esarvis1

Figured it was time to start my build thread...I didn't have a camera handy most of the time and just got a smartphone within the last year so I have what pictures I could dig up. The Jeep was bought stock out of Virginia about 5 years ago. I can't find all of the info on it at the moment. This isn't the original picture, but just to give you an idea of Little Blue.


It was my dads daily driver until I could get my drivers license. Until then he had added a 3.5 Eco lift with a T-case drop from Rusty's and Bushwacker flares. Once I got my drivers license and some pocket change it was bigger tires, ProComp Crawler wheels and a Surco roof rack I got for my birthday.



I wanted to make my country music sound a little better so I added a new Sony radio, new door speakers, and of course I was in school so 12in Kicker Solo Baric's & a Memphis 1000w amp. (Chics dig the boom boom lol)


After a while I got my hands on a pair of Hella 500 fog lights. I didn't really want to mount them straight to my bumper so I cut out a template to fit the bumper and welded up a bull bar



So then once out of high school I put on a new set of 32x12.50 Cooper STT's & added a CB Radio. My dad does real estate appraisal so he found a BFG all terrain a guy said he could have,,,did I mention it was a 32?! SCORE. After a homemade bracket threw it on top


I then decided that it was time to start preparing for some larger tires in the future so I grabbed a pair of 2.75in spacers that were left over from a Zj eco lift and zipped them out so that they would fit. I also ordered a set of Rough Country X-flex adjustable control arms,,,I didn't know too much about long arms at the time haha






The progress was kind of at a stand still after then. I later added shackles in the back which made it to a 5.5in lift and took care of the vibrations from raising up the front. I got out of high school and went to school for welding at night while working in a body shop. A body shop you say?? might have to take advantage...
The paint on my Jeep isn't the best but this hood was really getting on my nerves


And after striping paint and a little primer and a few tape lines I was pleased with the outcome. A little matte black to keep the sun out of my eyes




Once the hood was all painted and looking spiffy I found a deal on some goodies that I had been pondering on for a while. Some new lighttage! Hella 500 offroad lights and a Carr light bar


And just a little bit of wiring


After I got the lights all wired up its was back to the shop to fix my door that was about to fall off because if a garage post that jumped out on it. While I was at it I fixed the rock chips in the header panel too.


From there on out I went and did a little wheeling, nothing major in Boone, NC. The whole way up through the mountains it was a dog and about over heated.


I thought that it would be fine because it was about a three to four hour trip up to the mountains and figured it was just the long ride that was putting a toll on it. And after a trip to Carolina beach driving through soft sand..I finally decided it was time to order some gears (4.56) and move on to 35's


That right there was a beautiful sight at my door. So I had talked to my trans guy about swapping the gears and the whole deal. Well I was driving to work the next morning and the Jeep cut back/started skipping. Of course the day after parts come in and you get things lined up something will start to act up. From what I had found out on here it was the alternator. Evidently all my lights and speakers had fried it. So after an upgrade the gears still sit in the floor as a paper weight. If all goes according to plan this time it should be getting the gears in the first of next week

millerxj

good looking rig man.

Louis-

That thing is looking real good!

esarvis1

Thanks Guys!

esarvis1

I forgot to post a few little things I have done recently. I did the LED map light mod in blue but instead of straight wiring it I could remove it easily if I wanted. And planning on doing the cluster LEDs in blue also




I also added a PA to my CB radio, I wasn't sure where to mount it at first. Under the hood would have muffled it a lot so I wedged it behind the horn and mounted it to the frame. More clarity/loud and being black it's not noticeable

MothBird

I never thought of doing that with the dome light, neat idea. might just have to steal it

Louis-

Ive been planning to do this exact same thing when I get my CB. Any recommendations for PA speakers? I see a bunch of cheap ones on amazon and i was wondering if they would work fine

esarvis1

Honestly man, I'm pretty sure mine is a cheapo like the ones from amazon. I just got it off of a totaled car at work. A lot of people amp them but I didn't bother and it's plenty loud at where it's mounted. It's probably a 15-20w. Go to CB world.com and they have some pretty good speakers. They might have a small 60w or something around that wattage that would be PLENTY loud lol

Louis-

Alright thanks a lot for the info

esarvis1

Well it was slow at work today,,,so why not a little flex test for ****s and giggles. All I had to work with was a lift jack but it did the job for what it was.
First with sway bar connected


And with the sway bar disconnected


Overall I'm not all that impressed with it. I'll probably end up going to 6.5 springs in the front and raising the rear shackle to get a little more flex with the 35s


Edit: Found out that my shocks were maxed out and have no more travel. Some new Bilstein shocks should take care of that when I get ready for 6.5

Skittle

Cool build. Let me know how you like the 4.56 and 35s.... I'm thinking I'd go 4.88 for 35s, but people say a D30 pinion gets too small at that point.

Also for more flex, look at things like long-arms (obviously), but also shocks, and binding in the steering system and track-bar. Generally after lifting, people either max out shocks, or bind the track-bar on the mount on the axle end. Next they max out control arms / steering.

I'm at 3" of lift and have more flex than that. But I'm also still on stock steering and control arms. I have some procomp arms to go in soon, and then I'm probably either going custom cross-over steering or D44, or WJ knuckles and OTK steering.

For 35s I'll do 1.5" spacer and shackles / relocation boxes and make them work at 4.5 lift or just over.

esarvis1

This is the only reason why I didn't go with 4.88. I'll be running 4.56 on 32s for a while until I get the 35s which I'm sure I will come to like a lot lol

For as much of a DD it is I'm going with drop brackets. The only time I am able to wheel is during my vacation in March and a few lucky weekends in between then. I'd love to have long arms but I already have adjustable LCA. And I plan on getting Bilstein shocks when I get the springs and all the other good stuff.

HUNTaHOLIC5

Sweet rig.

esarvis1

Thanks Man

esarvis1

So I finally got the new gears in and I have to say I'm loving them on the 32's but it's a little too low for daily driving. On the highway it runs 2500 RPM at 65 mph. It has changed the shift pattern more than I had expected. On first start up in the morning it will run 3500 RPM before shifting into 2nd gear, but that will change after some 35's. I'm not sure on how much it has affected the gas mileage yet. It's too soon to tell. So now that that is done I need to start fixing a lot of little things. The project for this week is to fix my roof rack breakage/rattling noise, and replace the crappy flimsy flooring with thicker steel.