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2006 silver LJ Rubicon with 9k miles
- Thread starter Got4wd
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It's plenty sturdy - barn door #0, the home-made prototype, has been on my LJ for almost10 years now - about 120,000 miles, including lots of hard trail miles. The production upper is attached with stakes that bolt to the upper and slip into slots in a bracket that's through-bolted to the tailgate. Bolts secure the stakes into the slots to prevent rattle. My prototype mounts slightly differently but uses the same stakes, which are visible in this recent photo (the stakes are partially hidden by the StoreGate storage compartment mounted to the tailgate. The mounting method has worked very well for the past 10 years; the barn door is sturdy and doesn't leak or rattle even after 10 years of hard use.
BTW the attachment is designed to hold the Safari Cab barn door upper as well as a soft barn door for the factory soft top or s a hard barn door upper to work with the factory hardtop.
It attaches very easily to that back tailgate and servers no purpose other than that. It does not support the hard top, and does not even touch it. Heavy rain and water will enter unless you modify the back gate with some weatherstripping.
The biggest concern should be the quality of the top. Since Jeff has no part in building the hard top, the quality is not there. The guys are Gr8tops are hacks at best. Lots of holes in my top.
When I got my top years back, my body shop ranked on the paint job and said it would need to be painted again. The top looks like the fender flares, half black and half grey. While a great looking hard top. I would rather pay Jeff for use of his design, then find a shop that can actually make the top.
I dont
When Gr8tops licensed the Safari Cab from me I kept all my original molds in case I ever wanted to make more. And my molds support removable side panels, which Gr8tops eliminated from their production version along with many other features
. I have used the molds a few times over the years to make new custom features I wanted to experiment with.
I don't know much about the quality of Gr8tops parts.
When Gr8tops licensed the Safari Cab from me I kept all my original molds in case I ever wanted to make more. And my molds support removable side panels, which Gr8tops eliminated from their production version along with many other features
. I have used the molds a few times over the years to make new custom features I wanted to experiment with.Took a little drive this afternoon to take a look at this one. Very cool dealership with its fair share of unique cars.
As for the jeep, it is clean which is assumed based on 9k miles. It is definitely not an "all-original" unit, and it seems like it has a lot of unique aftermarket items for something with 9k miles. You guys have mentioned the top, and it seems pretty legit. The paint is good on it, and appears it was recently painted to match. The top fitment is not perfect, yet not bad either. It does have a pretty recently installed Pro-Comp 2" Lift (https://www.4wheelparts.com/p/pro-comp-2-inch-lift-kit-with-es3000-shocks-k3055/_/R-DFCW-K3055). The light bars/light/bumper/air intake are all cleanly installed if you're into those items. The tires are original MT/R's which I personally still love the look of.
The undercarriage/frame has all been sprayed with some sort of rust liner. I couldn't find any rust issues, yet it definitely didn't look like this rolling off the factory floor. The car fax checks out although it has spent most of its life in PA and NY.
All in all, a pretty unique rig. The guy at the dealership, John, said they've had a lot of interest after listing it 4 days ago. He even mentioned a guy from CO flying in to take a look. He did mentioned they "don't have a lot of margin" for whatever that's worth.
I personally think it's a touch high priced although it may be perfect for the right person, and bring that value.
If anyone has any specific questions, feel free to reach out.
As for the jeep, it is clean which is assumed based on 9k miles. It is definitely not an "all-original" unit, and it seems like it has a lot of unique aftermarket items for something with 9k miles. You guys have mentioned the top, and it seems pretty legit. The paint is good on it, and appears it was recently painted to match. The top fitment is not perfect, yet not bad either. It does have a pretty recently installed Pro-Comp 2" Lift (https://www.4wheelparts.com/p/pro-comp-2-inch-lift-kit-with-es3000-shocks-k3055/_/R-DFCW-K3055). The light bars/light/bumper/air intake are all cleanly installed if you're into those items. The tires are original MT/R's which I personally still love the look of.
The undercarriage/frame has all been sprayed with some sort of rust liner. I couldn't find any rust issues, yet it definitely didn't look like this rolling off the factory floor. The car fax checks out although it has spent most of its life in PA and NY.
All in all, a pretty unique rig. The guy at the dealership, John, said they've had a lot of interest after listing it 4 days ago. He even mentioned a guy from CO flying in to take a look. He did mentioned they "don't have a lot of margin" for whatever that's worth.
I personally think it's a touch high priced although it may be perfect for the right person, and bring that value.
If anyone has any specific questions, feel free to reach out.
Great review. The top is awesome, the look, side windows and the addition of the barn door. Design is incredible. Mine was sloppily made so my comments were to check those specific areas. I get endless compliments about it.
Agreed that LJ is priced high, but tough to find one with those miles so market will demand that amount for it. I'd rather have one with 50k-80k for $10-$15k less, but that's the market.
alpineovernappa
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