Practical LJ Build

NKlekas

TJ Enthusiast
Supporting Member
Joined
Sep 15, 2019
Messages
154
Location
Elko, NV
I've been on this Forum for a while and have always thought about posting my build but never really wanted to until now. So here it goes...

The point of my build, with this Jeep, is a Practical Jeep that I can both drive to work everyday while also take it camping into the Nevada outback on the same day. Overall, I'm going towards the Overland style build that I can take camping at any time. I want to use quality parts and not have an over the top Jeep with crazy parts that make it look cheap.

This is my 3rd TJ and first LJ. I had a 98' 2.5 cylinder and an 03' Rubicon, both 5 speeds. I had them both for almost exactly 2 years. I had always wanted an LJ but being a broke college kid, a well maintained LJ was out of the price range. I finally came across this one a in late 2021 and pulled the trigger.

When I set out to buy this thing I knew I was going to have it forever and was pretty picky. The Jeep I would buy absolutely had to have these 3 things:
1. Below 100,000 miles. Preferably closer to 70,000-80,000 miles.
2. Had to have a hardtop. Where I live not only gets all 4 seasons but I do so much interstate and highway driving I wanted something more sturdy.
3. Very little, to zero frame rust.

After selling my Rubicon and being Jeep-less for nearly 3 months I finally found a suiter. It definitely was a bit of a long drive to pick it up in Oregon but it was worth it. Its a 2006 Auto and had all 3 of my requirements. When I bought it it only had 59,000 on it. Given the car market was a a joke in 2021, I paid a fairly high price for it by todays standards... However given the cleanness of it and having all 3 of my requirements (And even a few other things I really wanted) I pulled the rigger and never looked back.

I already have a number of mods on this thing with (of course) more to come witch ill try and do a better job of showing on here. Everything listed and the pictures below are of everything I've done the past 15 months:
-Interior Dash Storage
-3D Printed Center Counsel
-Hot Headliners Sound dampening kit
-Fishbone Off-road Front bumper
-Garvin Adventure Rack
-Rigid and Rough Country Pod Lights
-LED Trucker Headlights
-Metal Cloak Track Bars, Springs and Control Arms
-Fox 2.0 Revivor Shocks
-Revolution 5.13 Gears and Chromoly Axle Shafts for my Dana 30
-Pro Comp 15in wheel wrapped in a 33x12.5x15 Milestar M/T Tire

Hoping to be better at posting my build and If you have any advice or ideas on mods/brands of mods feel free to let me know as I'm always trying to get new ideas and learn!

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I've been on this Forum for a while and have always thought about posting my build but never really wanted to until now. So here it goes...

The point of my build, with this Jeep, is a Practical Jeep that I can both drive to work everyday while also take it camping into the Nevada outback on the same day. Overall, I'm going towards the Overland style build that I can take camping at any time. I want to use quality parts and not have an over the top Jeep with crazy parts that make it look cheap.

This is my 3rd TJ and first LJ. I had a 98' 2.5 cylinder and an 03' Rubicon, both 5 speeds. I had them both for almost exactly 2 years. I had always wanted an LJ but being a broke college kid, a well maintained LJ was out of the price range. I finally came across this one a in late 2021 and pulled the trigger.

When I set out to buy this thing I knew I was going to have it forever and was pretty picky. The Jeep I would buy absolutely had to have these 3 things:
1. Below 100,000 miles. Preferably closer to 70,000-80,000 miles.
2. Had to have a hardtop. Where I live not only gets all 4 seasons but I do so much interstate and highway driving I wanted something more sturdy.
3. Very little, to zero frame rust.

After selling my Rubicon and being Jeep-less for nearly 3 months I finally found a suiter. It definitely was a bit of a long drive to pick it up in Oregon but it was worth it. Its a 2006 Auto and had all 3 of my requirements. When I bought it it only had 59,000 on it. Given the car market was a a joke in 2021, I paid a fairly high price for it by todays standards... However given the cleanness of it and having all 3 of my requirements (And even a few other things I really wanted) I pulled the rigger and never looked back.

I already have a number of mods on this thing with (of course) more to come witch ill try and do a better job of showing on here. Everything listed and the pictures below are of everything I've done the past 15 months:
-Interior Dash Storage
-3D Printed Center Counsel
-Hot Headliners Sound dampening kit
-Fishbone Off-road Front bumper
-Garvin Adventure Rack
-Rigid and Rough Country Pod Lights
-LED Trucker Headlights
-Metal Cloak Track Bars, Springs and Control Arms
-Fox 2.0 Revivor Shocks
-Revolution 5.13 Gears and Chromoly Axle Shafts for my Dana 30
-Pro Comp 15in wheel wrapped in a 33x12.5x15 Milestar M/T Tire

Hoping to be better at posting my build and If you have any advice or ideas on mods/brands of mods feel free to let me know as I'm always trying to get new ideas and learn!

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Decided to put jumping to 35’s on hold. A friend of mine who does a lot of custom fab work wants to build an Aluminum Overland trailer. Hopefully the materials for that come in soon so we can get started. I’m pretty stoked. So I decided to save money for that and also get some other needs/wants that are cheaper than finishing the jump to 35’s.



I finally broke down and bought a winch only because it was solid deal. I also finally bought a soft top for summer. Just a cheap Rugid Ridge top that I will only run for about 2 months. And for 90% of those months the windows will be unzipped. Just want the top for when it rains and go on extra dusty backroads so the inside of my Jeep doesn’t take a beating. I’ve never ran a soft top on my previous two Jeeps so I’m excited to finally run one. Ill post pictures of that when I put it on. I also bought a rear bumper and tire carrier. Had to get a bumper with a tow receiver (or install a tow set up) for the trailer anyway and I still want to run 35’s in the future so I killed two bird with one stone and got a Garvin bumper/tire carrier combo to do both. It was definitely a bit pricey...But its very good quality. I love Garvin products and they never seem to fail me. And finally, the the flat fenders were a gift for my birthday and are only for looks. Probably not a whole lot of mods in the near future as I focus/pay for this trailer.

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