Well, if the goal was to just do it once, then I royally messed up. Last ~September I bought my first ever jeep! This past week I bought another, and intend to move my upgrades to the new Jeep. Mission failed.
Let me start by saying that this is an awesome forum and extend my thanks to all you experts that continue to help us newbs. I wanted to contribute a bit with my own build thread and maybe get some much-needed advice, because I can reliably make questionable decisions.
Catching up to now:
It all started when it came time to buy my first car. I have been leasing since getting my license (discounted rates through my dad's job), but alas I wanted something I could make my own and keep long term. I have always wanted a jeep and luckily my wife thought it’d be a cool car to have as well. My initial conditions were low-ish mileage, dark color (preferably Green), and mostly unmolested. Oh right, and no rust! After searching for a couple of months with the proper timing of turning in my lease I found a clean-looking 2005 TJ Unlimited located in Alabama. I jumped on it pretty quickly. It didn’t meet all my conditions, but close enough.
The khaki LJ had no rust, ~75k miles, hardtop, newish 33 KO2’s on 15in Cragar steelies. The only downside was a ~2in body lift the PO had installed, otherwise, everything was stock. I had never driven a TJ before so I had nothing to compare it to, but I can say with confidence now that it drove pretty awfully.
I started by doing a slew of upgrades/mods in the following months:
Spicer Ball Joints
Currie Steering
Currie adj. front track bar
Currie adj. rear track bar
Currie bump stops
OME Springs (2-2.5in lift)
Rancho shocks
Rancho steering stabilizer
Black magic brake pads and new rotors all around
Savvy 1.25in body lift including new body mount bushings (downsizing from PO crap)
Savvy transfer case shifter
New iridium spark plugs
Rough Country seat cover (we got a puppy and needed some protection)
Sound system (including sub, amp, speakers, and single-din head unit)
Fancy covercraft sun-visor/shade
Exogate
Bestop Soft-Top (live in Dallas, Texas and wanted to enjoy the sun. Sold the hard-top because we live in an apartment and have no storage room)
Bunch of black trim pieces (didn’t like the chrome)
Rear main seal, valve cover and oil pan gaskets (had a small drip that turned into a pisser)
MBRP muffler and exhaust (a loud mistake - constant headache-inducing drone when you’re driving)
Then, this past month I decided I still needed the following:
Savvy double adj. control arms
Bomb-proof motor mount lift
Noico sound deadening
Parking brake shoes and hardware
Bedrug
Paint fender flares
Upon receiving the above parts and looking more into installing them, I realized I only ever wanted to sound deaden a jeep once..and I wasn’t happy with the Khaki..and I wanted lockers..and that it would be cheaper to just get a Rubicon now.
haha
So, shortly thereafter I’m browsing the interwebs and come across a pants-tightening solar yellow 2006 TJ Unlimited Rubicon with ~85k miles. Boom, I buy it later that week. It is easy to see that the previous owner took great care of the Jeep, especially when considering the condition of my first one. So here we are.
*Disclaimer: only the LJR is mine, although a Porsche Taycan Turbo would be nice
My new LJR came with:
Hardtop
15in steelies with 33” KM3s
Rear bumper with tire carrier
what looks like the OME ~2in Ultimate kit:
OME Coils
OME Shocks
JKS adj. front track bar
JKS adj. rear track bar
JKS quick discos
JKS 1.25” body lift
JKS adj. rear sway bar ends
Brown dog motor mount lift 1"
You’re probably wondering what I’m building this jeep for (probably don’t need lockers in Texas!). My wife and I are planning to move to Colorado or Northern Cali in ~2 years once she finishes her PhD! The idea is to have a fun-reliable-capable car to take us to camping/over-landing/hiking spots, but right now the sole function of the Jeep is to drive our dog (Romeo) to the dog park and occasionally by my wife to Uni. We also love hiking, and want the Jeep to be reliable and comfortable enough for long (10 hr+) road trips and some light off-roading. We don’t really plan on doing much rock crawling, so I don’t think we’ll ever go to 35s. In fact, I’m even considering going down to 31s. I plan on keeping the LJR long term, working on it with the kids..once/if we ever have kids hah
The next step before I buy more parts will be to swap over my Currie parts with the JKS parts from the LJ to the LJR. I don’t think I’ll mess with the suspension though, since I like the way the LJR rides. I’ll be leaving some goodies on the LJ so that hopefully I can get a good price for it.
The goal build sheet for the LJR (going from parts I have already to parts I need to acquire):
Soft-top
OME Coils
OME Shocks
Currie steering
Currie Front and Rear Track bars
Savvy control arms
Exogate
Sound deadening + bedrug
Parking brake
Upgraded speakers (amp, sub, hu..)
These are the parts/mods I still need to acquire and have gotten “soft” permission from my wife:
Paint matching fender flares (painting properly is $$$ though)
SwayLoc front sway bar
Hellwig rear sway bar
New o2 sensors, spark plugs, fluids
Vanco 15in big brake kit (black magic) with new unit bearings
Spicer ball joints
Black magic pads and new rotors for the rear
Cooling system overhaul (preventative)
Derale Transmission cooler (Texas)
Caltrend seat covers
31” KO2s (not sure if downsizing is a good idea)
These are parts/mods I want, but have yet to devise a convincing reason to get:
KC headlights (there might be an actual reason here)
Savvy transfer case shifter (we’ve never used 4hi or 4lo, but knowing it will be smooth once the occasion arises is a good reason right?)
Genright 31.5-gallon safari tank (is the gas burp issue justification enough? For real though big plus for the long road trips)
Seat Risers (every inch or half-inch matters..)
Savvy front bumper (aluminum! and it looks good without a winch)
Savvy rear bumper w/ hitch (more aluminum!)
Savvy Tummy tuck (I was initially really keen on this, but after reading that people experience more noise inside the cabin after this mod I might end up not doing it. There’s also the fact that I may never need the additional clearance. But I do want a Tom Woods rear-driveshaft..is a Woody a good reason or is it an additional mod in itself?)
M8000s Warn winch (might actually be a good idea if/once we move to Colorado)
I have a lot of work cut out. I am keeping myself from ordering any more parts at the moment until I sell my motorcycle and/or the LJ. Bad news is I need to acquire more tools so I will be spending money anyways. I’ll be keeping track of my progress on here and would appreciate anyone's input or harsh criticism.
Let me start by saying that this is an awesome forum and extend my thanks to all you experts that continue to help us newbs. I wanted to contribute a bit with my own build thread and maybe get some much-needed advice, because I can reliably make questionable decisions.
Catching up to now:
It all started when it came time to buy my first car. I have been leasing since getting my license (discounted rates through my dad's job), but alas I wanted something I could make my own and keep long term. I have always wanted a jeep and luckily my wife thought it’d be a cool car to have as well. My initial conditions were low-ish mileage, dark color (preferably Green), and mostly unmolested. Oh right, and no rust! After searching for a couple of months with the proper timing of turning in my lease I found a clean-looking 2005 TJ Unlimited located in Alabama. I jumped on it pretty quickly. It didn’t meet all my conditions, but close enough.
The khaki LJ had no rust, ~75k miles, hardtop, newish 33 KO2’s on 15in Cragar steelies. The only downside was a ~2in body lift the PO had installed, otherwise, everything was stock. I had never driven a TJ before so I had nothing to compare it to, but I can say with confidence now that it drove pretty awfully.
I started by doing a slew of upgrades/mods in the following months:
Spicer Ball Joints
Currie Steering
Currie adj. front track bar
Currie adj. rear track bar
Currie bump stops
OME Springs (2-2.5in lift)
Rancho shocks
Rancho steering stabilizer
Black magic brake pads and new rotors all around
Savvy 1.25in body lift including new body mount bushings (downsizing from PO crap)
Savvy transfer case shifter
New iridium spark plugs
Rough Country seat cover (we got a puppy and needed some protection)
Sound system (including sub, amp, speakers, and single-din head unit)
Fancy covercraft sun-visor/shade
Exogate
Bestop Soft-Top (live in Dallas, Texas and wanted to enjoy the sun. Sold the hard-top because we live in an apartment and have no storage room)
Bunch of black trim pieces (didn’t like the chrome)
Rear main seal, valve cover and oil pan gaskets (had a small drip that turned into a pisser)
MBRP muffler and exhaust (a loud mistake - constant headache-inducing drone when you’re driving)
Then, this past month I decided I still needed the following:
Savvy double adj. control arms
Bomb-proof motor mount lift
Noico sound deadening
Parking brake shoes and hardware
Bedrug
Paint fender flares
Upon receiving the above parts and looking more into installing them, I realized I only ever wanted to sound deaden a jeep once..and I wasn’t happy with the Khaki..and I wanted lockers..and that it would be cheaper to just get a Rubicon now.
haha
So, shortly thereafter I’m browsing the interwebs and come across a pants-tightening solar yellow 2006 TJ Unlimited Rubicon with ~85k miles. Boom, I buy it later that week. It is easy to see that the previous owner took great care of the Jeep, especially when considering the condition of my first one. So here we are.
*Disclaimer: only the LJR is mine, although a Porsche Taycan Turbo would be nice
My new LJR came with:
Hardtop
15in steelies with 33” KM3s
Rear bumper with tire carrier
what looks like the OME ~2in Ultimate kit:
OME Coils
OME Shocks
JKS adj. front track bar
JKS adj. rear track bar
JKS quick discos
JKS 1.25” body lift
JKS adj. rear sway bar ends
Brown dog motor mount lift 1"
You’re probably wondering what I’m building this jeep for (probably don’t need lockers in Texas!). My wife and I are planning to move to Colorado or Northern Cali in ~2 years once she finishes her PhD! The idea is to have a fun-reliable-capable car to take us to camping/over-landing/hiking spots, but right now the sole function of the Jeep is to drive our dog (Romeo) to the dog park and occasionally by my wife to Uni. We also love hiking, and want the Jeep to be reliable and comfortable enough for long (10 hr+) road trips and some light off-roading. We don’t really plan on doing much rock crawling, so I don’t think we’ll ever go to 35s. In fact, I’m even considering going down to 31s. I plan on keeping the LJR long term, working on it with the kids..once/if we ever have kids hah
The next step before I buy more parts will be to swap over my Currie parts with the JKS parts from the LJ to the LJR. I don’t think I’ll mess with the suspension though, since I like the way the LJR rides. I’ll be leaving some goodies on the LJ so that hopefully I can get a good price for it.
The goal build sheet for the LJR (going from parts I have already to parts I need to acquire):
Soft-top
OME Coils
OME Shocks
Currie steering
Currie Front and Rear Track bars
Savvy control arms
Exogate
Sound deadening + bedrug
Parking brake
Upgraded speakers (amp, sub, hu..)
These are the parts/mods I still need to acquire and have gotten “soft” permission from my wife:
Paint matching fender flares (painting properly is $$$ though)
SwayLoc front sway bar
Hellwig rear sway bar
New o2 sensors, spark plugs, fluids
Vanco 15in big brake kit (black magic) with new unit bearings
Spicer ball joints
Black magic pads and new rotors for the rear
Cooling system overhaul (preventative)
Derale Transmission cooler (Texas)
Caltrend seat covers
31” KO2s (not sure if downsizing is a good idea)
These are parts/mods I want, but have yet to devise a convincing reason to get:
KC headlights (there might be an actual reason here)
Savvy transfer case shifter (we’ve never used 4hi or 4lo, but knowing it will be smooth once the occasion arises is a good reason right?)
Genright 31.5-gallon safari tank (is the gas burp issue justification enough? For real though big plus for the long road trips)
Seat Risers (every inch or half-inch matters..)
Savvy front bumper (aluminum! and it looks good without a winch)
Savvy rear bumper w/ hitch (more aluminum!)
Savvy Tummy tuck (I was initially really keen on this, but after reading that people experience more noise inside the cabin after this mod I might end up not doing it. There’s also the fact that I may never need the additional clearance. But I do want a Tom Woods rear-driveshaft..is a Woody a good reason or is it an additional mod in itself?)
M8000s Warn winch (might actually be a good idea if/once we move to Colorado)
I have a lot of work cut out. I am keeping myself from ordering any more parts at the moment until I sell my motorcycle and/or the LJ. Bad news is I need to acquire more tools so I will be spending money anyways. I’ll be keeping track of my progress on here and would appreciate anyone's input or harsh criticism.
