This Jeep makes an impact

I see your in Houston, are those pics at the Sam Houston NF? Any trails to drive around on? I'm about a hour and 15 from it.
Yes, I'm from Houston and yes that is the SHNF. I took the so-called Cheeseburger loop. Someone a long time mapped that trail on google maps. It takes you through some of the SHNF multi-use trails w/ county roads in between. I don't have a link but w/ a quick google search you can find it.
 
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Been a while since I posted anything. Hope everyone has a happy new year with you and yours!

We installed 1 inch coil spacers front/rear, one inch body lift, one inch motor mount lift, our AEV wheels, and some fresh all terrain take offs from a 2021 Rubicon. So roughly a 2 inch lift but still on factory coil springs. It’s a little “stuffed” but I’m just going to install some taller bump stops to help with the up travel when off road. No issues on the highway as of right now though.



We got the tow bar base place installed which is excellent. Sits right underneath the mopar bumper.


Still undecided if we want to install the mopar corner guards. Future upgrades listed below:

Belly up skid plate - undecided what brand as of right now. Would like Savvy.. but the price hurts lol.

KC LED headlights

New upper and lower control arms (will either be Currie or Savvy)

Maybe a rugged ridge tire carrier? Holding off on this as long as possible though. Only other option is to modify the mopar rear bumper to accept a JK AEV tire carrier which might be a little over complicated.

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In other news, picked up this 2004 TJ Sport Automatic with 26,000 original miles (showing 28,000 now) back in September or so.

Found a NOS khaki grey soft top that I installed almost asap and have been slowly working on a few upgrades. Specifically bought this to use as a daily driver. No plans for a lift or anything crazy. Just needs to be comfortable, carry a bike on the back, and get me back and forth to work. When we upgraded the tires on the rubicon, I moved over the rubicon wheels and tires over from the LJR and added a bike carrier to the back.

Only main issues with the Jeep which I’ll be addressing over time:

Dent in the oil pan and factory gas tank skid plate. - One of the previous owners must have bottomed out somewhere. Doesn’t effect drivability but I still think I’ll fix it overtime.

Dent in the rear corner. I replaced the bumper with a straight one, took off the milk jugs and added the cut off end pieces, and re-painted the rear crossmember. I’ll still need to assess the body damage. This Jeep appears to have never been buffed out. It’s too close to pristine to not fix correctly. I think if done right, you’ll never know it was repaired. We picked up some really nice used Bestop half pipe doors with the outer skins for a steel recently. I plan on getting them painted when the rear corner is being addressed. Will be pretty cool I think.

Hard to toggle back and forth inbetween the Tripp meter and the mileage. I’m not sure if I’ll fix this or not as I really don’t want to take apart the dash to pull the gauge cluster to see what’s going on. It’s minor.. but annoying because I always reset the mileage when I fill up with gas.

Soft top windows. - it’s NOS, but there are some odd spots on some of the windows. At first glance, it makes you think they are mold but it’s clearly not upon further inspection. I’m going to try buffing them out at some point to see if that helps. Overall though, the fabric is really nice and it’s a solid good top.

Below are some photos of the day I bought it, to where it is today. Really been enjoying this little Jeep!

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Found mine on Craigslist searching the whole state after looking for nearly a year. Passed on three with under 50,000 miles because they didn't have a top, a bit rusty or signs of rough treatment. My TJU turned up on Maui with only 28,000 miles, looked very clean from photos and bought it without looking at it. A bit surprising that there were so many LJ's for sale in the Islands but low mileage not a surprise with so many snowbirds that spend the winters here.
 
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Been a while since I posted anything. Hope everyone has a happy new year with you and yours!

We installed 1 inch coil spacers front/rear, one inch body lift, one inch motor mount lift, our AEV wheels, and some fresh all terrain take offs from a 2021 Rubicon. So roughly a 2 inch lift but still on factory coil springs. It’s a little “stuffed” but I’m just going to install some taller bump stops to help with the up travel when off road. No issues on the highway as of right now though.



We got the tow bar base place installed which is excellent. Sits right underneath the mopar bumper.


Still undecided if we want to install the mopar corner guards. Future upgrades listed below:

Belly up skid plate - undecided what brand as of right now. Would like Savvy.. but the price hurts lol.

KC LED headlights

New upper and lower control arms (will either be Currie or Savvy)

Maybe a rugged ridge tire carrier? Holding off on this as long as possible though. Only other option is to modify the mopar rear bumper to accept a JK AEV tire carrier which might be a little over complicated.

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Where did you find the AEV briger wheels?
 
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Dad got the LJR out for a big drive today. The only recent mods we have installed is a tow set up for our fold away tow bar. This khaki soft top and AEV rim combo is sweet! I don’t think there is another set up like it from what I’ve seen.

Long term goals:
Aluminum Transmission/transfer case skid plate
Aluminum Gas tank skid plate
LED headlights
Aluminum control arms


Super long term goals:
AEV highline kit
Modify AEV rear bumper to also incorporate a JK tire carrier.

Other than that… this thing is just right. With the 1 inch spacers and 1 inch body lift.. practically drives like a factory Jeep even with the JL rubicon take off tires (285/75/17). 6 speed and factory 4.10’s. No need to re-gear with this set up!

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