This is just my 2 cents worth....
I have the orginal style military tires on mine, and I was climbing hills at the rally last year that the larger tired and newer jeeps couldn't touch. The jeep in orginal form will suprise you with it's ability. The only things that get me stuck are soft mud, tends to sink, and getting high centered in a rut. The larger tires and clearence will help with that, but you will lose traction for climbing other terrain. The jeep is a heck of a climber with the stock setup.
The 4 cly won't spin the bigger tires(or smaller ones, 60 hp LOL) fast enough to clean the mud from them. The u joints in the front axle are the weak point, they made three different, interchangeable styles. The u-joint style is best, the ball ones are weak.
I guess what I am saying is try it in the stock form first and see what you think. I would recommend a good roll bar, and upgrading the brakes if you use it on the road. The 9 inch brakes are a joke. Pretty easy to get some 10 inch brakes from a slightly newer jeep and install them, and 11 inch brakes from the jeep trucks work well.
The problem with trying to improve this jeep is once you do one thing, you have to do everything! Tires=bigger engine=better axles=tranny....etc
Hope you get it on running soon, they are a blast.
Dennis
