Alex01 Silver Sport Build Thread

Alex01

Waiting on USA revolution shafts since November
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Joined
Mar 23, 2018
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8,286
Location
Truckee, CA
From the insistence of a certain member with a crazy low mileage Black LJR I have finally decided to create my own build thread.

Some back story on the jeep and my jeep ownership. I bought my first jeep when I was in college. It was a red 1987 Yj with a 4 banger and 3.07 gearing I picked up for $1,800. As the price would suggest it wasn't perfect but it that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. By fixing all the things that went wrong with the YJ I really learned how to work on cars and developed a passion for the wrangler. I never did anything crazy with the YJ, a few fire roads and poser shots but nothing much else.
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Now let's fast forward to 2014. I had recently sold the YJ for 4k and wanted to get TJ. I had always liked the looks of the round headlights and wanted a change. This was still well before I joined this or any other forum and I really didn't know what to look for in a jeep. All I knew was I didn't want another 4 banger and I wanted a manual.
So, after looking at a few jeeps I finally stumbled upon the one I own today. It was a 6 cylinder, manual, and less then 100k miles. The downside was that I had a dana 35 rear and 3.07 gearing and 32 x 11.5 cracked tires. When I took it on the test drive, I expected it to be a dog from everything I read about online about the 3.07 gearing. To my surprise this thing flew. Mind you my base of comparison was a YJ with 3.07 gearing a 4 cylinder and 33 x 12.5 inch tires. I was shocked I could go 80 on the freeway with a wrangler and knew at that moment that this would be the one I took home. After talking with the owner, we settled on just shy of 10k. The owner was moving to France in a few weeks so we made a deal that he would get it smogged and the oil changed before we met back up in 2 weeks to exchange title and money.

I finally picked up my jeep on September 13, 2014 which also happens to be my birthday.
Day of purchase.jpg

Here is the first ever picture of my jeep and finding this photo actually inspired me to actually start a build thread.
Stock jeep.jpeg

Here is the jeep once I got it back to my parents house.

Next came time for mods.

Still not knowing tons about TJ's and not using a forum for guidance I bought a 3.5 inch Rubicon Express super flex lift with adjustable uppers and lowers. This lift would be complimented with 33x10.5 bfg tires and procomp wheels. I completed the lift at the shop my friend worked at on a Saturday sometime in December of 2014. At some point around this time I also added Warn front and rear bumpers.
jeep 33.jpg

I believe this photo is right after I installed the lights and the SYE.

I knew at this point that my goal was to tackle the Rubicon trail and I was going to build this jeep to be able to tackle it. So, I started having the debate every person with a Dana 35 and 3.07 has. Do I upgrade the 35 or swap a 44? I started pricing out upgrades / gearing while also keeping my eye on craigslist. To my surprise someone was selling a set of Rubicon axles F/R for $2200 including pumps. I rented a u haul trailer and picked them up.

Out with the old.
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dana 35.jpg

In with the new. (to me)
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Wow. 4.11 vs 3.07. What a difference I could spin the tires in first if I wanted to :p. One of the biggest things I noticed though was my crawl ratio. It became so much better. Now I was able to throw the jeep into low and not need to mess with the clutch nearly as much.

The next mod I added was the sliders. I went with rockhard 4x4.
sliders.jpg


At this point my jeep stayed in this configuration for a few years. I started upgrading things like the sub, dual switch panel, bed-liner, upgraded headlight/trail lights, 3rd brake light.

toms jeep.jpg


Build phase 2 started at this point. The wife and I recently bought a house so I was no longer scared of spending money in the event we needed to come up with more for a down or unforeseen problems.
I was ready to move to 35's since I had all the supporting mods to do so.
35s.jpg
Antirock is also installed at this point.
Next came the flat fenders, winch, and 4.88 regear.
bushwacker.jpg

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We are finally up to the present. I am currently installing MC fenders Front and rear. I went with the overline 6 inch system.
20181217_211115.jpg


I also recently installed rear trail lights.
20181215_151010.jpg
 
This entire time I thought yours was khaki... That ROM photo deceived me!
Nope its silverstone metallic.

About time. :D
Me: (like 6 months ago to Alex...) I think you should start a build thread.
Him: my builds already done no more work to do.

LOL I needed to find a stock photo. Without it I had no point of reference. I did get a photo of your white one in there. Probably the same day you told me to make a thread.

I'm sure I am missing 50% of the things I have done to it but at least I can capture it moving forward.
 
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Will you be able to remove some bump stop extension after the fender install? How much extra clearance do the MC's give you?
 
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I'm sure I am missing 50% of the things I have done to it but at least I can capture it moving forward.

Let me dig up what I have for historical record.

My contributions:

Installed truck light knockoffs
13166286-6329-4862-975E-7C7F01928129.jpeg


Bed lining your tub:
81042A1A-4A35-4204-BCF2-5A2767DEED7F.jpeg


Doing your switch panel
992E54E2-AE69-48BE-81C4-9AB09D5B043E.jpeg


On board air:
1BCA97E2-BB55-4BC8-A2A8-D35C376F4040.jpeg


Fixing diff issues after your regear:

121D5098-9588-49BC-9D02-FC26C532C374.jpeg
 
Will you be able to remove some bump stop extension after the fender install? How much extra clearance do the MC's give you?
I have not taken any measurements yet. I just mocked up the fenders last night in order to get the inner properly aligned. The fenders should net me around 2 inches of clearance. When we went to Mendocino and I took my flex photo I was actually hitting my fenders and had a bit of room left to go on my shock.
8D3C7DB8-8A42-4BCD-96F1-EFFCA9A414BB.jpeg

I will need to properly cycle the suspension and see if I can remove any additional bump stop. I also need to purchase a pair of those rubber things that go into the top of the bump stops since mine are badly deteriorated. I have a feeling my limiting factor at this point is going to be my shocks bottoming out. The rear is already maxed with the shock but once again I need to properly cycle the suspension to confirm this.
 
Let me dig up what I have for historical record.

My contributions:

Installed truck light knockoffs
View attachment 68350

Bed lining your tub:
View attachment 68352

Doing your switch panel
View attachment 68351

On board air:
View attachment 68353

Fixing diff issues after your regear:

View attachment 68354
Thanks Tom. I knew I missed a bunch of stuff. I had that axle apart a few times now. Only once after the re gear. since it has been living on stands in my garage I noticed that the axle is leaking again. I honestly believe at this point that it is either leaking from the tube or the plug welds. I am going to need to call around and figure out how to fix this.

I didn't know you had a hand throttle. Nice!

Yes I do. I still need to adjust it a bit but with the 4.88 gearing I rarely find myself needing to use it. At this point I just left off the clutch a bit and it just wants to crawl.
 
That was one of the nice surprises I found when I re-geared. Crawl ratio was way better. Almost good enough to not want a 241 tc and that 4:1.
 
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That was one of the nice surprises I found when I re-geared. Crawl ratio was way better. Almost good enough to not want a 241 tc and that 4:1.
I agree. The rear gears made a massive difference. When I was at calico with my father in law I spotted him up a rough section. He spun his tires and had a difficult time getting up. With the lockers disengaged I put it in low, shifted to first, and slowly crawled up the rocks without a single spin.

Now if a 241 shows up on CL at a good price I may not be able to pass up the chance to get it.
20180520_100206.jpg
 
You don't think you want the 4:1 until you have it. Its REALLY nice for crawling. The only time I don't like it is climbing sand dunes. Not enough wheel speed in 4lo and not enough torque in 4Hi.


That was one of the nice surprises I found when I re-geared. Crawl ratio was way better. Almost good enough to not want a 241 tc and that 4:1.
 
Alex, has there been a time when your front license plate hasn’t been bent ?
Ha. It was mostly straight before I went up hill 3 at the metal cloak event. Maybe one day I'll get personalized plates and a fancy winch mounted plate like @tomtaylz
 
I sold the rockhard sliders for $150. I was hoping to get the bushwacker fender flares sold today also but the person I was talking to stopped responding. I still need to post my oem fender. Maybe tomorrow.

I finally got the all the wires / hardware attached to the inner fenders and started the jeep for the first time in about 3 weeks. Next, paint the front fenders silver and the flares black.
 
I sold the rockhard sliders for $150. I was hoping to get the bushwacker fender flares sold today also but the person I was talking to stopped responding. I still need to post my oem fender. Maybe tomorrow.

I finally got the all the wires / hardware attached to the inner fenders and started the jeep for the first time in about 3 weeks. Next, paint the front fenders silver and the flares black.
Have you posted them up here?
 
Have you posted them up here?
No just my local craigslist. I figured once someone factors in shipping they would basically be the same price as new. Some dad bought them for his 16 or 17 year old son who he bought a jeep for. Sounds like a father son project.