2017 Willys Wheeler JKU Silver Wolf

gheller

New member
Hey All, thought I would finally get around to starting a build thread of my 2017 JKUWW.
This is my first Jeep. I've had many vehicles throughout my life, from small imports to big American sedans as well as a customized Chevy van in the mid 80's. The first car I ever drove was my dads 1969 (< I think) Dodge Coronet 4 dr Sedan. I was 12 or 13 years old at the time. Parents went to the city by train and left me home for the afternoon. I knew where they kept the car keys, and so I took it out and picked up a couple of friends and we drove around a while. No power steering, that thing was killer trying to park it in the backyard again.

The past 21 years I've been driving NYCT transit buses....

I've come to a point in my life where I was able to finally purchase a new vehicle for myself, and always admired the Jeep Wranglers. I initially placed an order for a 2016 Black Willys but because it was late in the year and FCA stopped taking new build orders for 16's I had to reorder a month later when the 17 order banks opened in late August.

I had been on the fence between Black and Billet silver. I came across a Wayalife member Napalms build thread here and really liked how that metallic silver shined and contrasted off the black. Napalms thoughts and description of the color sold me too! I felt that would be the color to offset the Willys appearance package and so I ordered the Billet Silver. Thanks Napalm :thumb:

It had been too long since I drove a manual and so I knew I wanted the 6spd. There were some new options for the 17's. I went with LED light package, Reinforced Swing gate and oversize tire carrier, Hardtop and Headliner, Premium sound, Mopar EVTS, LSD rear diff and 3:73 gears.

When I took delivery in October, I was pleasantly surprised as I drove it off the lot. The manual 6spd tranny felt smooth to me, and I like how the shifter shakes around when going over rough road! The ride was much more comfortable and quiet than I expected. Especially with the BFG T/A KM MT tires I figured there would be some humming from the treads on the highway but there was little to none.
My first impression was "this feels like fun driving again" and I still feel that way now. I look forward to getting in the Jeep and just driving for no other reason than to drive it.

I never thought about giving it a name but I asked my son Kyle and he thought giving it a name would be a good idea. Kyle is autistic and he's always had a passion and obsession with animals. He loves all the big cats, Crocs, snakes and reptiles, Hyenas, Wild dogs, etc but his favorite are Wolves. He searches on his laptop for Wolf videos and anything related and we go to the Lakota Wolf Preserve in NJ. Great place.
So, we ultimately decided on the name "Silver Wolf"

This will be 95% a DD so I'm not looking to mod it out too extreme, and still it seems the list of mods I have lined up never ends....

So here's a few pics of SW about about a week after taking delivery.






The factory screwed up with the new reinforced Swing Gate and the Willys edition. As you can see from the rear shot, they covered up the cool 4WD retro decal with the new swing gate. They should have relocated the decal to below the tail light.
I ordered a new decal and placed it there myself later.
 
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gheller

New member
4WD decal, Stubby antenna and Tail Light Guards.

One of the first mods I did was adding a AMI 12" stubby antenna, Rugged Ridge Tail Light gaurds and adding the 4WD decal under the tail lights. Purchased the decal from Skull Daddy Graphics on amazon.



 

gheller

New member
Decals and Bug/Wind Deflector

Another quick mod was the Mopar fuel door. Simply removing the tail light to access the clips on the back of the original Fuel cap trim, removing the rubber filler neck gasket and fitting it on the new Fuel Door cover piece and reinstalling by rotating and snapping it into place.


The RR Wind/Bug deflector and some decals.



 

gheller

New member
BOLT HOOD Lock, Rugged Ridge Grill insert, Sunglass pouches, cell phone dash holder

Soon after I added a BOLT Hood lock and a Rugged Ridge grill guard insert.

I like the RR grill guard ,the way it looks but dislike how it mounts. I had to drill holes in the grill to fit the brackets that hold the grill insert in place. Two holes go on the top of the grill and secure with lock nut and bolt. It makes fitting the grill back on a very tight fit. I wound up drilling a recess hole in the plastic below where the grill rests so that the bolt heads can recess inside and relieve some pressure on the fit. i also had to trim away the area where the Hood lock access is. I clipped it aeway with some snippers and then filed and repainted with rustoleum semi gloss black.


Got a few small goodies such as the RR eyeglass pouches that attach to the sport bar, RR Visor Storage and the RR dash tray with cell phone mount. The eyeglass pouches are lined with microfiber and have another zippered compartment for other things in addition to sunglasses.



 

gheller

New member
Barricade Rock Slider, Rugged Ridge Rain guards and McGard black lugnuts/locks

I looked at many different options for Rock sliders that allow fitting with the stock Rubi Rails and also extend out far enough to double as a step. I decided on the Barricade Rock sliders

They mount up on the body mounting bolts in three locations. The hardest part installing them were removing some of the body mount bolts as they have to have downward pressure applied while unscrewing them. Also, one of the bolts (drivers side rear) would start by hand but would not continue threading. It felt like the nut on the other side was free spinning. I finally used a lot of downward pressure from the Rock slider on the bolt as i was tightening it and that seemed to do the trick. It started threading some more and then was no problem tightening it up from that point.

I didnt have a jack or stands so i layed under the Jeep length wise and rested the slider on me holding one end up with my feet while I started the middle bolt. Once that was started then its simple from there.

Then there was the Rugged Ridge rain guards....





Also added black Mcgard lug nuts to go with the Willys Wheels.





 

gheller

New member
Bartact seat covers, K&N Cabin air filters

Got me some Bartact front seat covers. These are the best I've ever seen. Very good quality and look to be extremely durable. Fit tight and look great with zippered pouch in front and rear as well as MOLLE strap system on sides and back. also came with two small storage pouches/bags.

I ordered the rear covers now too. I also fit the WAR PIGS rear seat recline kit. Simple and straight forward but i wish they slotted three of the spacers for those middle seat mounts.
They were a pita for me to get bolted back on with the spacers as the mounts do not line up correctly and its difficult to start the threads without stripping. If they were slotted, you woulnt have to remove the bolts, just loosen enough to lift and tap the spacers in between.

Anyway, theyre in and def make the rear seat more comfortable.



My ride didnt come with cabin air filters, so i added some K&N filters. Pricey but they're good and reusable.



 

Ddays

Hooked
Really nice story and your Jeep looks great! Funny - I feel the same way driving my Jeep - I look forward to driving it even if its a short trip. Wait til you get the chance to drive it without the doors and top on a
hot Summer day - nothing else like it man!
 

meljr

Member
Nicely done

I like where you are going with your 17 JKUW build. Very much in character and you did your research and maybe mine too. I'm going to look into some of the products you used.

Thanks
 

MoxieMedic

New member
Great looking Jeep. I like the contrast black. How do you like those rock sliders? They're the only ones I've found that fit with the stock RubiRails and I've been thinking about doing the same as you. I like the added protection, especially in case of an accident.


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
 

gheller

New member
Really nice story and your Jeep looks great! Funny - I feel the same way driving my Jeep - I look forward to driving it even if its a short trip. Wait til you get the chance to drive it without the doors and top on a
hot Summer day - nothing else like it man!

Oh, I can imagine. I'm envious of every Jeep I see riding without top and or doors or half doors. Too cool.
Unfortunately I live in a COOP apartment and have no place to store my hardtop. (or doors for that matter) Frustrating even more is that I do my work on the Jeep in a small parking lot across the street. No one bothers me there but its not ideal.
Thanks for your time to look and comment.
 

gheller

New member
I like where you are going with your 17 JKUW build. Very much in character and you did your research and maybe mine too. I'm going to look into some of the products you used.

Thanks

Yes, I'm glad you feel that way. I've spent months looking through these forums and the first thing I learned was how much I didn't know... I'm sure you've seen this thread but just in case
http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?...s-Every-Newbie-has-about-the-Jeep-JK-Wrangler

I've read this thing up and down, really fantastic place to start. Eddie really knows his stuff and lays it out in sensible terms.

Having picked up so much info from others research and experience I thought it would be good to share back whatever I took and hopefully someone else can benefit.
 
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