Thought I'd start a thread chronicling my Jeep build thus far, and I'll continue to update. I've driven Jeeps most of my life. I've owned and driven a 81 CJ-5, a 65 CJ-5, a 79 CJ-7 Golden Eagle, a 85 FSJ Grand Waggy, a 98 ZJ, a 01 TJ on tons, a 07 JKU, and finally now my 2014 JKU Sport. Bought her with 3 miles on her in October 2013. She almost immediately earned her name "Delilah" after the Plain White Tee's song that was playing on the radio when my wife rode in her the first time--and promptly leaked water all over my wife. Only time the top has ever leaked, before and since.
Here she is, bone stock.
Of course, I had to get her naked the first chance I got:
And the first mod:
It was a doozy. Took me like 30 minutes, and that picture makes it look very, very crooked.
I made myself wait a year, and fully research what I planned to do with her. I knew first hand from the past that things can escalate quickly and get out of hand in a hurry. For example my 2001 TJ that ended up on tons and 38" TSLs with welded spider gears in the rear--as a daily driver.... Since my kids are getting to be the age where I can more easily take them on trips with me, I settled on an expedition style build. Offroad capability must go hand in hand with streetability. I did a lot of reading and settled on an AEV DualSport 4.5" lift, with Quadratec's properly backspaced Moab clone wheels, and 35" tires for the time being.
Lots of boxes arrive from Brown Santa, and the parts pile continued to grow:
I went with the wheels because I wanted to maintain a semi-stock look--a design choice I hope to carry throughout my build:
I had a long weekend, so I set to work on the rear lift. I planned on installing the lift entirely by myself. I'd had a very bad experience with the WAT style builds where everybody and their brother works on your vehicle. Lets just say someone made a mistake on my rig that could have cost me my life. I now have intractable trust issues related to who works on my rig. It was about a 5 hour session, but the rear lift went on just like the instructions said it would.
The front I knew was a little more involved, just because of all the bracketry, the high steer kit, etc. I knocked it out over the course of two days spending a couple hours at a time here and there. It was actually a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed working on it myself. I wasn't in a rush, and took the time to savor things, and make sure they got done correctly. There were a couple things that didn't want to go on correctly at first, but after a break and fresh eyes and hands they worked just like they should.
Front end torn down:
Drilling out the steering knuckle to 7/8" by hand to install the high steer kit--really just a tie rod flip. Nerve wracking for sure. Talk about a point of no return:
So now it was time to make a tire decision. I had been scoping out the GY MTR Kevlars, but Discount Tire squashed that as they were backordered. In fact nearly every 35" tire appeared to be tough to find--except for Nittos, and I'm just not a Nitto fan. The DT salesmen turned me on to the KO2's, but then found out he couldn't get them. Finally I settled on the Kumho Road Venture MTs--35x12.5x17. So far I've been very pleased with them. I've had them in thick slimy mud, snow, ice, wet pavement, flash flooding roads, and dry pavement--these tires just don't seem to care. Very settled, no surprises, ridiculous traction in the goop and in snow. Predictable and well planted onroad, wet or dry. They do hum a little on the highway at 75, but not as bad as I thought they would. We will see how that changes as they wear.
Next I turned my attention to how I was going to mount the spare. For the meanwhile I stuffed it in the trunk. Turns out a 35" tire fits just perfectly laying flat in the trunk of a JKU. With all the groceries I have to haul it was a temporary solution at best. I knew I wanted an external mount, and there was no way I was going to risk damaging my tailgate with a just a spacer. I wasn't sure I wanted a big rear bumper/tire carrier combo though; I wanted something more functional and clean. Enter the TeraFlex HD hinges and adjustable carrier. It was kind of pricey, but man are they beefy. And it carried on that clean "stock" appearance I was looking for.
Hey thanks! Looking at front axle upgrades. Trying to decide between sleeving/trussing the 30, and adding rebuildable ball joints, or go with Teraflex's new beefy 30 housing, or just pulling the trigger on a Dynapro 44. Sleeving/trussing would be most cost effective, but the Tera housing may be the best of both worlds. I'm planning to win the lottery this week , so maybe I'll just get the 44. And gears, and selectable lockers.
Really like the AEV lift. Bracketry is beefy, and everything fits exactly as it should. Ride quality is about the same as stock (if I'm being honest--everyone always says how much "better it rides" after they drop coin on a lift). But feeling stock was the whole point. I've had it up to 80--85 mph on the toll road between DFW and San Antonio, where the speed limit is actually that high. The experience was delightfully anticlimactic.
, so maybe I'll just get the 44. And gears, and selectable lockers.