XJ: My first 4x4 (Not the last)

[Aaron89]

Well it has been almost two months.
Don't get excited, I haven't done too much to it.

Since then I have fitted the replacement radiator though. And that is now leaking. Same side. Pretty over that, so I think I'll be contacting PWR soon.

I've also picked up this:



A common scene for Jeep owners:



Fitted some VisionX 10watt single LED spotlights, just to compliment the light bar a little.

Geez, aren't they cute?



What the UFO looks like coming toward you at night:



Now, as most of you know, this sweet front bar came from old mate Richard Buttocks, and I've been meaning to change a few tiny things to sort of make it mine and make it suit my needs(wants) a little better.
I've wanted to raise the light mounts and paint it gloss black for a while, so I got to work on that.

Old mounts and paint:



They were recessed to suit bigger spot lights:



I will be upgrading the spotlights again soon, but I won't be going as big as what Mr Buttocks had on there, so they'll fit fine.

Cut out old plates and cut new plates to fit:



Welded, ground back and bar rubbed down:



Two coats of enamel later:



Came out OK and it's a pretty tough finish, even if it isn't the smoothest.



And you might have noticed the winch solenoid had to be moved. It's now in the engine bay. I'm not quite ready to put the winch back in, buuut...

...I did get make up new cables, ready to go:



Slapped a reverse camera in too. You know what they look like. Also re-sprayed the grill and headlight surrounds. You know what they look like too. Just glossier now.

More updates coming soon hopefully.

[Aaron89]

So I sorted out some spotlights sooner than I thought. Nothing special, but damn they're bright for little 5" LED spot lights.

In All Their Glory:



Then I set about getting the winch back in. Try as I might, I can't get my bloody winch cover to fit, as the winch sits pretty snug in there. I mostly just wanted to cover the rope, as keeping UV rays off synthetic rope extends its life a great deal.

So I Banged This Up (Literally):



That'll Do:



I was committed at this point, so I pulled finger and finished the wiring.

Fabricated This Solenoid Bracket Weeks Ago:



Fought With The Cables, But They're In There:



Very Well Insulated And Secured:



The original solenoid cover still fits. I plan on wiring in some switches in the cab, so I need not pop the bonnet to plug anything in, but this works fine anyway. I just have to stop and plug in the handheld switch or the remote unit at the start of a trail, as you normally would anyway.

Cover On And Remote Unit Plugged In:



Took Way Too Long, But I'm Happy With How This Turned Out:



Until next time.