Family's First LJ - 2006 Rubicon Build

IPerkWVU said:
Yep, I've seen a few LCs at Callie's before. I ride with the Ohio River Four Wheelers mostly, I know we've partnered with your club on a few improvement projects in the past. Was down in the area mid March before things got shut down.
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Yep, Callies is our home away from home. We stage all of our rides from there and have a great relationship with the Bowens. I'm currently working with Roddy on the Fall Meet & Greet Ride as well as DBBB improvement projects.
 
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techster82 said:
Sorry guys, as you can tell I'm not on the forums much these days as I got the LJ to a point that I was happy with and went on to other projects (I've still got a few uninstalled LJ parts in the garage that may happen one of these days). Along with the LJR and JLUR, I've currently got three Land Cruisers and a solid axle swapped 1st Gen Tacoma that I've enjoyed wheeling. The LJ is just too nice to beat on and my craving for big rocks keeps growing.

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I did purchase a brand new Bestop Supertop NX the other day to replace the worn Trektop that I had come to hate. After driving it some this spring/summer it will most likely go on to find a new owner.
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Did you do the SAS to that Tacoma or did it come with it installed? How much did it cost you if you did it yourself?

I'm assuming you used leafs? I keep looking for someone who has done it with coilovers, but can't find anything. They must not fit properly or the fabrication must be too much.

Anyways, I have a first get Tacoma too:

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Chris said:
Did you do the SAS to that Tacoma or did it come with it installed? How much did it cost you if you did it yourself?

I'm assuming you used leafs? I keep looking for someone who has done it with coilovers, but can't find anything. They must not fit properly or the fabrication must be too much.
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I actually purchased this Tacoma from a Hot Rod Builder up in Cincinnati towards the end of last year (it was his daily driver around the shop until he got a 1st gen double cab). It does have leafs up front (Sky Designs SAS Kit) with a Dana 44 from a Wagoneer, dual t-cases, bobbed bed etc. He drove it with 37" KM2s and I put 40" STT Pros on it when I got it.

I wheeled it a bit, and love it, but I wanted to make some changes (more clearance for the 40s or larger, front leaf packs were tweaking, need hydro assist etc). So I decided that I would go ahead and put tons underneath it along with a 3-link front with coilovers. Last week as I was getting ready to start pulling stuff off for the swap I came across a great deal on a wrecked 2001 Double cab. Initially I was going to pull the 3.4 and Auto out of it to put in mine (my extended cab Tacoma has a 2.7 and manual) but when I got to the truck it was in such good shape that it made more sense to keep my current Tacoma together and build this one from scratch.

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The great thing about the Double Cab is that it checks off the things I wish my extended cab had (V6, Auto, full back seat for the kids, power windows/locks). The plan for it right now is 3-link front with 14" Coilovers, Super Duty Axles (Dana 60 and 10.5), dual transfer cases, leaf spring rear with Chevy 63s and 43" TSL/SX tires on beadlocks.

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(43" TSL/SX next to 40" STT Pro)

I'm actually gonna spend the day at the shop tomorrow cutting off the front IFS and other assorted goodies so we can start tacking and mocking stuff up. My lower front links should be around 40" if that tells you anything!
 
techster82 said:
I actually purchased this Tacoma from a Hot Rod Builder up in Cincinnati towards the end of last year (it was his daily driver around the shop until he got a 1st gen double cab). It does have leafs up front (Sky Designs SAS Kit) with a Dana 44 from a Wagoneer, dual t-cases, bobbed bed etc. He drove it with 37" KM2s and I put 40" STT Pros on it when I got it.

I wheeled it a bit, and love it, but I wanted to make some changes (more clearance for the 40s or larger, front leaf packs were tweaking, need hydro assist etc). So I decided that I would go ahead and put tons underneath it along with a 3-link front with coilovers. Last week as I was getting ready to start pulling stuff off for the swap I came across a great deal on a wrecked 2001 Double cab. Initially I was going to pull the 3.4 and Auto out of it to put in mine (my extended cab Tacoma has a 2.7 and manual) but when I got to the truck it was in such good shape that it made more sense to keep my current Tacoma together and build this one from scratch.

View attachment 156032
The great thing about the Double Cab is that it checks off the things I wish my extended cab had (V6, Auto, full back seat for the kids, power windows/locks). The plan for it right now is 3-link front with 14" Coilovers, Super Duty Axles (Dana 60 and 10.5), dual transfer cases, leaf spring rear with Chevy 63s and 43" TSL/SX tires on beadlocks.

View attachment 156033
(43" TSL/SX next to 40" STT Pro)

I'm actually gonna spend the day at the shop tomorrow cutting off the front IFS and other assorted goodies so we can start tacking and mocking stuff up. My lower front links should be around 40" if that tells you anything!
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Yeah, I would like to put a SAS on mine and ditch the IFS, unfortunately I hear it's 8-10k to do right from everyone on the forums.

Still, the IFS doesn't have the articulation of a SAS, which is disappointing.

Mine has 33s as you can see, but it's a tight fit.

I'm assuming you can't really fit anything bigger than a 33 on these unless you cut the fenders, right?

I really like this double cab. It's a V6, auto, drives fantastic, and the back seats are actually much bigger than I expected. I've managed to fit both my kids car seats back there with room to spare, which is impressive.

Yours is an inspiration. Unfortunately that thing must suck balls with 37s and a 4 cylinder. Hell, even the 3.4 would suck with 37s.

I was looking into doing a V8 swap in mine, but there isn't enough information on V8 swaps and conversion parts for Tacomas like there is for Jeeps, that's for sure.
 
I think $8-10k is super high for a swap, but I’d have to sit down and do some figuring.

The 2.7 is surprisingly spunky and a bulletproof motor. Lots of guys turbo them as the bottom end is forged and holds up just fine. Currently I’m geared at 4.88 (that’s the deepest matching gears for the stock rear and Dana 44 front). Around town on 40s it’s completely driveable and off-road it’ll crawl anything with its 4.7 and 2.28 t-cases (although it cry’s at the thought of an asphalt hill in 2hi)

The Doublecab will be geared at 5.38 with the V6 and auto.
 
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techster82 said:
I think $8-10k is super high for a swap, but I’d have to sit down and do some figuring.

The 2.7 is surprisingly spunky and a bulletproof motor. Lots of guys turbo them as the bottom end is forged and holds up just fine. Currently I’m geared at 4.88 (that’s the deepest matching gears for the stock rear and Dana 44 front). Around town on 40s it’s completely driveable and off-road it’ll crawl anything with its 4.7 and 2.28 t-cases (although it cry’s at the thought of an asphalt hill in 2hi)

The Doublecab will be geared at 5.38 with the V6 and auto.
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Mine is geared at 4.88.

Yep, I suspect it's like the 4-cylinder TJs. Take them anywhere but the highway or hills, and you'll be just fine.

I'll have to add up the cost. Once I get to 40k in costs, I start thinking it's more effective to build a tubular buggy rock crawler :LOL:
 
techster82 said:
Yep, Callies is our home away from home. We stage all of our rides from there and have a great relationship with the Bowens. I'm currently working with Roddy on the Fall Meet & Greet Ride as well as DBBB improvement projects.
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Roddy's a great guy and human GPS. I made the M&G ride last fall, it's a great event. I need to try and get a forum group together for the upcoming one.
 
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I took advantage of the sun and warmer temps here in KY to get the new Supertop on. When all is said and done its a great top but man did it reinforce my view that all the designers at Bestop are masochists.

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techster82 said:
Before I dive in to my planned changes or questions on part selection for the LJ, I decided to make my first "modification". Having a vinyl cutter (my wife insists on calling it a Cricut for some reason) at home comes in handy.

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And not wanting to be accused of playing favorites I quickly added a second "mod".

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I'll admit, after spending months of reading threads and posts sometimes until my eyes would barely stay open, I've really enjoyed the contributions from these two (among many more!). While my budget or build plans may not exactly match theirs I've certainly tried to listen and draw knowledge or learn restraint from their wit and writings. I imagine they'd be two uncles I'd love to have.
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These are awesome
 
Hey, amazing lj. Sorry if I missed it along the way, but do those 315s rub with the bridgers? I found a set for sale and like the way they look. Also on the 4" currie with a bl/mml
 
Hey, I'm in Lexington, and wanted to find out where you get work done, and also what bumpers, rockers, fenders, etc. you've got on your Jeep. I'm looking to update all my faded gray stuff and I saw yours is exactly the direction I want to go with mine (except I'm keeping the silver paint job :) )... so any details you have, I'd love to hear.
 
techster82 said:
I had some time this afternoon to mess around in the garage so that gave me a chance to finish up the whole hood louver install using the GenRight version. I ended up going with this one versus the Poison Spyder because I didn't necessarily want the logo on the hood piece and I tend to think the louver pattern of the GenRight piece is a little cleaner. I do think the install takes a bit longer than the PS piece because you have to cut and fit the washer nozzle (PS offers a version for the one piece or two piece nozzle setup) and I opted to drill out the 26 bolt holes to fit a 10-32 black oxide buttonhead screw versus the 1/8" hole for a smaller buttonhead or pop rivets (no stainless exposed bolts messing up my color-scheme allowed!)

All in all I'm really happy with it even though it did take more time and trouble than I originally anticipated.

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Next up I need to get the Savvy gas tank skid either powder coated or painted and installed along with some parts I've got coming from Motobilt (rear diff cover and rear frame crossmember) and Under Cover Fab (engine/transmission aluminum skidplate). The Mrs. and I signed up to do the Jeep Jamboree next month down near Williamsburg, KY. Its the 25th "Gateway to the Cumberlands" Jamboree and will be our first one to attend. I need to get everything up and running and tested before that weekend.
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Curious as to how you mounted those mirrors? Is that just a bracket sized the same as an OEM door hinge? What keeps it from spinning? Tighten it down with the factor nut? Thanks. Love the Jeep. Modeling mine after this.
 
Good morning! Your build has caught my eye for many reasons and I have a couple questions.

1. Tire and wheel sizes? I like the look
2. What size lift?
3. Where did you find that front bumper?

my son turns 16 in a couple months and I’m passing down my Blue 03 to him see attached pics, and I’m starting a new build on this red 06Tj I just picked up with 54k miles.

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Rushman1966 said:
Good morning! Your build has caught my eye for many reasons and I have a couple questions.

1. Tire and wheel sizes? I like the look
2. What size lift?
3. Where did you find that front bumper?

my son turns 16 in a couple months and I’m passing down my Blue 03 to him see attached pics, and I’m starting a new build on this red 06Tj I just picked up with 54k miles.

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Lucky 16 year old!
 
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techster82 said:
I had some time this afternoon to mess around in the garage so that gave me a chance to finish up the whole hood louver install using the GenRight version. I ended up going with this one versus the Poison Spyder because I didn't necessarily want the logo on the hood piece and I tend to think the louver pattern of the GenRight piece is a little cleaner. I do think the install takes a bit longer than the PS piece because you have to cut and fit the washer nozzle (PS offers a version for the one piece or two piece nozzle setup) and I opted to drill out the 26 bolt holes to fit a 10-32 black oxide buttonhead screw versus the 1/8" hole for a smaller buttonhead or pop rivets (no stainless exposed bolts messing up my color-scheme allowed!)

All in all I'm really happy with it even though it did take more time and trouble than I originally anticipated.

View attachment 54840
View attachment 54841
View attachment 54842
View attachment 54843

Next up I need to get the Savvy gas tank skid either powder coated or painted and installed along with some parts I've got coming from Motobilt (rear diff cover and rear frame crossmember) and Under Cover Fab (engine/transmission aluminum skidplate). The Mrs. and I signed up to do the Jeep Jamboree next month down near Williamsburg, KY. Its the 25th "Gateway to the Cumberlands" Jamboree and will be our first one to attend. I need to get everything up and running and tested before that weekend.
Click to expand...
which bumper is this? from where?
 
techster82 said:
I had some time this afternoon to mess around in the garage so that gave me a chance to finish up the whole hood louver install using the GenRight version. I ended up going with this one versus the Poison Spyder because I didn't necessarily want the logo on the hood piece and I tend to think the louver pattern of the GenRight piece is a little cleaner. I do think the install takes a bit longer than the PS piece because you have to cut and fit the washer nozzle (PS offers a version for the one piece or two piece nozzle setup) and I opted to drill out the 26 bolt holes to fit a 10-32 black oxide buttonhead screw versus the 1/8" hole for a smaller buttonhead or pop rivets (no stainless exposed bolts messing up my color-scheme allowed!)

All in all I'm really happy with it even though it did take more time and trouble than I originally anticipated.

View attachment 54840
View attachment 54841
View attachment 54842
View attachment 54843

Next up I need to get the Savvy gas tank skid either powder coated or painted and installed along with some parts I've got coming from Motobilt (rear diff cover and rear frame crossmember) and Under Cover Fab (engine/transmission aluminum skidplate). The Mrs. and I signed up to do the Jeep Jamboree next month down near Williamsburg, KY. Its the 25th "Gateway to the Cumberlands" Jamboree and will be our first one to attend. I need to get everything up and running and tested before that weekend.
Click to expand...
which bumper is this? from where?
 
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