Midnight LJR Build

mrblaine said:
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.
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Years ago, Bleepin Jeep did a video on rebuilding an XJ PDC into a second PDC. It looks factory because it is. Mine sits where the factory air box was next to the factory PDC. Not sure how well it would fit in a highline.
 
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jjvw said:
Years ago, Bleepin Jeep did a video on rebuilding an XJ PDC into a second PDC. It looks factory because it is. Mine sits where the factory air box was next to the factory PDC. Not sure how well it would fit in a highline.
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If that moron did something you can rest assured it has forever been removed from my list of possible solutions for anything.
 
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mrblaine said:
If that moron did something you can rest assured it has forever been removed from my list of possible solutions for anything.
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Well, this moron has been using one for a long time. Were I to build another one I would do a couple things differently with the signal wires from the switches. But the basic idea has worked well for me so far. Adding and removing accessories has been easy. :)
 
Midnight LJR said:
Ok show and tell time.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Here you can see how nice the wiring is organized with all the fuses labeled and in one place.
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Continued below.
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It's good to see the rear frame raise done well! And I'm going to borrow the sill mounted back up lights idea when I add corners and have to move the ones I have.
 
jjvw said:
It's good to see the rear frame raise done well! And I'm going to borrow the sill mounted back up lights idea when I add corners and have to move the ones I have.
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Yeah I love the way that that turned out. They did an amazing job on it.

Just took my wife outside and showed her again. She was like “you just showed me” I was like “I know! But look again, isn’t it great!“
 
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jjvw said:
It's good to see the rear frame raise done well! And I'm going to borrow the sill mounted back up lights idea when I add corners and have to move the ones I have.
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A few notes on that. Only put one bolt in the middle of the overlap rabbets. We lay out the lower corner armor hole but there is no need to do so and you may want to run armor some day and that lower hole will be in the way.
 
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Midnight LJR said:
Yeah I love the way that that turned out. They did an amazing job on it.

Just took my wife outside and showed her again. She was like “you just showed me” I was like “I know! But look again, isn’t it great!“
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BTW- if anyone asks, no, I don't normally grind welds down on the sides of the frame. Those are only done so that the hitch mounting plates will slide up on both sides of the frame easily. Also don't forget that even though they both have the same head size (on purpose), the metric ones point up, the SAE point inward.
 
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mrblaine said:
BTW- if anyone asks, no, I don't normally grind welds down on the sides of the frame. Those are only done so that the hitch mounting plates will slide up on both sides of the frame easily. Also don't forget that even though they both have the same head size (on purpose), the metric ones point up, the SAE point inward.
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I did notice that, it’s great they use the same size wrench.
 
zebra12 said:
Where is the wire mounted? It is so cleanly installed I don't see the line until it gets to the camera.
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It is run across the dash to the right side and then down that side to the rear of the tub on top of the inner fender. We drilled a hole through the hinge base and the wire goes out through that, along the hinge to behind the tire and over to the tire carrier. We also shortened the length of the camera cable so there wasn't a big coil of excess to hide.

I don't recommend the cutting and shortening unless you know what you are doing. The wires are very small.
 
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