Builds Nijas98hundie build thread

[Nijas98hundie]

ive had a few people ask me to do a build thread. I’m pretty far along In the process but I’ll try to post retroactively to catch up with where I’m at today.

I picked up my 1998 UZJ100 in October 2015. It was bone stock with 300k miles on it and had been beat to death in a hail storm. In other words, I found the perfect camping rig!!

It had a super fancy grill guard that would bend into my headlights if I hit a decent size moth. Gold, so much gold trim.

First things first, I bought a used set of 33” Toyo at’s on steel tundra wheels to get her rolling.

 

[Nijas98hundie]

After plunging into Goose Creek in Fayetteville TN, I decided to make a huge hole in my passenger fender and stick a tube in it.

Also the rear locker wouldn’t engage so I pulled it apart to find the magnets in the motor were broke. I took the biggest chunk of magnet and epoxied it back in the case and it’s been working fine for the last couple years

 

[Nijas98hundie]

Time to get into the fun stuff!

ARB bumper and Warn 10k synthetic up front. Also did the Jeep 4” led light mod and built a proper recovery point while in there.

 

[Nijas98hundie]

Back to maintenance.

I replaced basically all the rubber up front. The sway bar bushing were making a little noise. I don’t know why?

 

[Nijas98hundie]

I looked for roof racks that would suit my needs but finally decided to build my own. I wanted a rack with points to attach modular add on’s such as kayak racks, awning, cargo boxes, etc.

 

[Nijas98hundie]

With all the new bracketry I started adding some lights. I went the cheaper route with amazon led lights. These things are super bright and have lasted a year so far. I put a relay box behind the air box and a switch panel in the overhead console. This took a lot of thought and work but the end result is clean and tidy.

All this is ran off my second battery, hence the dual voltage readout.

 

[Nijas98hundie]

Aaaand back to maintenance.

I shut it down for a couple weeks and replaced:

Timing belt
Water pump
Idlers
Oil pump
Oil pan gasket
Steering rack
Alternator
Drive belt/idlers
Thermostat
Coolant hoses
Fan viscous coupler

I flushed the coolant and put everything back together.

Of course it only made sense to go ahead and put an OME 2.5” heavy kit in while I was in there.

 

[Nijas98hundie]

Super stink bug!

 

[Nijas98hundie]

Don’t worry all you anti-stinkbug activists, it’ll all flatten out soon enough. Time for drawers!!

 

[Nijas98hundie]

She was still a bit high in the rear, so the next logical step was..... Slee rear bumper.

 

[Nijas98hundie]

Well, that spare is a little smooth for my liking. Why buy 1 tire when you can buy 5. Furthermore, I really like talking to the guy at the local gas station (he drove a cruiser across Africa) so I decided to go with 295/70/18’s. For all you letter haters out there, I kinda like this look. I’ll probably paint the wheels black or charcoal though.

 

[bozncsurf]

Wow!! That was the fastest produced build thread ever!

I really need the recovery points you have installed - my winch hook, let alone a shackle pin, won't fit into the thin stock location with the ARB mounted. Did you fab those as well?

I copied your idea on the Jeep fogs

I love that you invested in all the preventative maintaince.

Now that I've seen yours my to do list just got a lot longer.

 

[bozncsurf]

Did you design & build the drawers yourself?

They came out awesome.

 

[Nijas98hundie]

$1500 later I now have a spare I can count on..... and a trasharoo. My instagram is seak_the_peak_overland, how could I claim to be an overlander without a trasharoo!?!

 

[Nijas98hundie]

Wow!! That was the fastest produced build thread ever!

I really need the recovery points you have installed - my winch hook, let alone a shackle pin, won't fit into the thin stock location with the ARB mounted. Did you fab those as well?

I copied your idea on the Jeep fogs

I love that you invested in all the preventative maintaince.

Now that I've seen yours my to do list just got a lot longer.

Yessir, recovery point east built out of 1/2” angle I got for free from a local structural steel fabricator. Also has a 1/2” plate inside the frame.

 

[Nijas98hundie]

..... aaaannndddd a fridge.

 

[Nijas98hundie]

Did you design & build the drawers yourself?

They came out awesome.

Yep. I took some notes from Brady adventures, I’m sure he’s on here somewhere. Never met the guy, but I like his YouTube videos and his kids are always around which is important to me also.

 

[Nijas98hundie]

..... aaannndddd an ARB awning.

 

[Nijas98hundie]

So, that’s how she sits today. Next up are 4.88’s front air locker and drop down fridge slide.

I’m trying to figure out how to store water and fuel more efficiently, so I may have some update on that as well.

On the maintenance side, I still need to do valve cover gaskets and coils/plugs. I’ll probably rebuild or replace the starter while I’m in there.

 

[Nijas98hundie]

Oh yeah, sliders. I built them out of 1/4” wall square tube and 3/16” round tube. Braced and welded the bajeezes out of them. 1/4” plates welded to the frame with gussets.