I own, drive, and wheel a 1995 Jeep Wrangler YJ. I bought it used in 2001 off a used Jeep dealer. It was stock with no modifications at all and 79,000 miles on the odometer – not many miles for the venerable 4.0L motor. Backing that straight six is the Chrysler 32RH 3-speed auto transmission, followed by the NP231 transfer case. The axles were the Dana 30 and 35s geared with 3.07s. The interior was original, as was the black soft top. The bright red with a splashy vinyl graphic down both sides matched the color of the fender flares.

1995 Jeep Wrangler YJ

I started by removing the graphics and adding black paint to the hood, fenders, and tailgate for a two-tone scheme. I even added black and red seat covers to cover the worn-down seats. At first I slapped some 31″ off-brand tires and did some trails like Holcomb Creek, in Big Bear, and Gorman.

Later, I bought some take-off springs and started the suspension transformation. The front consisted of the top 2 leaves from a national 4″ pack and the bottom 3 leaves as stockers. The rear leaves were Cherokee springs with an Add-a-Leaf. To mount those XJ leaves, I first mounted a CJ7 shackle hanger off the bottom of the frame with the eye just past the cross member. The XJ leaves are 52″ long with a short side similar to the YJ leaves, but 7″ overall longer than YJs.

Check out my next post for even more upgrades I made to my Jeep.