FINALLY Saw an AEV Highline in Light Khaki

jeep_boss

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This actually happened a couple of months back.. I had always wondered what a light khaki TJR would look like with an AEV kit, then one day I dropped by a local mom and pop off-road shop and wound up parking next to this guy (my camera was being dumb, so apologies for the lighting)..

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This actually happened a couple of months back.. I had always wondered what a light khaki TJR would look like with an AEV kit, then one day I dropped by a local mom and pop off-road shop and wound up parking next to this guy (my camera was being dumb, so apologies for the lighting)..

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Ok so let me get this straight...you’ve been holding this for this long and just now uploading??? You needed to get side shots, rear, and pics galore. You’ll never see another AEV equipped tj again more than likely. Guy would have ran me off hahahha wow that’s nice. I think the SWB highline TJs look very good but maybe that’s because I’m about to be biased lol. Nice find!
 
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He was about to leave when I pulled out my camera. I honestly didn't even notice the highline kit until the store manager asked if she could take photos of the both of our Jeeps >.<

A couple of the employees there used to work for AEV. They had built dozens and dozens of TJ's nack in the day according to my buddy that worked there, including that one. It had a bunch of Poison Spider armor on it too, dated back before they went full on commercial and got bought out.

The dude lives in the area, I have seen him a couple of times in traffic, so I'll try and get more photos the next time I see it.
 
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Excuse my ignorance but what is a highline kit?... I don't see anything different on that Jeep.
 
I know Khaki will be my third TJ if my wife let me.
Now I wonder how much it cost for the highline kit mod?
You got me to start day dreaming here :(
 
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Excuse my ignorance but what is a highline kit?... I don't see anything different on that Jeep.
Take a close look at the hood and where the fenders are compared to a stock TJ. On the front the typical first point of interference to up travel is the tires hitting the steel fenders (ignore the flexible flares). A high line fender cuts the hood and raises the fender about 3". This allows for a larger tire on less lift as well as less bump stop extension for more travel.

The old AEV kit is somewhere in between a true high line like Poison Spyder and Metalcloak which retains the stock hood. The AEV kit also included rear flares that allowed the rear wheel opening to be cut and opened up more, though this may be more aesthetic to better match the front.
 
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@jjvw Thanks for pointing it out. Very subtle and nice! The kit must replace the cowl too since the body line with the hood matches up?
Any advantage with this compared to replacing the fenders with Metalcloak or similar?
 
@jjvw Thanks for pointing it out. Very subtle and nice! The kit must replace the cowl too since the body line with the hood matches up?
Any advantage with this compared to replacing the fenders with Metalcloak or similar?

The cowl is stock. Go look at yours. :)

I go back and forth on wishing they had extended the line on the cowl through to the fender.

The advantages as I understand them are that AEV fenders look stock-ish and not hideous like Metalcloak. I believe all the stuff mounted to the inner fender can stay in the factory locations. This is the compromise as compared to a full high line. AEV should provide a bit more articulation than MC because the hood line is moved both up and in. I am unclear as to how much up travel is gained at full bump. As I understand it, it won't be as much as a true full high line that completely replaces the inner fenders.
 
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I guess the fact that I needed to take another look is testament to how clean and relatively stock the AEV fender/hood looks. TJ looking form and better function.
Well sir, I like it!
 
I guess the fact that I needed to take another look is testament to how clean and relatively stock the AEV fender/hood looks. TJ looking form and better function.
Well sir, I like it!
If you understand what the AEV (and high line) fenders do, then you will understand why the JK/JL is able to fit larger tires with less lift than previous Wranglers. It's interesting stuff to think about when trying to compare and contrast the generations.
 
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If you understand what the AEV (and high line) fenders do, then you will understand why the JK/JL is able to fit larger tires with less lift than previous Wranglers. It's interesting stuff to think about when trying to compare and contrast the generations.
JK ....... ........ .... JL
:ciappa::facepalm::shakehead::yikes::watchout:
 
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Ok, I haven't noticed it much on photos of the AEV hi-line until this khaki color came up. That cowl fender seam doesn't rest well with me. Just an observation.
 
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Ok, I haven't noticed it much on photos of the AEV hi-line until this khaki color came up. That cowl fender seam doesn't rest well with me. Just an observation.
Some builds fill that line in and it looks very good. It doesn’t bother me much with it there until somebody points it out haha. It does seem to jump out more on the tan colors.
 
Some builds fill that line in and it looks very good. It doesn’t bother me much with it there until somebody points it out haha. It does seem to jump out more on the tan colors.

Sorry brah! Don't mean to be the negative Nelly on your build, so just put me on ignore. Personally, I'd still rock the AEV kit.
 
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