot get rid of that cheesy plywood. That is not up to your anal standards. My dad has cherry, oak, chestnut, walnut etc. It can be finished and edges routered. It will look really nice. Just give me a dimension and he'll get on it. In fact I'm going there this weekend and we could get it cut out and routered and bring it back and you could finish it with polyeurothane. That would be pimp.

:rotflmao5: you know me all too well. i'm going back east to visit with the family this weekend. i'm taking with me a cutting board made out of that HMMVAIWERLIUW$ (whatever the heck initials that white plastic board has ;) ) . i plan on trying it out of that. whatever i end up using for the top, i'd like to get it a tad bit lighter than what i've got now. if the cutting board doesn't work out, i'll give ya a holler :2thumbsup:

[FitchVA]

Sweet! Your cute little 9" mini is portable! :thumb:

I have many things I could say, but I'll refrain.:sSc_eek2:

:rotflmao5: me too

[rubican!]

The mini is the perfect latop for the car. Its not super exspensive so if it got jacked youd only cry for a month instead of a year and you can stick it just about anywhere. I thouht abou tthis once but i wanted the laptop to be able to be used by the passanger. Wardriving etc. so i was trying to figure out a way to mount a swing arm to the radio bolts under the plastice bezel like thy use for cb mounts with a thin peice of aluminum. Awesome ideas tho9uhg

[DAZYDG]

:rotflmao5: me too

:p Oh I could say something too...

This does remind me of a friends sig on another fourm
" Get your mind out of the gutter so mine can float by.."

Anyway carry on Steve, didnt mean to disrupt your thread with my innocent little comments...http://www.clicksmilies.com/s1106/grinser/grinning-smiley-026.gif

[cootees]

So this is why Chris wanted a mini... and to think my initial thought was that he wanted it to e-mail me while he was taking a poo.

[FitchVA]

The mini is the perfect latop for the car. Its not super exspensive so if it got jacked youd only cry for a month instead of a year and you can stick it just about anywhere. I thouht abou tthis once but i wanted the laptop to be able to be used by the passanger. Wardriving etc. so i was trying to figure out a way to mount a swing arm to the radio bolts under the plastice bezel like thy use for cb mounts with a thin peice of aluminum. Awesome ideas tho9uhg

yup! solid state drives FTMFW! :2thumbsup: no worries about platters spinning while you're bouncing down the road or on a trail. i too thought about trying to mount something like you're talking. but in the end, this was much easier considering i wanted to quickly swap it between xj's.

[FitchVA]

:p Oh I could say something too...

This does remind me of a friends sig on another fourm
" Get your mind out of the gutter so mine can float by.."

Anyway carry on Steve, didnt mean to disrupt your thread with my innocent little comments...http://www.clicksmilies.com/s1106/grinser/grinning-smiley-026.gif

i hi-jack threads enough to not care when mine get it ;) :driving:

[FitchVA]

So this is why Chris wanted a mini... and to think my initial thought was that he wanted it to e-mail me while he was taking a poo.

it was probably a little of both :rotflmao5: