Hi. Just figured I'd make a build thread. I'm not making any crazy kind of build, just thought it'd be a way for me to see a timeline of things I do to my Jeep 
Bought it April 28, 2017 from a dealership in Virginia:
First thing I did was get a mirror relocation kit so I could drive doors off legally and paint the headlight buckets black:
I was lax on photographing my new baby, so that's the current latest pics. D'oh. Oh, I know what would be cool to have, a chart of things I buy / costs / links / my thoughts on it. A bit pretentious maybe, as who am I for you to care what I think or buy but hey; it's 1:15 AM and I'm suffering from insomnia so I may as give myself something to make my time awake useful lol.
My TJ is at the shop to get my lift kit installed, I can't wait to get it back! The lift was missing the sway bar links, missing them or they were wrong the mechanic wasn't clear. I dropped off the JKS quick disconnects tonight so he'll be installing them tomorrow and returning my Jeep then I'm off to get the new 15x8" steelies I bought fitted with Cooper 33" tires, finally replacing the (IMO) somewhat goofy 18" JK wheels I currently have. Gonna have the tire guy give me the JK wheels back sans tires, then I'll donate the tires to the local used tire shop and sometime before winter order Blizzaks to fit those wheels so I have "winter shoes".
Can't wait! So looking forward to it
Future goals: ARB bumper /w winch, air horn, steering wheel refinishing, Saavy LED tails, Max-bilt center console, Smittybilt rear storage box, air compressor, inverter, better headlights, foglights, dashcam, and Corbeau seats.
Bought it April 28, 2017 from a dealership in Virginia:
First thing I did was get a mirror relocation kit so I could drive doors off legally and paint the headlight buckets black:
I was lax on photographing my new baby, so that's the current latest pics. D'oh. Oh, I know what would be cool to have, a chart of things I buy / costs / links / my thoughts on it. A bit pretentious maybe, as who am I for you to care what I think or buy but hey; it's 1:15 AM and I'm suffering from insomnia so I may as give myself something to make my time awake useful lol.
Item: Hurst T handle shift knob
Cost: $36.66
Bought: 04/19/17 (Yes, before I even had the Jeep heh)
Thoughts: When I learned to drive stick, it was on a CJ-7 with one of these shift knobs, so I knew when I get my Jeep it just had to have one. It may not be for everyone, but I find it to be more comfortable than a ball shifter.
Item: Mirror relocation kit
Cost: $29.99
Bought: 04/27/17
Thoughts: These are great. Moves the mirrors to the chassis below the windshield. My friend suggested getting trail mirrors that stick in the hinge, but I read those vibrate a lot and make it hard to see. These do not vibrate at all, they work well.
Item: iOttie cell phone holder
Cost: $21.15
Bought: 04/30/17
Thoughts: This is a decent holder. I use one in my Hyundai. It's pretty easy to get the phone in and out and holds it pretty strong. Once I upgraded my phone to an Anker 7500mAh battery though, it has fallen from the mount a few times as the phone became rather thick. Still like the mount overall though.
Item: Omix-Ada downpipe / catalytic converters
Cost: $347.26
Bought: 05/07/17
Thoughts: Does the job. Much cheaper than alternatives I saw when Googling. I was nervous about it since all the pics show it all rusty like they sell used, lol, but it came nice and shiny and new.
Item: Magnaflow 18135 muffler
Cost: $22.03
Bought: 05/07/17
Thoughts: I can't give any thoughts on it; it doesn't fit. The Magnaflow site had it as an option when I put my Jeep in, but apparently it's too long. Ah well!
Item: Rugged Ridge glove box & dash net kit
Cost: $23.99
Bought: 05/07/17
Thoughts: These are nice as they keep the crap on the center console top tray from flying out. The other net goes over the glovebox front. Always handy to find more places to stash stuff in these vehicles!
Item: Mountain Off-road dead pedal
Cost: $47.27
Bought: 05/07/17
Thoughts: I have a dead pedal in my Hyundai, and I never realized how much I used it until I got my Jeep which had none heh. A little pricey, but it's thick and solid so I have no complaints.
Item: QuadraTop bimini top plus
Cost: $59.99
Bought: 05/07/17
Thoughts: Ugh. I both love and hate this thing. I love how it keeps my noodle from baking but I hate its fitment. I didn't read carefully and wasn't aware I needed a Bestop windshield channel so I was confused when it got here lol. Bought the channel, yet this top's plastic tongue that fits into the channel groove is too wide! I can't figure it out. I had a few other people come over and try and when centered, the edges hang almost an inch longer than the channel provides. I ended up putting the majority of the tongue in the groove and then using black duct tape to keep it there. Ghetto as hell, lol, but it works. I double checked, the box has the right part number for a TJ so no idea why it's like this.
Item: Generic glasspack muffler
Cost: $80.00 installed
Bought: 05/12/17
Thoughts: When my Magnaflow was too long, I told the muffler shop guy to weld in whatever off the shelf glasspack they have. Sounds good, I'm happy with it.
Item: Smoked turn signals / corners
Cost: $160.18
Bought: 05/16/17
Thoughts: Much nicer than the stock orange. I like dark colors, so my dark blue Jeep with black stuff on the front doesn't mesh well with bright orange turn signal lenses lol.
Item: Bestop windshield channel
Cost: $51.95
Bought: 05/21/17
Thoughts: A must have for the QuadraTop. Ordered a week or two after the top as I first tried some ghetto ideas to make the top work after I realized I need another ~$50 part, lol.
Item: Rugged Ridge grab handles
Cost: $12.99
Bought: 05/21/17
Thoughts: They are cheap for a reason. The foam ripped after a month. That said, after I tore the foam off, I actually prefer the feel of the handles that way. The nylon type material the handle is made of feels a lot more sure and easier to grip as it isn't so thick with the padding. If I were to buy these again, I'd tear the cheap foam off immediately lol.
Item: Silver corner bulbs and silver turn signal bulbs that glows amber when on
Cost: $9.98 / $12.50
Bought: 05/24/17
Thoughts: When you install smoked lenses, if you use the orange bulbs that comes with it you will get an "egg yolk" effect. These prevent that as they blend in when off. Problem is, these are fairly dim. I think I'm gonna switch to orange LED in the future.
Item: Pioneer head unit and wiring harness/dash mount
Cost: $25 / $31.78
Bought: 06/02/17
Thoughts: The stock Jeep radio sucks, because it only plays CDs. I like to have selection, so I wanted something that can do MP3. I wanted a USB reading stereo, but I was at a yard sale and saw a Pioneer that read burned CDs with MP3 files, and it was $25 so I figured heck, can't go wrong at that price lol. It's a decent unit. I still want to grab a USB one at some point, but this will tide me over. Wheels/tires/suspension was greater importance to me than audio at this point
Item: Factory style LED bar switch
Cost: $17.95
Bought: 06/09/17
Thoughts: I didn't want to use a stick on switch or drill the dash for an obviously aftermarket toggle, and I was directed to these. They're great! Fit in the four slot switch panel in the center console and look factory. Works great, and the vendor has many other application labels you can get.
Item: Yitamotor 52" LED bar
Cost: $92.99
Bought: 06/20/17
Thoughts: I wanted a light bar, but when I priced them I was shocked when I saw them like $~800. I talked to someone I saw with one, she said she got hers on Amazon for $100. I found it and bought it. You get what you pay for, lol. No replacement bolts to mount the A pillar arms, no instructions, and the A pillar arms don't stay flush at the top, they flare out. I can live with that though for $700 in savings, lol. Nice and bright!
Item: Rugged Ridge brush guard
Cost: $155.99
Bought: 07/16/17
Thoughts: The "classic" brush guard. Doesn't really cover a whole lot of area, but I've always liked these. Scratches easily though, which is annoying.
Item: Smittybilt 7/8" d-ring in zinc
Cost: $19.99/ea
Bought: 07/16/17
Thoughts: My rear bumper had 7/8" d-ring mount holes but the previous owner was either cheap and didn't buy any or didn't leave them on when he sold the Jeep. It bothered me having empty holes, lol, so I bought these.
Item: Bestop high back vinyl seat covers
Cost: $159.95
Bought: 07/16/17
Thoughts: I wanted to make my Jeep as waterproof as possible, as I like to drive with the roof and doors off. My Jeep must have been an indian in its past life, because taking the doors or roof off is akin to performing a rain dance I removed the carpeting and the rear seat, so with this my only worry now with rain in the dash.
Item: Rusty's Offroad 3" basic lift kit
Cost: $460.00
Bought: 07/16/17
Thoughts: I wanted to run 33" tires, and after a bit of reading it seems 3" is the way to go. High enough to clear it, but not high enough to require a lot of driveline angle correction work. Had them installed yesterday and picked it up today, drives nice! No vibration at all, rides great.
Item: Rusty's Offroad adjustable track bar
Cost: $110.00
Bought: 07/16/17
Thoughts: The Rusty's salesman said I should replace the track bar too when I install my lift, as it's probably worn. Given it was cheap, I figured why not!
Item: Tactik Circle 8 class black matte steel wheel, 15x8
Cost: $39.99/ea
Bought: 07/25/17
Thoughts: I currently have 18" JK wheels. That's backwards of what I think a Jeep should be; in my opinion, Jeeps need small wheels and big tires. Big wheels and small tires are for my BMW lol. So I got these to replace them.
Item: JKS front swaybar quick disconnects
Cost: $167.17
Bought: 07/25/17
Thoughts: My mechanic called when installing my lift and said the swaybar links were not right. He was going to grab fixed ones from a local place, but I told him if we have to buy a part may as well get something with added functionality. I read reviews, these sounded good so that's what I got. They are quite nice - they disconnect very quick and easy and the pin up to a mount on the frame, keeping them out of the way but not making me store them somewhere.
Item: Cooper Discoverer STT Pro 33" tires
Cost: $1,125 for 5
Bought: End of next week
Thoughts: My pizza place boss said I should talk to his friend who has a tire hookup. His price was actually more pricey than Amazon, but he included mount and balance so I went with him anyway. I wasn't sure which tires to get, these came recommended by the guy and I read a few reviews and they sounded pretty decent. My first impulse was to get Interco SSRs as "Super Swamper" is a well loved brand in "manly" tires, lol, but then I realized that there isn't many places to do any real offroading around here so aside from the occasional trip up to Rausch Creek my Jeep will spend a lot of time on pavement so the extra cost of SSRs isn't really justified. I am still waiting for the guy to get them in, so no thoughts yet on their performance.
Cost: $36.66
Bought: 04/19/17 (Yes, before I even had the Jeep heh)
Thoughts: When I learned to drive stick, it was on a CJ-7 with one of these shift knobs, so I knew when I get my Jeep it just had to have one. It may not be for everyone, but I find it to be more comfortable than a ball shifter.
Item: Mirror relocation kit
Cost: $29.99
Bought: 04/27/17
Thoughts: These are great. Moves the mirrors to the chassis below the windshield. My friend suggested getting trail mirrors that stick in the hinge, but I read those vibrate a lot and make it hard to see. These do not vibrate at all, they work well.
Item: iOttie cell phone holder
Cost: $21.15
Bought: 04/30/17
Thoughts: This is a decent holder. I use one in my Hyundai. It's pretty easy to get the phone in and out and holds it pretty strong. Once I upgraded my phone to an Anker 7500mAh battery though, it has fallen from the mount a few times as the phone became rather thick. Still like the mount overall though.
Item: Omix-Ada downpipe / catalytic converters
Cost: $347.26
Bought: 05/07/17
Thoughts: Does the job. Much cheaper than alternatives I saw when Googling. I was nervous about it since all the pics show it all rusty like they sell used, lol, but it came nice and shiny and new.
Item: Magnaflow 18135 muffler
Cost: $22.03
Bought: 05/07/17
Thoughts: I can't give any thoughts on it; it doesn't fit. The Magnaflow site had it as an option when I put my Jeep in, but apparently it's too long. Ah well!
Item: Rugged Ridge glove box & dash net kit
Cost: $23.99
Bought: 05/07/17
Thoughts: These are nice as they keep the crap on the center console top tray from flying out. The other net goes over the glovebox front. Always handy to find more places to stash stuff in these vehicles!
Item: Mountain Off-road dead pedal
Cost: $47.27
Bought: 05/07/17
Thoughts: I have a dead pedal in my Hyundai, and I never realized how much I used it until I got my Jeep which had none heh. A little pricey, but it's thick and solid so I have no complaints.
Item: QuadraTop bimini top plus
Cost: $59.99
Bought: 05/07/17
Thoughts: Ugh. I both love and hate this thing. I love how it keeps my noodle from baking but I hate its fitment. I didn't read carefully and wasn't aware I needed a Bestop windshield channel so I was confused when it got here lol. Bought the channel, yet this top's plastic tongue that fits into the channel groove is too wide! I can't figure it out. I had a few other people come over and try and when centered, the edges hang almost an inch longer than the channel provides. I ended up putting the majority of the tongue in the groove and then using black duct tape to keep it there. Ghetto as hell, lol, but it works. I double checked, the box has the right part number for a TJ so no idea why it's like this.
Item: Generic glasspack muffler
Cost: $80.00 installed
Bought: 05/12/17
Thoughts: When my Magnaflow was too long, I told the muffler shop guy to weld in whatever off the shelf glasspack they have. Sounds good, I'm happy with it.
Item: Smoked turn signals / corners
Cost: $160.18
Bought: 05/16/17
Thoughts: Much nicer than the stock orange. I like dark colors, so my dark blue Jeep with black stuff on the front doesn't mesh well with bright orange turn signal lenses lol.
Item: Bestop windshield channel
Cost: $51.95
Bought: 05/21/17
Thoughts: A must have for the QuadraTop. Ordered a week or two after the top as I first tried some ghetto ideas to make the top work after I realized I need another ~$50 part, lol.
Item: Rugged Ridge grab handles
Cost: $12.99
Bought: 05/21/17
Thoughts: They are cheap for a reason. The foam ripped after a month. That said, after I tore the foam off, I actually prefer the feel of the handles that way. The nylon type material the handle is made of feels a lot more sure and easier to grip as it isn't so thick with the padding. If I were to buy these again, I'd tear the cheap foam off immediately lol.
Item: Silver corner bulbs and silver turn signal bulbs that glows amber when on
Cost: $9.98 / $12.50
Bought: 05/24/17
Thoughts: When you install smoked lenses, if you use the orange bulbs that comes with it you will get an "egg yolk" effect. These prevent that as they blend in when off. Problem is, these are fairly dim. I think I'm gonna switch to orange LED in the future.
Item: Pioneer head unit and wiring harness/dash mount
Cost: $25 / $31.78
Bought: 06/02/17
Thoughts: The stock Jeep radio sucks, because it only plays CDs. I like to have selection, so I wanted something that can do MP3. I wanted a USB reading stereo, but I was at a yard sale and saw a Pioneer that read burned CDs with MP3 files, and it was $25 so I figured heck, can't go wrong at that price lol. It's a decent unit. I still want to grab a USB one at some point, but this will tide me over. Wheels/tires/suspension was greater importance to me than audio at this point
Item: Factory style LED bar switch
Cost: $17.95
Bought: 06/09/17
Thoughts: I didn't want to use a stick on switch or drill the dash for an obviously aftermarket toggle, and I was directed to these. They're great! Fit in the four slot switch panel in the center console and look factory. Works great, and the vendor has many other application labels you can get.
Item: Yitamotor 52" LED bar
Cost: $92.99
Bought: 06/20/17
Thoughts: I wanted a light bar, but when I priced them I was shocked when I saw them like $~800. I talked to someone I saw with one, she said she got hers on Amazon for $100. I found it and bought it. You get what you pay for, lol. No replacement bolts to mount the A pillar arms, no instructions, and the A pillar arms don't stay flush at the top, they flare out. I can live with that though for $700 in savings, lol. Nice and bright!
Item: Rugged Ridge brush guard
Cost: $155.99
Bought: 07/16/17
Thoughts: The "classic" brush guard. Doesn't really cover a whole lot of area, but I've always liked these. Scratches easily though, which is annoying.
Item: Smittybilt 7/8" d-ring in zinc
Cost: $19.99/ea
Bought: 07/16/17
Thoughts: My rear bumper had 7/8" d-ring mount holes but the previous owner was either cheap and didn't buy any or didn't leave them on when he sold the Jeep. It bothered me having empty holes, lol, so I bought these.
Item: Bestop high back vinyl seat covers
Cost: $159.95
Bought: 07/16/17
Thoughts: I wanted to make my Jeep as waterproof as possible, as I like to drive with the roof and doors off. My Jeep must have been an indian in its past life, because taking the doors or roof off is akin to performing a rain dance
I removed the carpeting and the rear seat, so with this my only worry now with rain in the dash.Item: Rusty's Offroad 3" basic lift kit
Cost: $460.00
Bought: 07/16/17
Thoughts: I wanted to run 33" tires, and after a bit of reading it seems 3" is the way to go. High enough to clear it, but not high enough to require a lot of driveline angle correction work. Had them installed yesterday and picked it up today, drives nice! No vibration at all, rides great.
Item: Rusty's Offroad adjustable track bar
Cost: $110.00
Bought: 07/16/17
Thoughts: The Rusty's salesman said I should replace the track bar too when I install my lift, as it's probably worn. Given it was cheap, I figured why not!
Item: Tactik Circle 8 class black matte steel wheel, 15x8
Cost: $39.99/ea
Bought: 07/25/17
Thoughts: I currently have 18" JK wheels. That's backwards of what I think a Jeep should be; in my opinion, Jeeps need small wheels and big tires. Big wheels and small tires are for my BMW lol. So I got these to replace them.
Item: JKS front swaybar quick disconnects
Cost: $167.17
Bought: 07/25/17
Thoughts: My mechanic called when installing my lift and said the swaybar links were not right. He was going to grab fixed ones from a local place, but I told him if we have to buy a part may as well get something with added functionality. I read reviews, these sounded good so that's what I got. They are quite nice - they disconnect very quick and easy and the pin up to a mount on the frame, keeping them out of the way but not making me store them somewhere.
Item: Cooper Discoverer STT Pro 33" tires
Cost: $1,125 for 5
Bought: End of next week
Thoughts: My pizza place boss said I should talk to his friend who has a tire hookup. His price was actually more pricey than Amazon, but he included mount and balance so I went with him anyway. I wasn't sure which tires to get, these came recommended by the guy and I read a few reviews and they sounded pretty decent. My first impulse was to get Interco SSRs as "Super Swamper" is a well loved brand in "manly" tires, lol, but then I realized that there isn't many places to do any real offroading around here so aside from the occasional trip up to Rausch Creek my Jeep will spend a lot of time on pavement so the extra cost of SSRs isn't really justified. I am still waiting for the guy to get them in, so no thoughts yet on their performance.
My TJ is at the shop to get my lift kit installed, I can't wait to get it back! The lift was missing the sway bar links, missing them or they were wrong the mechanic wasn't clear. I dropped off the JKS quick disconnects tonight so he'll be installing them tomorrow and returning my Jeep then I'm off to get the new 15x8" steelies I bought fitted with Cooper 33" tires, finally replacing the (IMO) somewhat goofy 18" JK wheels I currently have. Gonna have the tire guy give me the JK wheels back sans tires, then I'll donate the tires to the local used tire shop and sometime before winter order Blizzaks to fit those wheels so I have "winter shoes".
Can't wait! So looking forward to it
Future goals: ARB bumper /w winch, air horn, steering wheel refinishing, Saavy LED tails, Max-bilt center console, Smittybilt rear storage box, air compressor, inverter, better headlights, foglights, dashcam, and Corbeau seats.
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