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The YJ was bought with the intention of building a hard-core rockcrawling rig with no regard for on-road manners whatsoever. To tackle the new Moab trails such as Upper Helldorado and Upper Proving Grounds, the YJ was going to need some serious upgrades. We tore the Jeep down to the ground and started the slow rebuilding process. A Ford 302, C6 tranny and NP205 transfer case were installed. Full-width Dana 44’s were also added to turn the 38” Swampers. The Holly Pro-Jection that was put in requires some serious patience. I’m constantly telling myself that it really IS worth it. A Howell fuel injection system is on the close horizon. Skyjacker provided the springs; over in the front, under in the back. The spring-under rear was kept in place to prevent the axle wrap, broken springs, and all the other fun break-downs associated with springs over the axle in the rear. Buggy leaves front and rear as well as Revolver shackles were added to gain some serious wheel travel. The YJ will ramp a 1500 on the 20 degree ramp with this setup.
True to the lack of on-road performance, the Jeep can only make it to trails as far away as the Helldorado area once in a while, thanks to the worn out C6 tranny that overheats on any stretch of highway more than a couple miles. To add to the list of redneck features are: leaks in just about every liquid-filled orifice, flat camouflage paint job, battery tied down by a cam strap, broken-off passenger mirror, bad gas mileage (about 6 mpg), loud glass pack exhaust, and zip ties holding down just about everything. The Rebel flag is still on order.....
Find out more about Erik's YJ here.
All content Copyright © 2000 ROCKCRAWLER
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As
the trails in Moab get more challenging by the day, my old '89 XJ with
33’s couldn’t quite cut it anymore. Too much sheet metal and too many
windows prompted me to trade it in for a trashed ‘90 YJ with the stock
drivetrain and a 4 cylinder engine. This thing came with about as few
factory options as humanly possible. No tilt wheel, soft top (duct taped),
no stereo, no cruise, you get the idea. 
Body
damage has never been a big concern for me, living in Moab, like I do,
but I wanted the doors to close and the top to still fit in the winter,
so we manufactured an external roll cage using 2” DOM tubing that covers
all of the impact points on the outside. No more shopping cart dings
for me! The cage was recently tested in full during a photo shoot for
the new BFE films video. I figured that the bars needed to be tested
and what better time that while in front of the camera, so it was rolled
all the way onto its top with just about zero damage whatsoever. (By
the way, the windshield frame was down at the time.) The bars worked
so well that a prototype is under construction right now to be sold
as a bolt or weld-on system for most Jeep applications. Stay tuned to
my 
