Not having driven the Jeep at night much, I hadn't noticed that I had a popeye situation, so I ordered a pair of headlights from Amazon and put them in. But as I have mentioned before, the previous owner had hit something with the front right, crumpling the fender a little bit. Once I dug into the headlight housing area, I found out that the adjuster screw/bracketry for the right headlight was gone, having snapped off no doubt during impact. As a result, I couldn't get the headlight to point directly forward. Instead, it drooped down. Since the power to the headlights is already weak because the car is working with twenty-year-old technology (some IFSJA guys go so far as to upgrade the electrical system--fuse, wiring, housing--for the headlights to accommodate high-powered halogen bulbs), I need this thing to point as straight forward as I can get it. So I built a small "adjustable" bracket with what is called plumber's tape. One screw goes in the headlight mounting ring. The other is in the body of the car. The plumber's tape is bent into a Z shape between them. I can compress or expand the Z as needed to get the headlight to point where I want it to go. Not a fancy solution, but it worked. I used the same tape to create little brackets to hold the emergency brake cable up out of the way along the frame rails (since I had to have them ride lower due to the tension increase that resulted from the lift kit).
I also mounted my hi-lift jack on the rear fender wells in the cargo area. I liked this spot for several reasons. First, I wanted it in the Jeep rather than on the front or rear bumpers or even the hood, as is common for the CJ/Wrangler style Jeeps. Second, I didn't want it or its brackets to take up cargo space on the bed of the Jeep. Third, I wanted it below the back of the bench seat to avoid my kids banging their heads/hands/teeth/elbows on it. I hang the jack accessories bag from the jack itself to keep it from moving around, as well. A good setup, all in all. At some point I want to get the rear bumper with swing out spare tire carrier from BJ's, but that is not in the budget for the next six or seven months, so tucking it under the jack works well. I also plan to get a three point strap that will mount to rings in the bed of the Jeep to hold the tire firmly in place. This'll be a good solution so that when I get the new bumper, I'll be able to use the strap and mounting rings to hold other cargo in place (like camping or day trip gear, perhaps).
Not having driven the Jeep at night much, I hadn't noticed that I had a popeye situation, so I ordered a pair of headlights from Amazon and put them in. But as I have mentioned before, the previous owner had hit something with the front right, crumpling the fender a little bit. Once I dug into the headlight housing area, I found out that the adjuster screw/bracketry for the right headlight was gone, having snapped off no doubt during impact. As a result, I couldn't get the headlight to point directly forward. Instead, it drooped down. Since the power to the headlights is already weak because the car is working with twenty-year-old technology (some IFSJA guys go so far as to upgrade the electrical system--fuse, wiring, housing--for the headlights to accommodate high-powered halogen bulbs), I need this thing to point as straight forward as I can get it. So I built a small "adjustable" bracket with what is called plumber's tape. One screw goes in the headlight mounting ring. The other is in the body of the car. The plumber's tape is bent into a Z shape between them. I can compress or expand the Z as needed to get the headlight to point where I want it to go. Not a fancy solution, but it worked. I used the same tape to create little brackets to hold the emergency brake cable up out of the way along the frame rails (since I had to have them ride lower due to the tension increase that resulted from the lift kit).
I also mounted my hi-lift jack on the rear fender wells in the cargo area. I liked this spot for several reasons. First, I wanted it in the Jeep rather than on the front or rear bumpers or even the hood, as is common for the CJ/Wrangler style Jeeps. Second, I didn't want it or its brackets to take up cargo space on the bed of the Jeep. Third, I wanted it below the back of the bench seat to avoid my kids banging their heads/hands/teeth/elbows on it. I hang the jack accessories bag from the jack itself to keep it from moving around, as well. A good setup, all in all. At some point I want to get the rear bumper with swing out spare tire carrier from BJ's, but that is not in the budget for the next six or seven months, so tucking it under the jack works well. I also plan to get a three point strap that will mount to rings in the bed of the Jeep to hold the tire firmly in place. This'll be a good solution so that when I get the new bumper, I'll be able to use the strap and mounting rings to hold other cargo in place (like camping or day trip gear, perhaps).
