Jeeps Only! Launches Its First Project Jeep!

March 2001 - No doubt you're wondering why we're naming our first Jeep project "Raptor." During a weekend off-road event, my family and I met a guy named Scott and his daughter Reyanna who were in a stock Toyota 4Runner. Reyanna explained that their 4Runner's name was Tigger because when they went off road, it bounced. Our son Dominic said that our Jeep jumped when we took it offroad and, since he is a dinosaur addict, strongly suggested we name our Jeep "Raptor" since they also "jump." So Project 1 starts out as a 1993 Sahara Edition Jeep Wrangler (YJ) with the 4.0 litre High Output, inline six, 5 speed AX-15, no A/C. It's bone stock with the slight exception of 31x10.50 BFG All Terrain tires on the stock 7.5 inch Jeep rims. No lift, no disconnects. Beginning mileage: 46,000 miles. The goal of the project is to build Raptor into a rock-ready machine that can still be driven to work during the week. We recognize that there will be compromises. There is a balance that must be struck between off road capability and on road driveability. We feel that since most off road enthusiasts don't have the luxury of owning an all-off road vehicle we should build a vehicle that reflects what many of you would likely build. We're taking in it stages and will provide reports along the way. This is important so you can see how the vehicle performs after only 1 or 2 addition modifications each time. That's why we're only doing the front Revolver shackles for a while. We want to report whether there was a significant enough improvement in flexibility in our Jeep so you can consider saving a few bucks by initially just getting one pair. We hope you enjoy our how-to style notes. I've been frustrated over the years as friends and associates have said things like "oh yeah, that's easy to install" when in actuality, whatever it was took many times longer than they predicted. Either friends and associates as way off or I'm not mechanically inclined. It's probably both. So I approach almost all of these installs as a newbie and then attempt to document it on that level. I'd rather provide more info than you need than less. Did you see project Raptor at the annual Tierra del Sol Desert Safari near Salton Sea? We go to this event every year. Updated September 23, 2005 Be sure to join the Raptor mail list for updates on the project ============>

Bone Stock - March 2001 A more recent picture - August 2005 Join our free mail list for updates on the Raptor Project. We mail very infrequently, we won't sell your email address and you can easily unsubscribe at any time. Note: This particular list ONLY covers the Raptor project. subscribe unsubscribe

Item	Target/Actual Date	Price	Source	Report
K&N YJ FIPK Kit	2/22/03	$229 (est)	K&N	Here
Tomken CB Antenna Mounting Bracket	Installed 2/28/02	$19.95	Tomken	Here
Firestick II CB Antenna (see also the bracket report)	Installed 1/20/02	$21.95	Loves truck stop	Here
Sway Bar Quick Disconnects	Installed 2/23/02	$65 (pair)	4 Wheel Parts	Here
Hand Throttle - Custom	Installed 2/15/03	$15	Custom	Here
Differential Guard - Dana 30 (Front Axle)	Installed 3/5/02	$55	Four X Doctor	Here
Ford 8.8 Inch Axle - Rear (3.73, Disc brakes, limited slip)	Acquired 2/28/02	$500	Various	Here
Tuffy Deluxe Stereo Security Console	Acquired 12/21/02	$90 ($234)	used - private seller	Soon
Cat-back Performance Exhaust	TBD	Est. $190	Pacesetter - Quadratec
Dual Battery Tray/Relay Cable Kit	TBD	$190	TBD
Overhead CB Rack	Installed 2/23/02	$125	CBrack	Here
Roll Bar Upgrade	Partially acquired 3/1/03	$90 so far	Rockhard 4x4 Parts	Here
Tuffy Rear Locking Storage Box	TBD	$250	TBD
Revolver Shackles - Rear	Acquired 11/4/02	$80 pair ($185 pair)	TBD
Front Shackle and Bushing Replacement	TBD	TBD	TBD
Ox Cable-Activated Locking Differential - Front	TBD	TBD	TBD
Custom Accessories Fuse Box	Installed 5/02	$50	Various	Here
GPS Mount System	Installed 5/02	$70	Various	Here
Kill Switch - Fuel Pump Relay	Installed 10/20/02	$15	Various	Soon
JB Conversions NP231HD Heavy Duty Transfer Case	TBD	$925	JB Conversions
Custom Rock Light Setup	Testing - install soon	$80	Various	Soon
M416 Offroad Trailer	Acquired 11/02 - ongoing	$1,000 (total)	Various	Here
Rear bumper with tire carrier	Acquired 4/12/03	$200 (wow!)	Other	Soon
Tuffy Deluxe Stereo Center Console	Installed 3/03	$75 used ($220 new)	TBD	Soon
Custom pressurized misting system (on board mist)	TBD	Guessing $100 or less	TBD
JKS Telescoping Track Bar	Installed 1/11/03	$50 ($180)	used - private seller	Here
Rubicon Express 4.5 inch Extreme Duty - spring under axle	Acquired 7/03	$200+	Various	Soon
Longer Stainless Steel Brake Lines			TBD
Custom Tilting Roof Rack (custom design using electrical conduit?)
TJ Style Sun Visor
Heat Dissipating Hood Louvers	TBD	$75	Various
Custom on board hot water shower system	TBD	Guessing $120	Various - custom
Onboard air (OBA) compressor/system (York 210)	Acquired 10/03	Guessing $500	Various
High Pinion Dana 30 Upgrades upgrades (truss, tie rod flip, etc.)

* If two prices are shown, the price in parenthesis is the estimated retail price while the price not in parenthesis is the price we paid. See report for more information.

Misc Repairs and upgrades

Pie In The Sky