Phillypete's Build Thread

Oh boy, oh boy! I've been waiting to do something remarkable enough to my jku and finally that day has come.

We started off on March 30th, 2013 as a stock black 2013 wrangler sport. I bought it on more or less of a whim. I wanted a convertible, but I didn't really like any of the cars on the market. Then the four door wrangler caught my eye.



I had every intent of turning this canvas into mall crawler so I had the dealer throw in some 33"s and a lift kit.

As fortune would have it, the dealer needed some time to find the time to assemble the necessary parts and pieces. This gave me ample time to do some research on my new toy.

Suddenly I realized 33"s were tiny. I needed to go bigger! So with a little extra cash I was able to upgrade to 35"s.

I also realized, mostly through the wayalife videos, what a formidable off road machine I was dealing with. A machine that needed to be forged and tested.

As I was waiting for the parts to arrive for my lift, I acquired a couple other goodies.

First came a couple if goodies to make going topless less of a liability.

First we have a bestop deck cover to keep the contents of my truck from prying eyes.



Then we have the emergency cover to keep those pop up Carolina T-storms from filling my cup holders.



Also during the wait I recieved a nice red recovery hitch.



And a set of rocker guards from poison spyder



The delay in the lift kit shipment gave me plenty if time to put a nice finish on the rocker knockers.



I did black rustoleum bedliner on the main structure and a semi gloss black on the insert. A red reflective sticker behind the spyder cut out complete the deal.

Although the finish was done before the lift kit was ready still wanted to wait and do everything at once.

Also during the wait I received:

A bestop trektop nx



And a rock hard license plate relocation kit.

So the day finally arrived. I got my lift on today.

And that means all these other parts I have been stock piling can go on as well.

So here is the before:



After the lift, wheels and tires:

Then we add the rocker knockers



And finally the trektop and the license plate relocation

Looking good!!

Yeah it got kinda dark by the time all was said and done.

The rocker knockers went on smooth as butter, thanks to the pre-install fitting.

The bestop still wasn't able to fully zip, but it wasn't overly warn out today.

Where I really lost time was on the plate relocation.

First, in the hustle and bustle I lost the directions so I hand to rely on some suspect forum writeups. I thought I saw one by WOL, but I couldn't find it at the time. Then I realized that the 3rd brake light was part of the spare tire hub, so I had to Dremel that off. Then once I had it together and basically wired, the wires decided to get caught on something, cut through the shielding and short out on the frame. And of course my spare fuse kit was left in my trade in vehicle. So I pulled a unused fuse to swap in and repaired the wires.

Finally it all came together!

The thing is a beast and I love it!

Now it's time to build the bank roll back up before I piss off the brown Santa with my ridiculously heavy deliveries.

A recap of what's been done:
1. Mopar/Teraflex/Fox stage-3 3" lift
2. Ballistic Jester 17" wheels
3. 35" toyo Open County M/T tires
4. Poison Spyder Rocker Knockers
5. Factor 55 recovery hitch
6. MOPAR hitch reciever (second hand)
7. Bestop Terktop NX
8. Bestop Deck cover

Looks awesome! And I use to have those rims! love the look. :beer:

I finally had a chance to take a picture during daylight hours!

Looking good! :thumb:

That is a great photo! The jeep looks really awesome :thumb:

phillypete said:

View attachment 29021

I finally had a chance to take a picture during daylight hours!

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:thumbup:

Looks Great, very nice.:thumb:

Great looking jeep:thumb:

Here's a pic in a more suitable habitat:

Ok guys and gals, I could use a little help here:

I've managed to scrape together some cash to do some more work on the jk. My plan is to have it ready to go for the fall wheelin/camping season.

Based on what I have done already and what's listed bellow, am I missing anything vital?

Jk Build Phase 2
Poison Spyder Brawler Lite w/trail stinger
Warn Zeon 10-s
Poison Spyder Zeon Spacers
Poison Spyder Fairlead Mount
Prolink 55
Poison Spyder Brawler Rear Bumper w/: tire carrier, reverse lights, and hi lift mount
48" hi lift
Hi lift handle keeper
ARB Recovery Package
ARB High Output Compressor
Evo ARB Under the hood mount
ARB Hose
ARB Inflator
Staun Deflators
Rigid D2 Flood lights
Poison Spyder Rigid factory fog adapters
Trucklite Headights
Spod system with air gauge
Cobra 29 CB
4' Firestik Antenna
Quadratech Floorliners
Trek Armor Seat Covers

Btw, I might scratch the rigid and Trucklites depending on budget.

Since I see the ARB recovery package on your list, have you seen this thread? I have this kit and it is all you will ever need. You might see if you can get a good deal on it. :idontknow:

http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?9097-ARB-Premium-Recovery-Kit-%28New-in-box%29

I just saw it this morning

Edit: I also might drop something else out like the Hi-Lift (not sure the cost) instead of the Truck-Lites. Those Truck-Lites are worth every penny and you'll use them all the time as opposed to the Hi-Lift, which you may never use. Just my :twocents:

By the way your Jeep is looking really nice! Sounds like it's about to get even nicer with that list of components applied! :thumb:

The HiLift costs about $50, plus I have plans for my stock jack cubby.

I was looking at the kit that is a step down from the one you are offering. I'm not sure what you are looking for but PM if you want to discuss further.

Thanks!

Nice man!! It's a Black Beast! Must be awesome watching it transform into something of your own

How does it feel getting into your Jeep after the lift??

Private Ryan said:

How does it feel getting into your Jeep after the lift??

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It takes some time to refine ones technique, especially after years of coupes.

Wow it’s been a long time since I updated this thread! I suppose a half continental relocation will do that.

On my way out to KC I had two failures which necessitated upgrades:

First my Bestop Trektop failed while driving through Illinois. Totally my fault. At the beach we would get these random rain showers, so I got in the habit of closing the top but not actually securing it to the windshield when I parked. Typical I would realize this at 30mph when the top would slam open. One or several of these occasions bent the header. After 11hrs of 70mph it totally broke and left the passenger side flapping in the breeze. With a new 40 minute highway commute and my first winter in 15 years on the horizon I chickened out and purchased a used hardtop.

Second my stock tire carrier decided it had carriered my 35” tire around for far too long. I’m not sure if It was from bumping into trees while wheeling or just the heavy tire and wheel, but the actual aluminum casting broke. At I allowed myself to be talked into a DV8 tire carrier. This was a mistake. Although I took the money saved and invested in a Warn VR10, so not all bad.

Most recently the warm weather has provoked me to get a set of the Bestop Element tibe doors. I put DirtyDog screens on them to keep kids from sticking there feet through then. At the same time I installed some rugged ridge hood latches to replace the stretched out stock latches.

Still looking for some wrenchtime and no more parts install I finally took on a fender bob. It took me the same amount of time to do all three remaining fenders after struggling through the first one. I’m not known for my artistic skills so I was concerned it would turn out a total hack job. Fortunately the door trim hides a lot!

Right now I’m working out the details of a PR44 and lockers as well as a couple of other items.

More to come...