05' JMT's Twin Teenager's Rubicon Build

Paint day. I’m tired as hell and need a shower something desperate.

Door hinges on both tub and door side, corner armor, and the spot I ruined behind the lower driver door. Prep is the key. 8am till 1pm straight was prep. 220, 320, 600, 1000 wet on the spot and corner armor. We’re nearing the end. The hinges look almost factory.

The armor looks very nice so far. The spot I’m hoping I can blend in with wet sanding and polish. Thanks to @bobthetj03 and @AndyG for all their amazing knowledge in this undertaking.

C2E1E508-23E6-4B47-BA1A-425A6B08D526.jpeg


9FD516E0-0220-416A-834A-18D166479552.jpeg


C89D632C-8CB0-4BDA-A639-5B859FA18ADD.jpeg


56554AF9-C880-4823-A1D5-85C48713BA65.jpeg


2F8E4E42-96FF-49E7-AB9E-4BF850A09741.jpeg


E9763AD4-E511-4E34-8FDA-675774D3F797.jpeg


CAFE4517-4F4A-4276-8200-6E21599CAD4B.jpeg


7F3F3523-36D6-4AD1-BEEA-BBD9C34AD2F8.jpeg


88FEFF8F-D537-42C2-A91C-76AB6EAB14C3.jpeg


A513C143-1057-4E11-9DD1-8689D140D488.jpeg


5B23668D-E5B8-47A6-9181-C90768844E0B.jpeg


376261AB-6116-4707-8AFA-D4E25A1C6136.jpeg


EB32AC80-01C7-483C-964D-99BB9814376D.jpeg


655CBBB9-6237-47E3-A6C9-99DDAFFDD14B.jpeg
 
The Duplicolor Perfect Match for Patriot Blue is really a good match with this rig. It was not so close with my Flame Red TJ. You win some, you lose some. This is a win. I can’t see a color difference.

We had also tried ERA paints. They are much more expensive, and we did use their Primer and 2K High Gloss Clear, but the color match was too dark and not enough metallic fleck.
 
We also got the Titan 1” wheel spacers installed. Just torque to same torque as your lug nuts. I usually torque to 95ft/lbs. this will give him 4” backspacing.

We also learned that he needs a new U-Joint badly on the driver front side axle.
 
Last edited:
We talked about lift height. You do gain some room up with the MCE's due to removing the sheet metal edge. We have several front shock choices at hand: Rancho 552555, Walker Evans Tunable, and a set of JKS JSPEC 3". For a 4" lift the Walker's are way too long. The JKS are way too short. The Rancho's are only slightly too long, while the Walker's fit my 4.5" lift almost perfect. It looks like I'll be removing the Rancho's from mine and putting them on his, and putting Walker's on mine. So, we're settled on 4" lift for running 33's.
 
The finished product. I’m really happy. I can’t believe the blending turned out so well. The corner armor turned out perfect. Color match is crazy close. Now we just have to paint the rest of the Jeep. 🤣

32628985-BBFC-4FDD-BCDC-56A6ED285443.jpeg


8755EFC3-34EF-4F92-8429-0823F8D0CCCB.jpeg


63C5DF75-0495-45FE-A0E2-DC212DDA7EC0.jpeg


D56D5545-232E-4916-82F7-6D83D34E453B.jpeg


D1E307C8-C671-4C96-ACAA-BF86D057A8F8.jpeg


F200E6D3-6D42-4AE3-982F-0E2429BFE027.jpeg


B968387B-2396-41FC-8EDC-E2DF71FD50B3.jpeg
 
Stage 1: Tub (complete)

Today we removed the sliders again, got stainless hardware, and installed. There will be some paint correction done with Meguiars 110 and 210, but we are happy to be past this stage. Corner armor, serious paint correct, rust removal and treatment in wheel wells, torque boxes, 70% paint correction done, sliders sand blasted, prepped, painted, and lots of little things plus a lot of TLC and anti-seize!.

Stage 2: Suspension

This one is getting the axles removed, rust removal, rust preventative, topcoat, and clear. 4" RockJock springs, Rancho 55255/55256, Tom Wood Driveshaft, Double Adjustable Rear Control Arms, JKS Adjustable Rear TB, Front already has an adjustable TB and Quick Disconnects.
 
Today he used the tool he built to beat out the inside of the frame to remove any rust. He blew it all out with an air compressor with a shop vac sucking it out in multiple holes till it was all out. This was preliminary to doing it again another day and then degreasing and painting with Eastwoods. Very proud of him! I’ll get pics later.
 
New tire day. We planned to do this a little bit later, but our tire shop is over an hour drive away and we had to go over there anyway. So we doubled up to save on gas and this will push us to get the frame and suspension done. He does have 3 inch in the front and 2 inch in the rear, so it’s not so bad and we’re pretty close to where we need to be for 33‘s. But we will be changing shocks and springs to get to 4 inch lift. Tires required way too much weight. We talked through dynamic and static balance, and the best tire got static balance, the other three 8oz of balance beads. It looks very balanced. Beautiful rig on the outside.

921C5C7B-8FA0-4437-8DDF-B191CE78C1ED.jpeg


E33C55B4-9E30-4C32-A838-4A68F5D8CA12.jpeg
 
New tire day. We planned to do this a little bit later, but our tire shop is over an hour drive away and we had to go over there anyway. So we doubled up to save on gas and this will push us to get the frame and suspension done. He does have 3 inch in the front and 2 inch in the rear, so it’s not so bad and we’re pretty close to where we need to be for 33‘s. But we will be changing shocks and springs to get to 4 inch lift. Tires required way too much weight. We talked through dynamic and static balance, and the best tire got static balance, the other three 8oz of balance beads. It looks very balanced. Beautiful rig on the outside.

View attachment 359678

View attachment 359679

@bobthetj03. This is a perfect proportions TJR. 11.2” wide tires, 4” BS, will get a bit more lift to healthily clear the 33’s. I think you’d love it. 32’s might be more to your liking, but we’re close!
 
Front driveshaft was pinging. Tore it apart and the ujoints were shot. Some were just dust and pin pieces. 🙄 All new now. Really nice looking Jeep. A little squatty. Still a long way to go.

98DE2D3E-4DEE-4963-86EE-1FC141924A8A.jpeg


D3573E45-7BD3-4FEF-8F96-477501804572.jpeg


DDBB6928-7A8D-4313-ACC9-0AA830F5619B.jpeg


4BD857BE-418B-4B5C-8DDB-8F427EEA0CD2.jpeg
 
He’s a bit obsessed with perfection, so he spent 2.5 hrs doing paint correction on the hood. Later he put the front driveshaft back on after the rebuild and the pinging is gone and running smooth. Time for suspension and frame!
 
Had a P2069 since the beginning in March. At the time we replaced the O2 sensors, detached battery to remove code, and the code just came back.

About a month ago the battery went bad so we bought a new one.Since then the code has never come back. 🤔🤔🤔 Seems I recall some discussion of a hard restart by detaching the battery more than 30 minutes. Or maybe I’m imagining things.
 
Last edited: