Midnight LJR Build

[mrblaine]

So you thought, "While it's apart, let's add an insane amount of lighting!" ? lol!

It didn't start that way. It was, hey see if this will work for rock lights and if you don't like those, try these. Apparently if they light up the concrete in the shade during the day, they are a bit overkill at night. May have to adjust my viewing times.

 

[Brianj5600]

I ordered disco lights for mine. Some spotters like red rock lights and some white.

 

[Midnight LJR]

Ok show and tell time.

Here is an overall shot. Most would never notice much has changed but that’s what I really like about the raised body mounts and the removal of the Savvy C bracket around the frame really cleans things up.

Blaine also did the rear tuck and made it super easy to remove the hitch. I tried it to see how easy it was and it came right off. I like how he welded the nut inside the frame so I don’t have to keep track of loose hardware. Here’s some shots of the new back end with the Savvy Taillights. There was a lot more work involved in that little change than it looks like. He had to rework the spare tire carrier, move the license plate with a new bracket, mount a new light mount for the license plate and figure out a way to make it so my backup camera still worked. I am thrilled with how all of it turned out.

He also made me his new awesome backup light armor panel and got it painted and powdered coated to match. I love how clean it looks and the lights are crazy bright.

Finishing up the back, you can see he added two accessories outlets for my fridge. And did a very clean job of installing the tailgate table and keeping as much of the factory trim as possible. He even tucked the trailer wiring harness up nice and high to keep it hidden and out of the rocks.

Here are a bunch of photos of how he installed the “make your Jeep look like a spaceship” rock lights around the Jeep. There are 8 of them, one in front and behind each tire.

Here is ashot of the new raised tire rod which gives way more clearance. Blaine used a new knuckle instead of drilling it out which I really appreciated.

Under the hood he installed two KC Cyclone lights on a custom mount wired to a small switch at the back of the hood. These will be very nice to have.

Here you can see how nice the wiring is organized with all the fuses labeled and in one place.

Continued below.

 

[jodomcfrodo]

When is this one going for sale? I got dibs.

 

[Midnight LJR]

They also made a whole new mount for the rock light drivers, PSC Reservoir and ARB pump under the hood so I no longer have to hook it up to the battery each time.

On the inside we used one new OEM Style switch for the backup lights and one other small toggle for the rock lights keeping everything looking very clean inside. Blaine Installed some Grabars and replaced the shift boot, shifter trim, and the rubber boot underneath so my leg doesn’t burn off anymore. Which is nice.

I think that’s everything. I had him flush the coolant do some other basic maintenance and give me a short wiring lesson while I was there.

As always with Blaine I am thrilled with the service and work. Not much left to do on this Jeep now. Just need to install my ham radio and XM Satellite radio antenna and it is about as done as they get I suppose.

 

[Midnight LJR]

When is this one going for sale? I got dibs.

N - E - V - E - R

 

[jodomcfrodo]

N - E - V - E - R

One morning you are gonna find $35k on your doorstep and no Jeep in your driveway if that is the case

 

[mrblaine]

Ok show and tell time.
View attachment 192078
Here is an overall shot. Most would never notice much has changed but that’s what I really like about the raised body mounts and the removal of the Savvy C bracket around the frame really cleans things up.
View attachment 192075View attachment 192076View attachment 192077

Blaine also did the rear tuck and made it super easy to remove the hitch. I tried it to see how easy it was and it came right off. I like how he welded the nut inside the frame so I don’t have to keep track of loose hardware. Here’s some shots of the new back end with the Savvy Taillights. There was a lot more work involved in that little change than it looks like. He had to rework the spare tire carrier, move the license plate with a new bracket, mount a new light mount for the license plate and figure out a way to make it so my backup camera still worked. I am thrilled with how all of it turned out.
View attachment 192079View attachment 192080View attachment 192081

He also made me his new awesome backup light armor panel and got it painted and powdered coated to match. I love how clean it looks and the lights are crazy bright.
View attachment 192082

Finishing up the back, you can see he added two accessories outlets for my fridge. And did a very clean job of installing the tailgate table and keeping as much of the factory trim as possible. He even tucked the trailer wiring harness up nice and high to keep it hidden and out of the rocks.
View attachment 192085View attachment 192086View attachment 192087View attachment 192088

Here are a bunch of photos of how he installed the “make your Jeep look like a spaceship” rock lights around the Jeep. There are 8 of them, one in front and behind each tire.
View attachment 192089View attachment 192090View attachment 192092View attachment 192091

Here is ashot of the new raised tire rod which gives way more clearance. Blaine used a new knuckle instead of drilling it out which I really appreciated.
View attachment 192093

Under the hood he installed two KC Cyclone lights on a custom mount wired to a small switch at the back of the hood. These will be very nice to have.
View attachment 192094

Here you can see how nice the wiring is organized with all the fuses labeled and in one place.
View attachment 192095

Continued below.

Thanks Mike. The only thing it looks like you missed is we had to remove the braces for the Savvy bumper so we welded in reinforcements to replace their function. The stud plates at the rear bumper have also been drilled and tapped so they are sucked in tight to the bumper face in case you remove it, the stud plate won't fall inside.

 

[Midnight LJR]

Thanks Mike. The only thing it looks like you missed is we had to remove the braces for the Savvy bumper so we welded in reinforcements to replace their function. The stud plates at the rear bumper have also been drilled and tapped so they are sucked in tight to the bumper face in case you remove it, the stud plate won't fall inside.

Oh ya I remember that now. That’s a great feature too. So many quality of life improvements.

 

[Midnight LJR]

One morning you are gonna find $35k on your doorstep and no Jeep in your driveway if that is the case

35k!

Buah ha ha ha ha ha aha

 

[psrivats]

Very nicely and tastefully done, both the interior and the exterior modifications. Great job @mrblaine, every single detail is so cleanly thought out and implemented.

 

[mrblaine]

Very nicely and tastefully done, both the interior and the exterior modifications. Great job @mrblaine, every single detail is so cleanly thought out and implemented.

Thank you. I'm pretty happy with the compressor mount that also holds the reservoir and the neato driver mount for the rock lights x 2.

Before anyone picks on the fuse holders (and you should) we do not have a fuse holder solution we like and we've seen most of them. None of them are clean or look like they belong under the hood of a Jeep so if anyone has an example of something cool, post it up.

 

[FireJeep]

Thank you. I'm pretty happy with the compressor mount that also holds the reservoir and the neato driver mount for the rock lights x 2.

Before anyone picks on the fuse holders (and you should) we do not have a fuse holder solution we like and we've seen most of them. None of them are clean or look like they belong under the hood of a Jeep so if anyone has an example of something cool, post it up.

What are your thoughts on using another stock power center, like the one that is under the hood already? Is there room to mount it next the existing power distribution box?

 

[mrblaine]

What are your thoughts on using another stock power center, like the one that is under the hood already? Is there room to mount it next the existing power distribution box?

I'd consider one from another vehicle that is smaller. I just don't know if it is worth the effort to wire it all in just to get the correct look.

 

[FireJeep]

Very nice work, Mrblaine, the level of attention to detail and quality of execution is remarkable. Well Done, Sir.

 

[fooey]

 

[FireJeep]

I'd consider one from another vehicle that is smaller. I just don't know if it is worth the effort to wire it all in just to get the correct look.

Would it not make all the fuses in the same location (closer than the 8" away behind the battery). Would it be that difficult to wire it up, would it not just need one power wire feeding the main bus and then fuse off of that? Please note my complete ineptness about wiring.....

 

[mrblaine]

Would it not make all the fuses in the same location (closer than the 8" away behind the battery). Would it be that difficult to wire it up, would it not just need one power wire feeding the main bus and then fuse off of that? Please note my complete ineptness about wiring.....

Bringing in a single power wire isn't difficult nor what stops us from doing anything. We'd still do the same logic with a fuse tap out to close a relay to power up the block with key on. The difficulty isn't doing the work, it is just finding something that doesn't look like it was added as an aftermarket piece of shit.

 

[mrblaine]

Very nice work, Mrblaine, the level of attention to detail and quality of execution is remarkable. Well Done, Sir.

Doing nice work is easy if you are doing it for someone who appreciates it.

 

[mrblaine]

Very nicely and tastefully done, both the interior and the exterior modifications. Great job @mrblaine, every single detail is so cleanly thought out and implemented.

Thank you. Mike is fun to do things for. Half is the amount of shit I get to give him and the other half is his appreciation for the way we do things.