Jeepers Creepers!

I think most YJ owners have wondered about it, in idle moments - just
looked at the Barbie-Car square headlights and misshapen grille and
thought, how hard would it be? Well, I'm learning - I'd had my fill of the
avant-garde styling on my '94 YJ and decided to make it, cosmetically at
least, into a CJ7.

First of all, it's NOT a bolt-on. It's so close a fit you just wanna shake
your fists at the sky...but it does NOT fit exactly, or close enough to
bolt it up. To start with, the CJ radiator shell is one and one-half
inches higher than the YJ. And it's set back one inch.

The frame doesn't drop as much from the cowl to the bumper, so the radiator
mount needs to be lowered. And that's not so easy as it seems...the
radiator shell looks as if it will fit neatly between the wider YJ frame
rails. Looks that way...but in fact it's 1/8 inch too wide.

Then there's the steering gear. That keeps you from lowering the radiator
shell...you can get a sabre saw and cut the lower half of the shell out to
fit, but then you get into Appalachian engineering...it's looking as if it
would have been easier to raise the body; but I feared the hassle of
breaking loose bolts frozen on for ten years.

Then the fenders. I chose fiberglass, mostly because I got a bargain price
on them. But it turned out to be the smart plan - there's one hell of a
lot of trimming and shaving necessary to clear the frame and the shock
towers. Here even lifting the body wouldn't save you.

Then there's the underhood configuration. The stock airbox won't fit; you
have to factor in a performance aircleaner as part of the price. It's
worth considering if you have to get the vehicle past an E-check.

And we're not even done yet.

I started this project with a new, factory blem, radiator shell and a good
secondhand hood for $100. Fenders cost another hundred and a half...and I
thought it a pretty good buy. Bolting in the radiator shell showed me I
was in WAY over my head and I had to take it to a Jeep customization
specialist. His price, to finish a job he didn't start and didn't want:
$400

And that doesn't include painting to match.

Point is, it's not easy OR cheap. If you're looking for a custom look for
your ride, there's probably ways to get more bang for the buck. If you're
looking to get away from the square headlights, it might just be easier to
go with the TJ grille and hood.

Wish me luck. Anyone wants to see, I might put up pictures of the finished
product.

L.W.(=?iso-8859-1?Q?=DFill?=) Hughes III

http://www.omix-ada.com/newmarkedproducts.htm and
http://www.jeep-body-parts.com/YJ_Je..._front_end.htm
God Bless America, ßill O|||||||O
mailto:-------------------- http://www.----------.com/

"Jeepers Creepers!" wrote:
>
> I think most YJ owners have wondered about it, in idle moments - just
> looked at the Barbie-Car square headlights and misshapen grille and
> thought, how hard would it be? Well, I'm learning - I'd had my fill of the
> avant-garde styling on my '94 YJ and decided to make it, cosmetically at
> least, into a CJ7.
>
> First of all, it's NOT a bolt-on. It's so close a fit you just wanna shake
> your fists at the sky...but it does NOT fit exactly, or close enough to
> bolt it up. To start with, the CJ radiator shell is one and one-half
> inches higher than the YJ. And it's set back one inch.
>
> The frame doesn't drop as much from the cowl to the bumper, so the radiator
> mount needs to be lowered. And that's not so easy as it seems...the
> radiator shell looks as if it will fit neatly between the wider YJ frame
> rails. Looks that way...but in fact it's 1/8 inch too wide.
>
> Then there's the steering gear. That keeps you from lowering the radiator
> shell...you can get a sabre saw and cut the lower half of the shell out to
> fit, but then you get into Appalachian engineering...it's looking as if it
> would have been easier to raise the body; but I feared the hassle of
> breaking loose bolts frozen on for ten years.
>
> Then the fenders. I chose fiberglass, mostly because I got a bargain price
> on them. But it turned out to be the smart plan - there's one hell of a
> lot of trimming and shaving necessary to clear the frame and the shock
> towers. Here even lifting the body wouldn't save you.
>
> Then there's the underhood configuration. The stock airbox won't fit; you
> have to factor in a performance aircleaner as part of the price. It's
> worth considering if you have to get the vehicle past an E-check.
>
> And we're not even done yet.
>
> I started this project with a new, factory blem, radiator shell and a good
> secondhand hood for $100. Fenders cost another hundred and a half...and I
> thought it a pretty good buy. Bolting in the radiator shell showed me I
> was in WAY over my head and I had to take it to a Jeep customization
> specialist. His price, to finish a job he didn't start and didn't want:
> $400
>
> And that doesn't include painting to match.
>
> Point is, it's not easy OR cheap. If you're looking for a custom look for
> your ride, there's probably ways to get more bang for the buck. If you're
> looking to get away from the square headlights, it might just be easier to
> go with the TJ grille and hood.
>
> Wish me luck. Anyone wants to see, I might put up pictures of the finished
> product.

L.W.(=?iso-8859-1?Q?=DFill?=) Hughes III

http://www.omix-ada.com/newmarkedproducts.htm and
http://www.jeep-body-parts.com/YJ_Je..._front_end.htm
God Bless America, ßill O|||||||O
mailto:-------------------- http://www.----------.com/

"Jeepers Creepers!" wrote:
>
> I think most YJ owners have wondered about it, in idle moments - just
> looked at the Barbie-Car square headlights and misshapen grille and
> thought, how hard would it be? Well, I'm learning - I'd had my fill of the
> avant-garde styling on my '94 YJ and decided to make it, cosmetically at
> least, into a CJ7.
>
> First of all, it's NOT a bolt-on. It's so close a fit you just wanna shake
> your fists at the sky...but it does NOT fit exactly, or close enough to
> bolt it up. To start with, the CJ radiator shell is one and one-half
> inches higher than the YJ. And it's set back one inch.
>
> The frame doesn't drop as much from the cowl to the bumper, so the radiator
> mount needs to be lowered. And that's not so easy as it seems...the
> radiator shell looks as if it will fit neatly between the wider YJ frame
> rails. Looks that way...but in fact it's 1/8 inch too wide.
>
> Then there's the steering gear. That keeps you from lowering the radiator
> shell...you can get a sabre saw and cut the lower half of the shell out to
> fit, but then you get into Appalachian engineering...it's looking as if it
> would have been easier to raise the body; but I feared the hassle of
> breaking loose bolts frozen on for ten years.
>
> Then the fenders. I chose fiberglass, mostly because I got a bargain price
> on them. But it turned out to be the smart plan - there's one hell of a
> lot of trimming and shaving necessary to clear the frame and the shock
> towers. Here even lifting the body wouldn't save you.
>
> Then there's the underhood configuration. The stock airbox won't fit; you
> have to factor in a performance aircleaner as part of the price. It's
> worth considering if you have to get the vehicle past an E-check.
>
> And we're not even done yet.
>
> I started this project with a new, factory blem, radiator shell and a good
> secondhand hood for $100. Fenders cost another hundred and a half...and I
> thought it a pretty good buy. Bolting in the radiator shell showed me I
> was in WAY over my head and I had to take it to a Jeep customization
> specialist. His price, to finish a job he didn't start and didn't want:
> $400
>
> And that doesn't include painting to match.
>
> Point is, it's not easy OR cheap. If you're looking for a custom look for
> your ride, there's probably ways to get more bang for the buck. If you're
> looking to get away from the square headlights, it might just be easier to
> go with the TJ grille and hood.
>
> Wish me luck. Anyone wants to see, I might put up pictures of the finished
> product.

L.W.(=?iso-8859-1?Q?=DFill?=) Hughes III

http://www.omix-ada.com/newmarkedproducts.htm and
http://www.jeep-body-parts.com/YJ_Je..._front_end.htm
God Bless America, ßill O|||||||O
mailto:-------------------- http://www.----------.com/

"Jeepers Creepers!" wrote:
>
> I think most YJ owners have wondered about it, in idle moments - just
> looked at the Barbie-Car square headlights and misshapen grille and
> thought, how hard would it be? Well, I'm learning - I'd had my fill of the
> avant-garde styling on my '94 YJ and decided to make it, cosmetically at
> least, into a CJ7.
>
> First of all, it's NOT a bolt-on. It's so close a fit you just wanna shake
> your fists at the sky...but it does NOT fit exactly, or close enough to
> bolt it up. To start with, the CJ radiator shell is one and one-half
> inches higher than the YJ. And it's set back one inch.
>
> The frame doesn't drop as much from the cowl to the bumper, so the radiator
> mount needs to be lowered. And that's not so easy as it seems...the
> radiator shell looks as if it will fit neatly between the wider YJ frame
> rails. Looks that way...but in fact it's 1/8 inch too wide.
>
> Then there's the steering gear. That keeps you from lowering the radiator
> shell...you can get a sabre saw and cut the lower half of the shell out to
> fit, but then you get into Appalachian engineering...it's looking as if it
> would have been easier to raise the body; but I feared the hassle of
> breaking loose bolts frozen on for ten years.
>
> Then the fenders. I chose fiberglass, mostly because I got a bargain price
> on them. But it turned out to be the smart plan - there's one hell of a
> lot of trimming and shaving necessary to clear the frame and the shock
> towers. Here even lifting the body wouldn't save you.
>
> Then there's the underhood configuration. The stock airbox won't fit; you
> have to factor in a performance aircleaner as part of the price. It's
> worth considering if you have to get the vehicle past an E-check.
>
> And we're not even done yet.
>
> I started this project with a new, factory blem, radiator shell and a good
> secondhand hood for $100. Fenders cost another hundred and a half...and I
> thought it a pretty good buy. Bolting in the radiator shell showed me I
> was in WAY over my head and I had to take it to a Jeep customization
> specialist. His price, to finish a job he didn't start and didn't want:
> $400
>
> And that doesn't include painting to match.
>
> Point is, it's not easy OR cheap. If you're looking for a custom look for
> your ride, there's probably ways to get more bang for the buck. If you're
> looking to get away from the square headlights, it might just be easier to
> go with the TJ grille and hood.
>
> Wish me luck. Anyone wants to see, I might put up pictures of the finished
> product.

L.W.(=?iso-8859-1?Q?=DFill?=) Hughes III

http://www.omix-ada.com/newmarkedproducts.htm and
http://www.jeep-body-parts.com/YJ_Je..._front_end.htm
God Bless America, ßill O|||||||O
mailto:-------------------- http://www.----------.com/

"Jeepers Creepers!" wrote:
>
> I think most YJ owners have wondered about it, in idle moments - just
> looked at the Barbie-Car square headlights and misshapen grille and
> thought, how hard would it be? Well, I'm learning - I'd had my fill of the
> avant-garde styling on my '94 YJ and decided to make it, cosmetically at
> least, into a CJ7.
>
> First of all, it's NOT a bolt-on. It's so close a fit you just wanna shake
> your fists at the sky...but it does NOT fit exactly, or close enough to
> bolt it up. To start with, the CJ radiator shell is one and one-half
> inches higher than the YJ. And it's set back one inch.
>
> The frame doesn't drop as much from the cowl to the bumper, so the radiator
> mount needs to be lowered. And that's not so easy as it seems...the
> radiator shell looks as if it will fit neatly between the wider YJ frame
> rails. Looks that way...but in fact it's 1/8 inch too wide.
>
> Then there's the steering gear. That keeps you from lowering the radiator
> shell...you can get a sabre saw and cut the lower half of the shell out to
> fit, but then you get into Appalachian engineering...it's looking as if it
> would have been easier to raise the body; but I feared the hassle of
> breaking loose bolts frozen on for ten years.
>
> Then the fenders. I chose fiberglass, mostly because I got a bargain price
> on them. But it turned out to be the smart plan - there's one hell of a
> lot of trimming and shaving necessary to clear the frame and the shock
> towers. Here even lifting the body wouldn't save you.
>
> Then there's the underhood configuration. The stock airbox won't fit; you
> have to factor in a performance aircleaner as part of the price. It's
> worth considering if you have to get the vehicle past an E-check.
>
> And we're not even done yet.
>
> I started this project with a new, factory blem, radiator shell and a good
> secondhand hood for $100. Fenders cost another hundred and a half...and I
> thought it a pretty good buy. Bolting in the radiator shell showed me I
> was in WAY over my head and I had to take it to a Jeep customization
> specialist. His price, to finish a job he didn't start and didn't want:
> $400
>
> And that doesn't include painting to match.
>
> Point is, it's not easy OR cheap. If you're looking for a custom look for
> your ride, there's probably ways to get more bang for the buck. If you're
> looking to get away from the square headlights, it might just be easier to
> go with the TJ grille and hood.
>
> Wish me luck. Anyone wants to see, I might put up pictures of the finished
> product.