It was mentioned to me that I ought to look at Midnight LJR's build on this forum. Which I did. Amazing job and detail on that one! I looked around a little further, read about Chris's genesis of starting the Wrangler Jeep TJ Forum, was impressed with what he had to say and have enjoyed reading some of the rest of the builds and the camaraderie that is in them, so I joined up myself. Over the years, I have learned a ton on the CJ section of JeepForum, and this forum reminds me of that. With that in mind, I will dive in and tell all y'all a little about my TJ.
My Uncle bought this TJ in '04 and I asked him at the time if I could get first right of refusal if he ever decided to sell it down the road. He agreed. Anything he sells, you buy because he takes care of his "stuff" like no one I know. He helped me find my '85 CJ back in the 90's. 2 years ago just before Easter, he called me up and said he was selling his TJ, I promptly invited myself over for Easter dinner and drove up to his place with my trailer that weekend. It was a stock, 5 speed, minus bigger tires, with 82k miles on it and was in pristine condition. He never took off the hard top.
All the while he had it, I was planning on what to do to it if I ever was able to buy it. As the years went by, my plans changed as new, improved after market parts were developed. I always knew I would put 35's on it, re-gear it and lift it 4". I kept going back and forth between a short arm and long arm lift, the pros and cons were all over the map. I kept reading that a well built short arm was way better then any long arm. I would follow @mrblaine and @Jerry Bransford as their posts made sense to me. They both were logical, didn't seem to waste money and certainly called a spade a spade. A few others were helpful too, and they all convinced me towards the short arm until...
...I started reading about Savvy's mid-arm that I believe @mrblaine helped design and engineer along with Savvy. I think that was around 2014 or so. From that point on, as more and more Jeeps were installing the mid-arm and reporting how nice they were, I was sold. So, fast forward to Easter of 2018 and I knew exactly what i wanted to do to my new to me TJ. It was just a matter of going shopping. Savvy mid-arm, Currie 4" springs, Currie CorrectLync steering, Savvy tummy tuck, Savvy GTS, Savvy sliders/steps, Savvy under armor, Anti rock front and rear and Hanson front and rear bumpers with the swing out tire carrier. The 35" Cooper STT Pro's would be mounted on Method Hole 15"black wheels and would be stopped with @mrblaine's big brake kit. Of course, I needed to bulk up the axles and went with Revolution axles and swapped in their 4.88 gears. I added a few other goodies such as the Warn Zeon 8.5 winch with synthetic line, ARB on board twin air compressor and Tuffy center console. I have loved the stock look of the TJ so I knew I would leave the fenders alone.
Lastly, I wanted to do the work myself. A friend of mine, who owns a garage, offered up an extra bay and lift to do the work in. I drove my TJ to his shop, along with my tools and welder and spent the next 6-7 weeks (mostly weekends) cutting, grinding, cutting, grinding, welding, painting and installing all the parts. I had never re-geared an axle before and was running out of time as work was getting too busy so my pal re-geared for me and did a few other items as well, such as installing the big brake kit. I can't imagine some of you who installed the Savvy mid-arm in your garage or driveway, it was tough enough for me and I was using a lift!
this is what she looked like when I was "finished":
Notice I used quotes with finished. A year after this picture was taken, I ended up installing Poison Spyder's full cage.
The Jeep drives like a dream both on and off road. I usually run the Rubicon 2-3x's each summer, have been to Moab and just about everything I throw at her she eats up. The last thing, though, that I (have read over and over) I NEED to do is outboard the shocks. I have ripped off the rear lower shock mounts a couple of times already, and, although not a big deal to re-weld on, it is annoying. And, after reading so much about how better it will drive and perform on the trails, I am convinced this needs to be accomplished. I am now beginning to acquire the parts to complete that project and I am hoping to have it done by year's end. I don't want to tackle it myself and I know there is just one guy who I want to do it. I hope I can convince him at some point...
Look forward to reading more about what all y'all have done and perhaps one day we will meet on the trail. Thanks again, @Chris, for providing a nice environment to learn in...
My Uncle bought this TJ in '04 and I asked him at the time if I could get first right of refusal if he ever decided to sell it down the road. He agreed. Anything he sells, you buy because he takes care of his "stuff" like no one I know. He helped me find my '85 CJ back in the 90's. 2 years ago just before Easter, he called me up and said he was selling his TJ, I promptly invited myself over for Easter dinner and drove up to his place with my trailer that weekend. It was a stock, 5 speed, minus bigger tires, with 82k miles on it and was in pristine condition. He never took off the hard top.
All the while he had it, I was planning on what to do to it if I ever was able to buy it. As the years went by, my plans changed as new, improved after market parts were developed. I always knew I would put 35's on it, re-gear it and lift it 4". I kept going back and forth between a short arm and long arm lift, the pros and cons were all over the map. I kept reading that a well built short arm was way better then any long arm. I would follow @mrblaine and @Jerry Bransford as their posts made sense to me. They both were logical, didn't seem to waste money and certainly called a spade a spade. A few others were helpful too, and they all convinced me towards the short arm until...
...I started reading about Savvy's mid-arm that I believe @mrblaine helped design and engineer along with Savvy. I think that was around 2014 or so. From that point on, as more and more Jeeps were installing the mid-arm and reporting how nice they were, I was sold. So, fast forward to Easter of 2018 and I knew exactly what i wanted to do to my new to me TJ. It was just a matter of going shopping. Savvy mid-arm, Currie 4" springs, Currie CorrectLync steering, Savvy tummy tuck, Savvy GTS, Savvy sliders/steps, Savvy under armor, Anti rock front and rear and Hanson front and rear bumpers with the swing out tire carrier. The 35" Cooper STT Pro's would be mounted on Method Hole 15"black wheels and would be stopped with @mrblaine's big brake kit. Of course, I needed to bulk up the axles and went with Revolution axles and swapped in their 4.88 gears. I added a few other goodies such as the Warn Zeon 8.5 winch with synthetic line, ARB on board twin air compressor and Tuffy center console. I have loved the stock look of the TJ so I knew I would leave the fenders alone.
Lastly, I wanted to do the work myself. A friend of mine, who owns a garage, offered up an extra bay and lift to do the work in. I drove my TJ to his shop, along with my tools and welder and spent the next 6-7 weeks (mostly weekends) cutting, grinding, cutting, grinding, welding, painting and installing all the parts. I had never re-geared an axle before and was running out of time as work was getting too busy so my pal re-geared for me and did a few other items as well, such as installing the big brake kit. I can't imagine some of you who installed the Savvy mid-arm in your garage or driveway, it was tough enough for me and I was using a lift!
this is what she looked like when I was "finished":
Notice I used quotes with finished. A year after this picture was taken, I ended up installing Poison Spyder's full cage.
The Jeep drives like a dream both on and off road. I usually run the Rubicon 2-3x's each summer, have been to Moab and just about everything I throw at her she eats up. The last thing, though, that I (have read over and over) I NEED to do is outboard the shocks. I have ripped off the rear lower shock mounts a couple of times already, and, although not a big deal to re-weld on, it is annoying. And, after reading so much about how better it will drive and perform on the trails, I am convinced this needs to be accomplished. I am now beginning to acquire the parts to complete that project and I am hoping to have it done by year's end. I don't want to tackle it myself and I know there is just one guy who I want to do it. I hope I can convince him at some point...
Look forward to reading more about what all y'all have done and perhaps one day we will meet on the trail. Thanks again, @Chris, for providing a nice environment to learn in...
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