darkknight1999's Build thread

So I picked up my Jeep a few months ago... I had an Escalade before... which is a very nice 400hp couch on wheels, but as we know not nearly as fun as a Jeep. So the Caddy is gone and fun is in! The Jeep is a 2007 Rubicon Unlimited.

I have along list of parts I want to get... but with a family (Wife Patty, 2 daughters (Hannah 16, and Maddy 10) and 2 dogs) oh and I own my own company. So I'm a pretty busy guy...

Here is a list of parts... Its a work in progress and some of the parts listed could change:

Bolded items are installed or ordered


All fluids are AMSOIL
Engine Oil (Filter) • Absolute Efficiency Oil Filter (EA15K51-EA)
Engine Oil (fluid) • Synthetic 5W20 SS Motor Oil (ALM1G-EA )
Transmission (fluid) • Synthetic 5W30 Manual Trans (MTFQT-EA)
Engine (flush) • Engine & Transmission Flush (FLSHCN-EA)
Diff/Gear (fluid) • Synthetic 75W110 Gear Lube (SVTQT-EA)
Transfer Case (fluid) • Synthetic Multi-Vehicle SS ATF (ATFQT-EA)
Fuel Additive (Injector Cleaner) • ORMD Quick Shot Fuel Additive (AQSCN-EA)
Brakes (fluid) • Amsoil Series 600 DOT 4 Racing Brake Fluid (BF4SN-EA)

Brakes (front rotors) • Power Stop Dimpled/Slotted Sport Rotors
Brakes (front pads) • Power Stop K2798 Front Ceramic Brake Pad
Brakes (rear rotors) • Power Stop Dimpled/Slotted Sport Rotors
Brakes (rear pads) • Power Stop K2798 Rear Ceramic Brake Pad
Brakes (SS Lines) • Toxic Offroad Custom DOT Approved Braided Stainless Steel Brake Lines (TXCJPJK104)
Wheels • Temporary - Pro Comp Alloys 7069 Flat Black Wheel (16x8"/5x5") - When funds are available Hutchinson Rock Monster™ 17"x8.5" Wheel, in Argent
Tires • Mickey Thompson LT315/75R16 Baja MTZ (90000001479)
Rock Sliders • ACE Engineering JK Rock Sliders (4 Door)
Front bumper • ACE Engineering JK Pro Series Front Bumper (10" LED light bar provision) (Bull Bar)
Rear bumper • ACE Engineering JK Pro Series Rear Bumper with Tire Carrier (dual 6" LED light bar provisions)
Programming • Superchips 3570 FlashCal for Jeep Wrangler JK
Winch • Superwinch Tiger Shark 9.5, 12 VDC winch
Gear upgrade • Yukon (YGK015) Gear and Install Kit for Jeep JK Rubicon Differential
Diff covers (Front) • Poison Spyder Bombshell Diff Cover - Dana 44
Diff covers (Front) • Lube Locker Dana 44 Differential Cover Gasket
Diff covers (Rear) • Poison Spyder Bombshell Diff Cover - Dana 44
Diff covers (Rear) • Lube Locker Dana 44 Differential Cover Gasket
Under Carriage armor (Front) • Rock Hard 4x4 RH-6003 Oil Pan Transmission And Dual Catalytic Converter Skid Plate
Under Carriage armor (Transfercase) • Rock Hard 4x4 RH-6004 Transfer Case Skid Plate
Under Carriage armor (Gas Tank) • Rock Hard 4x4 RH-6001 Gas Tank Skid Plate
Under Carriage armor (Evaporator) • Rock Hard 4x4 RH-6005 EVAP Canister Skid Plate
Suspension (Lift Kit) • Fortec® 2.5” Suspension Kit by Rubicon Express with Bilstein 5100 Shocks
Suspension • FORTEC® Exclusive Bilstein Dual Steering Stabilizer Kit
Suspension • Synergy Chromoly Tie Rod
Suspension • Synergy High Steer Drag Link
Suspension • Synergy Front Track Bar
Suspension • Synergy D30 Heavy Duty Front Ball Joint Set for
Suspension • Synergy Front D30 Inner C Gusset Kit
Suspension • Synergy Rear Track Bar
Front Fenders • Smittybilt 76880 Jeep Wrangler XRC Armor Front Fenders
Rear Fenders • Smittybilt 76882 XRC Textured Black Armor Rear Corner Guards
Radio Deck • Alpine CDE-147BT Receiver
Speakers (Dash) • (Temporary Alpine Type-E Series SXE-1750S) Focal Access 165 A3 - 6.5-Inch 3-Way Component Speaker Kit
Speakers (Soundbar) • (Temporary Alpine Type-E Series SXE-1725S) Focal Access 165A1 - 6.5" 2 Way Component Speakers
Subwoofer • Focal 5" 180W K2 Power Subwoofer 13KS / 5K4441 - x2
Amplifier • Alpine PDX-5M 5-Ch Digital Marine Amplifier
CB radio • Uniden BEARCAT CB Radio With Sideband And WeatherBand (980SSB)
CB radio antenna • Firestick II 4 feet Tunable Tip - Black
CB radio antenna mount •*Custom
CB radio antenna coax cable • 18' RG-58A/U Coaxial Cable With Pl-259 Connectors
Optima Blue Top Battery
Lighting (Head Lights) • GE 7" Round Nighthawk LED
Lighting (Aux front lights, bumper) • Lifetime LED 10" Light Bar Front Bumper
Lighting (Aux rear lights, bumper) • Lifetime LED 6" Light Bar Rear Bumper (Dual)
Lighting (Aux front lights, Windshield) • KC 6" HALOGEN
Lighting (Aux Roof light) • CREE 50" LED 288w Light Bar LED Spot Flood Combo
Lighting (Aux front lights, Windshield) • CREE 2x4 LED
Lighting (Aux rock lighting) • LED lighting strips custom installed
Air intake • Rugged Ridge Modular XHD Snorkel Kit
Exhaust (cat back) • MBRP Black Series Cat Back Exhaust System
High lift jack • Hi-Lift Jack X-Treme Jack 48"
Dominion Offroad • Hi-lift Jack mount
Hood Vent • Posion Spyder
Custom 6-pack mold switch pod
Lots of custom wiring and molding... I love to design and build stuff. I'm a telecommunications network cabling infrastructure engineer/electrician/car audio designer/customizer.../macgyver... lol I'm a big fan of do it right the first time or don't touch it. :thumb:


So after I picked up the Jeep the first thing I needed to do is find a place to mount my iPhone. I use my phone for everything... Personal, work, GPS, maps/topo, etc. I have a magnet mount in all my other cars... but the Jeep needs a more secure mount; so when we're out in the woods it can't fall off.

This is what I came up with... the design might change as time goes on but for now this is it:

I made my own bracket out of aluminum and use a Rokform case and mount. Works perfect... Only took about 2 hours to make.

I made the bracket out of scrap aluminum I had (cut and shaped the aluminum with a Dremel). Once I had the basic shape I bent it to match the contour of the dash. I painted and textured it to match the dash. I picked up the allen bolts and washers at the hardware store for $4 bucks.

Once it was ready I mounted the Rokform mount to the bracket. Then I riveted the bracket to the dash. The Jeep could roll over and its not coming off








This is the case I use.

iPhone 5/5s Case with Bonus Car Mount | Rokform

If anyway has any questions just let me know.

I mounted my Dominion Offroad Hi-Lift Jack Mount. This is a great setup... and I'm glad I have it... however it is a pain in the ass to install.

To install this setup you need to tap the 2 holes on the back side of the roll bar opposite the rear upper seat belt bolt location. Which seems easy enough... but its not because it's at a weird angle... It was a pain in the neck. Having said that, once I finally had it installed it is very sturdy. Everything fits on there like a glove. I have my shovel, Fiskers Axe and the jack all tucked up there and hidden away and out of sight. Not to bad.

I started building my new HU and CB mount. I'm removing my stock head unit and will be installing the Alpine and my CB in the dash.

So far I've managed to mold the dash and mount the units together. The next day the weather is better, hopefully this saturday I can do the finish work on it, as its still a little rough and paint it.

Here are a few of the work in progress pictures:

darkknight1999 said:

I started building my new HU and CB mount. I'm removing my stock head unit and will be installing the Alpine and my CB in the dash.

So far I've managed to mold the dash and mount the units together. The next day the weather is better, hopefully this saturday I can do the finish work on it, as its still a little rough and paint it.

Here are a few of the work in progress pictures:

Click to expand...

lookin good...:yup:

Well since the weather hasn't been cooperating very much... and although it spring here in New England... I needed something else to do. So since I'll be adding lights, a winch, air system, sound system, CB and so... I wanted to build a full custom weather proof fuse/relay block.

You read so many stories of people complaining about an electrical circuit that is faulty or something they installed shorting out. I'm a huge believer in doing it once right the first time. So with that said... I set off to find all the necessary parts and material to construct a weatherproof fuse/relay box. Building this will allow me to separate all the new wiring from the stock factory wiring, thus protecting the stock systems from the new wiring. You here the stories all the time from people that add electrical circuits to there cars and wreaks all kinds of havoc... its bad enough sitting in the driveway scratching your head trying to find the electrical gremlins you've created... that problem is only amplified in the woods or out on the trail.

I'll add some pictures

Anyway here's the list of parts I came up with:

Bussmann 15303-2-6-4, RTMR series 15300 Power Distribution Module & Fuse Block
Bussmann mounting brackets for rear terminal ATO & ATC power distribution block


Custom aluminum mounting plate
Bussmann 15A Circuit Breaker Mini Fuse Type III
Bussmann 20A Circuit Breaker Mini Fuse Type III
Bussmann 30A Circuit Breaker Mini Fuse Type III
Battery Terminal Ends (POS + NEG)
Anderson multipole power connectors in blue, SB 175 series, 175 amp, 4 gauge
Song Chuan ISO 280 Micro Relay 15A/20A


Black 1/2" 4:1 Heat Shrink with adhesive
1/4" Expandable Sleeving
1/2" Expandable Sleeving
Delphi WeatherPack 2 Pin Kit 16-14 AWG

Delphi Weather Pack Bulkhead Connector Kit 12-20 AWG w/Locks

Metri-Pack 280 Series Tangless Female terminal 14-12GA wire
100 Amp, 30 volt surface mount type, high amperage thermal circuit breaker
4 gauge battery wire
14 gauge primary circuit wire

sweet....lookin forward to watching it come along...:thumb:

Build is looking good bro


Sent from my iPhone

looking good so far man, sent you a pm about that phone case/mount

Looking good so far! :thumb:

Looking forward to following along on your progress. Can you post up some more pictures of your homemade sPod once you get it wired and run? I'll be doing that myself soon.

nice job man! let me know if you ever need a hand i am more then willing to help out for the price of a beer lol! Im just down the street from you!

It's looking great!!! Keep us updated (with pics)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks guys!

noroad said:

nice job man! let me know if you ever need a hand i am more then willing to help out for the price of a beer lol! Im just down the street from you!

Click to expand...

I may take you up on that... lol I've done a lot of work myself for the wonderful payment of pizza and beer

darkknight1999 said:

Thanks guys!




I may take you up on that... lol I've done a lot of work myself for the wonderful payment of pizza and beer

Click to expand...

Anytime man love workin on jeeps just let me know!

You are one creative dude! Nice job man. Curious to see what else you come up with.

Picked up an ACE rear bumper and tire carrier today... hopefully I have time to install it this upcoming week. Although I'm giving strong consideration to waiting until my front bumper and rock rail show up. Might as well do them all at once. but at least I have one piece of the puzzle

Had a pile of fun show up this week!

ACE Pro Series Front Bumper with Bull Bar and 10" LED light provision
ACE Rock Sliders
Lifetime LED 10" combo bar (front bumper)
2 - Lifetime LED 6" flood bars (rear bumper)

Yesterday was a fun day I got to spend the day wrenching on the Jeep :rock:

I installed my ACE front and rear bumpers. I'm going to do the sliders this morning

Installing the front bumper required more cutting than I wanted to do, but I really wanted this bumper:





You know its going to be a fun day when you need a 9/16 drill bit and a sawzall to complete your installation :clap:


As you can see in the above picture I had previously cut my stock JK bumper into a stubby. I removed the stock stubby bumper:


The installation requires you cut away the outside section of the mounting tabs:



Once the tabs are cut you need to cut away the lower cross member:



To make the left side easier to cut and without damaging the rubber support for the electronic disconnect I removed it:


Once that was out of the way I cut the other side off the cross member:



Then cut and grind away the remaining sections off the frame rails:



Once that is done you need to test fit the bumper and mark the spot to drill down through the frame with a 9/16 drill bit. I used a 1/2" bit and a uni-bit (step bit). Using a uni-bit leaves a nice clean smooth edge. Once that is done try to get the metal shavings out.


Once that is done and you've grinded the section smooth and cleaned them up, give them a good coat of rust resistant primer and then a good coat of paint to protect against rust:



I forgot to take a picture of the finished frame... But I painted it with 2 coats of primer and 3 coats of black paint.

Once that is all done mount the bumper up and bolt it in place:


In the end this is how much metal I removed during the front bumper installation:



In between installing the front bumper I installed the ACE rear bumper. That however was 95% bolt on. You just have to drill out the 2 holes in the top part of the crossmember and if you have the rear light option, grind a little of the frame rail. Pretty easy...

I started to install the sliders... which should have been pretty easy... However although the body mount bolt were loose, I could not get them out of the holes. :icon_crazy: And then of course it started to rain. So that will have to wait for another day, or if the sun comes out I'll fight with it this after the rain dries up.

or maybe I'll just have a beer and deal with it next weekend lol :beer:

Well the rain cleared up :thumb: So I was able to install my ACE Rock Rails :clap2:

So the hardest part of the install was cutting the factory washers down to fit into the rock rail pockets.

As a side note removing the stock body mount bolts was kind of a pain in the butt I spent an 30 minutes this morning cursing at my Jeep trying to get them off. :motz2: Finally it started to rain so I brought everything back inside and figured I would research how to get the bolts out. Well apparently the bolts have a clip on them from the factory at the very top that will not allow them to back out without applying downward pressure. So I used the handle side of a pair of channel lock pliers to apply downward pressure... couple more turns and they popped right out. Then I decided it would go faster using my battery powered impact. I had all 6 bolts off in less than 10 minutes.

Now needless to say, if you've ever tried to do this yourself you know it's not an easy task simply because a 5' long, 50lb hunk of steel is pretty heavy... heavy enough in fact, that when you try to hold it up with one hand and use a ratchet to bolt it in place... well that's damn near impossible. So of course there are jacks, jack stands, friends, bricks... lol However none of those were handy today on short notice... well except for the jack stands, but the ones I have are to big for the job, without having to jack up the Jeep, and I didn't want to do that.

So I looked around the house for something to use. I discovered that 5 gallon Poland Spring bottles are the perfect fit :yup:

The rails are just sitting on top of the bottles:




I used the battery power impact to install the ACE Rock Rails. However before you can re-install the bolts you need to to trim a 1/4" off the stock body bolt washer, squaring it off on one side and then directly across from that. Doing this took 40 minutes because all I had to grind them down was my Dremel. However once that was done each side only took 5 minutes. :beer:




All and all... great weekend! :wings: