New Member from Indiana

Farmergreg

The work will set you free
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Mar 25, 2018
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WC Indiana
In March I bought an stock '06 LJR (6 speed) and since have been doing nothing but reading about various builds.

This forum seems to have the best mix of helpful and pleasant folks. So I figured I'd get with it and post!

Since the First day pic:
The milk jugs and the nerf bars have been removed.
Upgraded speakers in the dash to Polks.
Sourced another center console as the other one was cut to install an amp and a rear sub.
Parking brake shoes and hardware
Rubber tunnel seal over the transmission

Where I'd like to go with this:
#1 a Tummy Tuck!! (hopefully w/o a body lift)
Lift it enough to go to 33's (and have useful articulation) when these tires are shot
Want to keep the original flares.


Day One Pic:
IMG_3886.jpg



This '06 is actually my second Jeep I still have a 1951 M38:
IMG_3848.jpg
 
Wow, both the LJ Rubicon and the M38 are awesome!

That LJ Rubicon is worth a pretty penny these days. I see them going for as much as 30k with low miles in good condition.

In regards to the tummy tuck without a body lift... not going to happen really. You can tuck it a bit if you dent the tunnel to make some room, but it's still not going to tuck it that much. I would do that I did and get a 1/2" body lift, which is barely noticeable at all. Pair that with the Rokmen skid and your transfer case will only hang down about 2", which isn't bad at all!

Oh, and welcome to the forum!
 
Wow, both the LJ Rubicon and the M38 are awesome!

That LJ Rubicon is worth a pretty penny these days. I see them going for as much as 30k with low miles in good condition.

In regards to the tummy tuck without a body lift... not going to happen really. You can tuck it a bit if you dent the tunnel to make some room, but it's still not going to tuck it that much. I would do that I did and get a 1/2" body lift, which is barely noticeable at all. Pair that with the Rokmen skid and your transfer case will only hang down about 2", which isn't bad at all!

Oh, and welcome to the forum!

Chris:
I read thru your "less is more" :aaaaa: thread! How did you decide on the Rokman skid vs UCF?
I do read where some folks say their LO-PRO mount transfers engine vibrations where the stock one doesn't. I wonder how harsh the vibes really are? But I like the idea of the Lo-Pro with the UCF for a tuck w/o the body lift.

Regarding the LJ, It has 200K miles but is crazy clean considering the climate it spent its life in. I think the prior owner got the memo on keeping up the underbody. Runs out well. Been maintained. Survivor! Bought reasonable....can afford to do some well planned mods and still not be totally upside down in it.

The M38 was bought about 10 years ago and it has some patches in the floor, but otherwise has a really good tub. The syncros are shot in the trans....so we drive it like a semi. One of these days we will overhaul the trans.
 
Chris:
I read thru your "less is more" :aaaaa: thread! How did you decide on the Rokman skid vs UCF?
I do read where some folks say their LO-PRO mount transfers engine vibrations where the stock one doesn't. I wonder how harsh the vibes really are? But I like the idea of the Lo-Pro with the UCF for a tuck w/o the body lift.

Regarding the LJ, It has 200K miles but is crazy clean considering the climate it spent its life in. I think the prior owner got the memo on keeping up the underbody. Runs out well. Been maintained. Survivor! Bought reasonable....can afford to do some well planned mods and still not be totally upside down in it.

The M38 was bought about 10 years ago and it has some patches in the floor, but otherwise has a really good tub. The syncros are shot in the trans....so we drive it like a semi. One of these days we will overhaul the trans.

I decided against the UCF and LO-PRO mount because I've heard a lot of stories about how it transmits a lot of noise and vibration to the cabin, and sometimes when you accelerate really hard it can make loud clunks as the transfer case hits the tunnel. I figured that a 1/2" body lift wouldn't be noticeable (it really isn't), and the Rokmen skid only hags about 2" (plus it's flat), so I can live with that compromise. If you do the UCF setup though, I'd be curious to hear what you think of it.

Wow, it doesn't look like it has 200k! That's crazy! I was thinking based off the photos it had more like 50k.

I'll bet that M38 rides really rough in terms of suspension, huh?
 
Welcome to the family....
Wow that's allot of mods to take an 06 LJR and make it look like an M38...well done !! ;)
 
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I decided against the UCF and LO-PRO mount because I've heard a lot of stories about how it transmits a lot of noise and vibration to the cabin, and sometimes when you accelerate really hard it can make loud clunks as the transfer case hits the tunnel. I figured that a 1/2" body lift wouldn't be noticeable (it really isn't), and the Rokmen skid only hags about 2" (plus it's flat), so I can live with that compromise. If you do the UCF setup though, I'd be curious to hear what you think of it.

Wow, it doesn't look like it has 200k! That's crazy! I was thinking based off the photos it had more like 50k.

I'll bet that M38 rides really rough in terms of suspension, huh?

On the LJ, the OEM trans mount rubber looks like its getting marginal (kind of a loose steel rod kind of surrounded by rubber) which got me thinking about the UCF.

The M38 rides surprisingly well, considering it likely needs shocks. But it really doesn't get driven very far so we mainly just live with its idiosyncrasies. It steers well...no DW. One thing it has is cam adjust brakes and it's near impossible to get it not to have some pull when you brake.
 
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On the LJ, the OEM trans mount rubber looks like its getting marginal (kind of a loose steel rod kind of surrounded by rubber) which got me thinking about the UCF.

The M38 rides surprisingly well, considering it likely needs shocks. But it really doesn't get driven very far so we mainly just live with its idiosyncrasies. It steers well...no DW. One thing it has is cam adjust brakes and it's near impossible to get it not to have some pull when you brake.

I'm sure someone here is running the UCF setup, you'd just have to post a topic and ask. It' a cool idea though!

Can't blame you on the M38. That's not really the type of vehicle you take on long trips, haha!
 
Welcome, have to say the M38 is enough to make a Jeep fiend jealous!!! Grandad bought one surplus in a crate, had to assemble and seemed like everything was liberally smeared with grease. Dang thing could nearly go wherever you pointed it, but extreme to him was a creek and deep cow sh!t
 
Welcome, have to say the M38 is enough to make a Jeep fiend jealous!!! Grandad bought one surplus in a crate, had to assemble and seemed like everything was liberally smeared with grease. Dang thing could nearly go wherever you pointed it, but extreme to him was a creek and deep cow sh!t

Lots of jeeps found their way to farms and got used and abused. Cheap, utility! This one has 24 volt electrical and the fording valves sealed ignition wires, its all pretty much stock. I've never took it thru deep water as I figured the axle seals are probably marginal. The M38 tech manual even suggests loosening the fan belt when you go thru deep water!
 
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I can attest it will do it, I drove PawPaws through a shallow end of a pond with the GI snorkel and some FTV. Above the dash walked right through it, but they had marine motors technically. We did a tune up
On it and couldn’t get it to run right for nothin. He grabbed a beer and we “studied it”. He had the firing order set like a cj3a, reverses the firing order counter clockwise and it came back to life
 
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