First off, my names Chris. i live in SoCal and I'm 18 and will be going to Marine Corps. Boot camp in sept.

when i get out of boot (around Dec.) i want to buy a Jeep, most likely a new 2 Door JK Rubi. ill still be in socal for about 3 more months for SOI where ill need the Jeep for regular transportation and a few off-road adventures to some fishing spots. Then after SOI ill be going to Virginia for my MOS school. ill be there for another 2 months and then finally get stationed somewhere on the east coast.

so what im looking to do is make this jeep as offroad capable as i can while still keeping it street legal and able to use it as a Daily Driver.

was thinking 4" lift with 33" ATs for around socal and when i get east side id Upgrade to 33" or 35" mudders. also i heard that id need to extend the vent on my tranny to be able to go mudding? (ive never taken any of my vehicles mudding so i wouldn't know)

ive got a few other questions but ill leave it at this to see what you guys have to say.  

If I might suggest your needs might be better served with getting a clean used jeep 94 or older and sinking some coin into it. 94 was the last of the leaf springs in all corners and it is easy to lift and modify and pretty sturdy and simpler drive train wise too. Myself I remember when a Jeep was a simple basic sturdy vehicle but new ones are more like cars with 4wd than Jeeps of old. Something else to consider here is possible even a cherokee as they are tough little critters that never really got as civilized as wrangler and are better long distance travelers than Wranglers (better in cold wet weather as they have real tops on cabs) I am not trying to sound anti Jeep here as I have owned several and currently have a kinda rare 79 J20 P/U that I have owned for 23 years now. It is just that I have seen a lot of changes in Jeeps over the last 40 years or so and many of them not for the better in my book anyway. I would like to have Jeep CJ/Wrangler project vehicle one day but if I do undertake it, it will be a 94 or earlier model and not the current ones. To me, the older the better.  

Street legal will be defined by where you have the Jeep, so make sure you read up about the state laws where you are going to be driving it.

If you stick with 33-35 inch tires and 4 inches of lift you shouldn't have any issues staying street legal.  Pretty much everywhere you need working lights front and back, a windshield, wipers, seat belts, and fenders.  A trick one is bead lock tires.  If you are going to get bead locks make sure they are legal, some states allow them.  Also check the local laws about mud flaps, I have seen a few people get tickets for not having flaps, which is a real bummer.

Good luck with the build and thank you for your service!  

thanks for the help.

i looked around at older Jeeps and found an '84 CJ i think its a CJ8...?

its going for $12,400, has a Six cylinder with 12,500 miles on it, never been off road, was owned by a chef in LA then sold to a the seller who only used it for beach runs on the weekends...

im going to shoot him an Email and see if its possible to hold it untill i can get a loan.

ill post pics and the review in a little bit.  

Clean new looking enterior!











heres the Write up Off of auto trader.

custom removeable surf rack, proffessionally installed lift and rebuild with only 12,500 miles on it, starts right up and purrs like a kitten. New exhaust. Entire tub and firewall Linex coated. Twin 10" kickers, a pair of 6X9's, amp and 6 disc changer makes a little too much noise for the neighbors. Spent the last five years inside the garage every night. Custom garage storage system for hard top and doors included. I'm the second owner. I've had it for the past five years. The first 19 years of it's life was used by a chef in L.A. who only commuted 5 miles to work every day. Never seen dirt. Bring cash and drive it home. If you are shy and don't like people looking at you, this is not the car for you  

Yeah, That's a CJ8 Scrambler. Im not sure on the price though. I mean if I had the money I'd get it, but Im not sure. I mean I love the way the CJ8 Scramblers look just cause I've always loved the thought of a Jeep pickup, but that seems like a good price. It looks pretty clean too, and since its been in CA most (if not all) of it's life it should have very little if not any rust at all.  

how do beadlocks work? are they bolts that screw into the tire? are they necessary?  

I'm prety sure that the beadlock is designed as a ring that bolts onto the inside of your rim that clamps down on the tire bead to keep the bead on your rim, and they keep your tire on pretty much no matter how much stress you're putting on the tire from the side. I want to run them on my jeep. I'd run a 32 bolt beadlock if I had the money. Eaton Beadlock rims are pretty cheap compared to most beadlocks.  

i would strongly recommend a cherokee they are better for traveling and very common to upgrade. Real dependable a chose a cherokee for my first wheeler and it done me good. I only got a 4.5 in lift and it wheels circles around most wranglers and some full sizes.  

Let me tell you first that I used to be jeeper. I had a CJ-7 when I was in the Navy. If you buy a rubicon package, that will be all you need, unless you just want the look of bigger tires. As a marine you will be busy with training and deployment and may have most of your money tied up in a monthly payment anyway. Get the jeep first and try it out. You will find it is very capable for many trails as is. If you want to modify it there are many after market parts to allow bigger tires but you may be pleasantly surprised at how well it performs as stock.