From Stock To Stacked...The Story Of A JK

[WFTW]

Wow. 38" BFG KM2 Tires and Dana 60 axles.

Sweet

Nwoods...I guess I'll need to re-answer your question about budget. It seems I just blew mine out of the water. In the end, I decided that if you're going to do something, do it right.

With an off-road event every weekend for half a year, it's obvious the Jeep is going to be thoroughly put through its paces. 37" tires are going to put some stress on the Dana 44 axles, and I don't want to spend a lot of time replacing a bunch of those. So, I bumped up my tires to 38" and made the necessary changes.

 

[WFTW]

As promised, here are some pictures. After a long wait, the installation of the major upgrades has finally begun.

No shoes.

That's one ugly exhaust.

Can you tell it has only about 1000 miles?

Front to back.

Thanks to Phil at Trail Duty, I now have the only *bling* that will be on this Jeep.

A little shot of the *bling* running underneath and of what won't be on the Jeep much longer.

On a different note...the wheels I ordered were drilled wrong (my fault for changing front and rear axles) and so they have been sent back. The wheels are made when ordered, they don't stock them. So, a monster thanks to Centerline Wheels who is accepting them back and making me new ones...at NO extra cost. Now that's customer service for you!

 

[WFTW]

The shop doing the work on my Jeep is Overbuilt Customs in Jacksonville, Florida. They do amazing work and I thought you all might like to see some of their other builds...
http://www.overbuiltcustoms.com/gallery/main.php

 

[WFTW]

There are a few things in the works. First, I've contacted Centerline...my wheels are going to be 17" and I'll have them in about 2 weeks. Second, some adjustments in the lift are being looked at and it looks as though I'll be rolling on 40" rubber.

 

[riverfever]

Super nice looking rig man.

 

[WFTW]

Super nice looking rig man.

Thank you...I'm excited about seeing it take shape and am looking forward to testing it out in June when I'm back in the States for a few weeks.

 

[TheGillz]

Where did you order the D60's from?

 

[WFTW]

Where did you order the D60's from?

Got them directly from Dynatrac. I don't like thinking about how much they cost me, but they were certainly needed.

If you're looking for 60's you may want to check out TeraFlex as well. Mopar is coming out with some 60's for the JK as well, but I'm not sure how long it will be before they're available.

 

[WFTW]

I've FINALLY picked out tires for the JK...40" BFG KM2s. These are currently in production and won't be available until the end of June. In the mean time, I'll be putting on 37" BFG KM2s.

The axles have yet to arrive, neither have the wheels and tires for that matter. I'm hoping everything will arrive prior to June 7th, but it will be cutting it close. I think the front and rear axles will be the last thing to get there. Oh, and the 6" springs for the lift may be cutting it a little close too (I have 4" springs at the moment).

Other than that, there's plenty of things left to put on to keep the shop busy for a while, to include 8 off-road lights.

I should have more pictures for you all by the end of this weekend. The front bumper has been installed, so I'm excited about seeing that.

 

[Red Zebra]

:lurk: More!

 

[WFTW]

:lurk: More!

I know, I know...I want to see more pictures myself!

I spoke with Brad last night and he's been swamped with work and hasn't had a chance to get the new pictures to me yet, but promised he'll try to do so soon.

There have been some more items purchased for the build, but I'll save it as a surprise...should take the items 3 weeks to get to Florida.

In the mean time, the wheels arrived 2 days ago and I'm hoping the fat tires will get there soon as well. The axles are probably still 2 to 3 weeks away.

There's simply no way everything is going to be installed by the time I get to Florida. While the axles, wheels and tires will be on, as well as the higher lift (either by 6" springs or 2 1/2" spacers until the new springs arrive), the lights probably won't be done. There's 8 off-road lights, interier LEDs and LED rock lights...waaaaay too much wiring to be done to get it all finished in time. But, I think you all will be impressed with the new products I picked up just yesterday.

I'll be taking the Jeep off-road in June a few times, so I'll be able to give a full report on how everything works. In the mean time, I'll get more pictures posted up ASAP.

 

[WFTW]

The dual battery set-up has been completed. For this, a tray was fabricated and then powder coated. The tray is attached to the body rather than the frame so that when the frame gets torqued from extreme off-roading, it won't possibly damage the battery tray. One blue top is installed...the 2nd blue top will be put in next week when it arrives.

Anyhow, hope you all enjoy the pictures. The question of "Can you fit 2 batteries in a JK?" has been answered.

 

[TheGillz]

Now I am one to defend the the 3.8 all day to the nay sayers, but I'll tell you what I wouldn't try and push over 40" tires with it unmodified. Plus with all the other stuff you are putting on the thing is going to be pushing 3 tons! Is there a supercharger mod that I have missed in this thread?

 

[WFTW]

Now I am one to defend the the 3.8 all day to the nay sayers, but I'll tell you what I wouldn't try and push over 40" tires with it unmodified. Plus with all the other stuff you are putting on the thing is going to be pushing 3 tons! Is there a supercharger mod that I have missed in this thread?

There is a supercharger available for the JK, yet not listed in this thread (some other items I have obtained aren't listed either...full skid plates, etc).

I only had my Jeep for about 10 days before returning to Iraq, which did not give me an opportunity to really look it over and check it out. I did drive it from Orlando to Naples to Jacksonville and the power was fine, but it was bone stock at the time.

I've made some mods that will help with power (True Flow air intake, throttle body spacer, Magnaflow exhaust, and will most likely be getting a Jet chip as well), but I want to wait until I get back to FL next month and drive it around a bit before deciding on whether or not to drop in a supercharger.

Just trying to be thorough, that's all. I have plenty of time between now and the start of the adventure next April, so I'm not feeling rushed.

 

[TheGillz]

Well that's cool that it's on your maybe list. I can't imagine you not putting it on your definatly list once you drive a while w/ the tires and all the weight. BTW, I am a forumaholic and I frequent a couple of Jeep boards, and I for one will not be spending any money on air intakes, chips or exhauasts for this motor. I have not heard one real world testimonial that any and/or all of them together did much except change the sound. If you like the new sound, then cool. But the overwhelming majority of the users were disapointed in those applications with THIS motor, others it may work good for like the 4.0 or other mfg, but for the 3.8, almost no difference.

Gearing is the only mod that is getting universal praise. And that I see you already have queued up.