Turbo'd Rubinot

Sgt Jarhead

A wise man once said, “Google it”
Supporting Member
Joined
May 29, 2019
Messages
481
Location
Southern Oregon
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96854


Bought her in September of 2017 to initially flip since I owned a YJ though it didn’t take long for me to decide to sell the YJ and build this TJ instead.

Originally 1 owner with 27,000 miles (and no one to this day believes the price I paid for it).

Over a year later I’ve done quite a bit of mods that I didn’t imagine would happen but deals that were extremely hard to pass up fell on my lap left and right. Funny how when you’re not looking you find things for practically dirt cheap.

So far mods done:

3.5” Short Arm Metal Cloak Lift with OME Shocks and Stabilizer

Dana 30 with Warn Locking Hub Conversion

Dana 44 with Detroit locker and upgraded 33 spline G2 shafts

Axles geared at 4.88

Currie Currectlync Steering

Adams Front and Rear Driveshafts

Poison Spyder Customs Hi Line Fenders and complete body armor with front and rear rock brawler bumpers

Warn 9.5 CTI with Smittybilt Hybrid Synthetic Line with Factory 55 Fairlead and Flatlink E.

35” Kevlar MTR with 17x9 KMC Machete Beadlocks

Gobi Stealth Rack

Bedrug Bedtread Floor Liner

Pioneer Double Din Radio with Apple Car Play

Bestop Spice Trailmax II Front and Rear Seats

Currently in the middle of finishing up some upgrades that include:

Banks Sidewinder Turbo with DEI Fuel Rail Kit

Dana 44 front axle swap with 4.88 gears, C Gussets, ARB Locker with 35 Spline RCV’s

Falcon Piggy Back Shocks and Stabilizer

And 16” Black Magic Big Brake Kit

Probably leaving out some smaller things but it should hopefully be annotated on my page. Note that I updated it to have the upgrades I’m currently finishing up.

Upgrades at some point in the future:

Rokmen Engine/Trans Skid Plate

“AEV” High Line Hood

Rock hard 4x4 Cage
 
Love the photos, and some very, very tasteful mods!

Thank you! Hawaii gives some pretty nice backdrops for a nice photo op.

Surprisingly enough at least half of the major mods were bought used and again for dirt cheap prices.
Told myself I wouldn’t cut corners on this build but sure enough I’ve come across name brand items at prices I’d likely never see again lol
 
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Thank you! Hawaii gives some pretty nice backdrops for a nice photo op.

Surprisingly enough at least half of the major mods were bought used and again for dirt cheap prices.
Told myself I wouldn’t cut corners on this build but sure enough I’ve come across name brand items at prices I’d likely never see again lol

Oh yeah, no kidding!

That AEV hood, the KMC wheels, Warn locking hubs... there's some really nice parts on that thing for sure.

And yes, those Hawaii backdrops definitely give you an advantage ;)
 
Finally got around to swapping the Dana 44 Front Axle a while back. Came with matching gears (4.88) ARB Locker, 35 Spline RCV’s, and Metal Cloak Differential Covers with Lube Lockers for both front and rear. Also Falcon Shocks with stabilizer were added after striking a hell of a deal with a friend months ago. Just need to find the time to weld a new bracket for the steering stabilizer.
I also bought a brand new Currie Steering when it went on sale on Amazon (plus getting their CC gave me another $70 off 😉).
Also added Mr. Blaine’s Black Magic Big Brake Kit for the new set of 35’s I have coming in (Nitto Ridge Grapplers).

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I finished installing the Banks Sidewinder Turbo system on my Jeep Wrangler about a month ago maybe a bit more. After settling a few minor issues it’s ran great thus far! I opted without the intercooler due to finding a post a while back of another owner putting together their own for less than half the cost. So at some point will look into that! Left things a little cramped due to my Poison Spyder Hi-Lines. Currently needing to modify the air box to fit in the tight space to cover the air filter. I bought a pre filter temporarily while I figure out a way to make it work.

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Never did get to show off the interior I bought and installed a year ago. Came across a Spice Brown Best Top Trail Max II Rear Bench Seat at the Jeep and Truck Fest in Honolulu, HI. It was part of their overstock they were just trying to unload and after a little haggling walked away with this for $80! Right after I purchased the matching front seats by Bestop on Amazon. Scored a new/used one at half price and bought a brand new one at full.

Reminds me of the older yellow Porsche with Brown Interior. The color scheme quickly grew on me.

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Never did get to show off the interior I bought and installed a year ago. Came across a Spice Brown Best Top Trail Max II Rear Bench Seat at the Jeep and Truck Fest in Honolulu, HI. It was part of their overstock they were just trying to unload and after a little haggling walked away with this for $80! Right after I purchased the matching front seats by Bestop on Amazon. Scored a new/used one at half price and bought a brand new one at full.

Reminds me of the older yellow Porsche with Brown Interior. The color scheme quickly grew on me.

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Love it. Great build. How are the kid seats attached?
 
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Love it. Great build. How are the kid seats attached?
Thank you! Still working hard at it before taking an overdue break. The youngest is wrapped behind using the seatbelt while the oldest just has a booster seat. They rarely ride with me in this and when they do it’s usually just in town. We have my wife’s JKU that we DD.
 
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Thank you! Still working hard at it before taking an overdue break. The youngest is wrapped behind using the seatbelt while the oldest just has a booster seat. They rarely ride with me in this and when they do it’s usually just in town. We have my wife’s JKU that we DD.
Gotcha, mine isn’t my daily either but the little one begs to go for rides and I’m getting the back seat situation figured out. Amazon has some cool brackets for the anchor clips so I’m hoping they’ll work with the Bestop rear seat.
 
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Not long after I added my lift was an Aftermarket Radio.

As an apple user and the times we’ve rented vehicles over the years I’ve fallen in love with Apple CarPlay not only for the ease of use but being able to speak with Siri through the mic for hands free driving was an added bonus!

After some re search I ended up finding a sale on Amazon for a Pioneer AVH-1300NEX. Grabbed all the other necessary items such as radio wiring adapter, radio antenna adapter, and double din faceplate and even a cheap backup camera then went to work.

Spending maybe 3 hours that I recall it was in and functioning perfectly. I ran the backup camera so it functions off reverse and can be turned on with the touch of a button. My wife quickly fell in love with it and soon after we bought another and added it to her JKU.

I can say that we have been caught in the rain once with this radio exposed and still worked perfectly the following day!

The only downside I could think of was the fact that you have to keep the phone connected via a USB Adapter to use Apple CarPlay. Though, for the only downside it’s well worth everything you get out of it. Down the road I will look into replacing my stock sub in the center console with a kicker and replace the front and tower speakers with Polk while running a PowerBass Amp I have laying in the garage.

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Recently the wife asked me what I wanted for my birthday-$300 later I finally was able to upgrade my audio.

After quite a bit of research and a huge thanks to @Chris post. I went with Polk DB462 for the front and Polk DB522 for the tower speakers and the Kicker 6.75” Comp RT with a mono kicker amp to replace my stock center console sub giving my space back from the rear from my 10" Sub/Box.

The work to accomplish it was all nearly plug and play when I ordered the correct plate to fit the 4x6 front speakers and correct wires to plug right into my stock wiring. One part that required the use of a dremel was grinding down the plastic within the sub box to have the sub itself sit flush. If you look at the photos closely I had to take material off the center and fins within the box. After maybe a few hours everything is put together and sounds 100x better. I’m currently waiting on my amp before the sub is running but I know it’ll be just as good if not even better compared to the 10” sub I had in the back.

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While I was at it I wired up my CB Radio, Transmission Gauge, Infinite Off-Roads version of the S-Pod and a Dual USB/ Digital Volt Meter that I came across from another member in this forum-write up here. Also completed the install of a B&M transmission cooler to help keep the temp down on my 42rle transmission.

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Another update:

Finally installed the kicker mono amp and Wow. The thing really is small. What surprises me more is how much punch there is when paired with the 6.75” Kicker Sub. It literally blew me away compared to the 10” Kicker I had paired with a much larger amp. Then again location of the sub likely plays a huge roll as I had the 10” in the rear but man am I glad to have the space back!

Photo of size comparison of my old power bass amp to the kicker unit:

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I finished installing the Banks Sidewinder Turbo system on my Jeep Wrangler about a month ago maybe a bit more. After settling a few minor issues it’s ran great thus far! I opted without the intercooler due to finding a post a while back of another owner putting together their own for less than half the cost. So at some point will look into that! Left things a little cramped due to my Poison Spyder Hi-Lines. Currently needing to modify the air box to fit in the tight space to cover the air filter. I bought a pre filter temporarily while I figure out a way to make it work.

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Haven't read through the thread yet, but did you talk to bank or forum members about the differences of adding the banks square hood cowl box versus your setup?
 
Haven't read through the thread yet, but did you talk to bank or forum members about the differences of adding the banks square hood cowl box versus your setup?
I have not, and didn’t really worry much at all about it since it is only temporary. I’m actually about to start figuring it out now that I have some more time on my hands.
 
Sold off my old 5x5.5 Beadlocks and MTR Kevlars and purchased/installed 35x12.5 Nitto Ridge Grapplers with the exact same 17x9 KMC Machetes in a matching bolt pattern. I’ll be running these tires with Ceramic Balancing Beads since I’ve witnessed friends running them without a single issue not to mention all the positive feedback online.

With my family and I moving back to Oregon within the next year thought I’d grab a set of tires that will handle the seasonal weather.

Can’t wait to run these out on the trails soon!

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Recently was called and invited back to the 4 Wheel Parts Show in Honolulu to show case my rig. Sadly the booth that wanted me again (Wheel Pros/KMC) was situated in the middle and set up was last minute so they weren’t able to move my rig over. Though it didn’t stop them to hook me up with one hell of a deal after the show was over 😉 even 4WP shot me a promo card that I quickly put to use by ordering a set of Poison Spyder Door Skins. Sadly I forgot to take a photo of her out there but here’s a shot from last years show. Overall it was a great weekend where surprisingly my wallet didn’t feel much lighter 😂

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After a year give or take I was finally able to take the rig out for a shake down run. Was even surprised with my wife wanting to drive it out on the trails. We hit all our normal spots in Peacock Flats with one other friend! Camped out the first night and wheeled most the day and ended it with an evening out at the beach. Only carnage was a sway bar bracket getting slightly bent and some rock rash on a few Beadlock rings. Couldn’t say it was minor for my friend as both his upper rear UCA brackets sheared off right when we were almost to the top. 2 hours later and a handful of ratchet straps he was out of the ruts and riding on the main trail.

I’ll need to make some minor tweaks here and there but can’t wait to go back out!

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