Almost completed!!!

[jfrabat]

Dpends where you have them shipped; Panama is not so expensive (typically, an additional 5% tax, plus shipping, which depends a lot on the product); lets say a winch, for example, would probably run you around $40~50 shipping (by boat, cause by air is VERY expensive!) plus the tax, so it would end up being less than a hundred bucks more.

Costa Rica is a whole different ball game; the smalles import duty there is 42% (depending on the part, it can go up to 70%!!!!), plus the shipping.  Jut for your reference, I am having to pay about $12,000 in import duties for a 2007 Honday Odyssey!  Of course if I sell the minivan here and buy another car there (used), I end up having to pay about 15 gand for a smaller car, so I am biting the bulllet and paying for the duties...

I plan to take the Jeep to Panama, and then drive it into Costa Rica.  Then I have to drive it OUT of CR every 90 days, so I plan to take it twice a year into CR and the other half just leave it in Panama.

[chrisfranklin]

Holy cow! Yikes on those import duties in Costa Rica.  That'd be a heart-breaker if you're there and wanted to buy and ship in some high-dollar after-market items.   

[jfrabat]

Holy cow! Yikes on those import duties in Costa Rica.  That'd be a heart-breaker if you're there and wanted to buy and ship in some high-dollar after-market items.   

Hence my rush to get the Jeep as finishd as it can be before I leave...

[stan98tj]

looks real good man...especially when ya look at the before and after pics-though it looked pretty straight even when ya first got it.
what else do you have left to do to it?

[jfrabat]

looks real good man...especially when ya look at the before and after pics-though it looked pretty straight even when ya first got it.
what else do you have left to do to it?

Thanks!  When you see the picture when I got it and the now pictures, the transformation is quite drastic!

I still have to install a new timing chain and tensioner, a Mopar high performance cam, new valve springs, a RE hand throttle, and Line-X'ed A to Z Fab rocker guards.  All those things are sitting in the garage, and I only have one weekend left to do it in (next weekend I am on business trip in Costa Rica looking for a place to live!).

[chrisfranklin]

Hence my rush to get the Jeep as finishd as it can be before I leave...

Good move! 

[sharpxmen]

silly question possibly - i think your cam is listed as 1000rpm idle or at least higher than stock (not sure on the exact value), are there any instructions that come with it as far as how to achieve that? is there a different valve cover fitting that you need to install?

[jfrabat]

silly question possibly - i think your cam is listed as 1000rpm idle or at least higher than stock (not sure on the exact value), are there any instructions that come with it as far as how to achieve that? is there a different valve cover fitting that you need to install?

To be honest, I dont know what the idle is.  I have to check, and since I am in Japan at the time, I have to wait since I get back to Miami.  But no different valve cover is included.  In any case, my Jeep currently idles at about 900 RPM's, though...

[sharpxmen]

jf, i meant to ask you - what leaf springs did you get (lift? brand?) and how much were they? do they ride smooth? my springs are pretty stiff, could be because it used to have a hardtop, not sure but unless i have it loaded it's pretty jumpy. I am thinking of getting a bit more height too just in case i want to throw in a set of 35s. Thanks in advance.

[stan98tj]

hey felipe, you do any wheeling down there yet? post some pics soon as you do!

[jfrabat]

jf, i meant to ask you - what leaf springs did you get (lift? brand?) and how much were they? do they ride smooth? my springs are pretty stiff, could be because it used to have a hardtop, not sure but unless i have it loaded it's pretty jumpy. I am thinking of getting a bit more height too just in case i want to throw in a set of 35s. Thanks in advance.

I have a Rubicon Express 4" lift with the Deutschtech shocks that come with the kit.  I am happy with this kit, and, although I would not call it "soft", it is not stiff.  I would say it's a bit softer than a commercial pickup truck, but then again, I do have a hard top, winch, bumpers and rockers, all of which ad weight to the Jeep and make the ride a bit softer.

If I were to go to 35's (which I dont plan at this time!), I would not go higher, but rather trim the fender wells and use TJ style flares (the Warn flares I have dont seem to have the space for the trimming).

hey felipe, you do any wheeling down there yet? post some pics soon as you do!

Not yet; the Jeep is in Panama and I am in Costa Rica playing house!  At least the Jeep is already sitting in my parents' garage, so that is good news!

I'll probably drive the Jeep to Costa Rica after Christmas sometime, and will most likely do some light wheeling during Christmas home leave...

[stan98tj]

sweet! id like to see how the 4banger fairs to that thick south american mud.

[jfrabat]

sweet! id like to see how the 4banger fairs to that thick south american mud.

To be 100% accurate, it's Central American mud...  But well see how it performs...