WFTW
Adventurer
Sorry, all take-off parts are already spoken for.
From Stock To Stacked...The Story Of A JK
- Thread starter WFTW
- Start date
Sorry, all take-off parts are already spoken for.
WFTW
Adventurer
Thanks. The front two recline, but the back two don't (didn't bother getting reclining ones because the Tuffy box is in the back). From what my friends told me (who installed them), they're all very comfortable.
The rear seats were able to be moved back a little further than the bench seat (resulting in more leg room for those sitting in the back). They were also mounted a little closer together so the passengers sitting in the back can better see out the windshield (rather than having the back of the front seats right in their line of sight). So, they worked out really well.
I'm sitting at the Anchorage airport right now waiting for my first of three flights to get back to Florida. By this time tomorrow I'll have my Jeep back and can hardly wait! :drool:
XXXpedition
Explorer
you know....... slowly but surely i'm getting depressed...
you're just blasting ahead with an amazing build and i'm fighting with things like tech. inspection just to get a suspension approved :-(
(i'm soooooooo behind :-((((((((( )
you're just blasting ahead with an amazing build and i'm fighting with things like tech. inspection just to get a suspension approved :-(
(i'm soooooooo behind :-((((((((( )
WFTW
Adventurer
Dude...you have to remember that I bought and started this build in January 2008...so I've had some time. Also, I'm on a schedule seeing as how the WFTW program starts the first weekend of April...no time to waste. Take you time with your build...you'll enjoy it more. I understand the whole European inspection hassle (lived over there for many years), but maybe you can tackle other things while that's going on (interior and such). I'm sure your JK will be just as awesome as your last vehicle. Besides...you're ahead of me since you have a diesel.
Onto the update...
I arrived in Florida this morning and wasted no time getting to Overbuilt Customs to work on the Jeep. First, let me say this...the thing is HUGE! Pictures don't do it justice. The difference between the 37" tires and 40" tires was immediately noticed.
I checked out the new seats and am very happy with them. In the rear are the Mastercraft Rubicons and they're great! In the front are Mastercraft Bajas and they are terrific as well. Since all the seats came with seat covers, I went ahead and put them on the rear seats. In the picture, you'll notice it looks as though nobody can sit in the seats with the covers on, but there are velcro pieces that make it slanted like that (so if it rains with the top off, the water just slides right down). When you undo the velcro, then people can sit in them with the covers still on. It's hard to explain, but easy to see in person.
The next thing I tackled was the rear bumper. We are going to cut a hole in it for the 2" hitch receiver (which I purchased today). There were only 6 bolts holding it on, so it wasn't too bad. Once off, I removed the tow hook that was on the bottom of the bumper as well as the spare tire carrier. The spare tire carrier is only rated for a 37" tire, so that had to go. Also, since I'm towing a trailer, I really want to be able to see out my back window, so I won't put a spare back there (spare will be put on the trailer).
That was about all for today since I had to ship the Engel refrigerator to Outlander Trailers so Robert could get that mounted in my trailer, as well as run a few other errands. I'll be working on the Jeep again tomorrow. Brad (Overbuilt Customs) and I kicked around a few other ideas about modifications to the Jeep, but I'll save those for when they're completed and I can post the pictures.
WFTW
Adventurer
Got some more work done on the Jeep today. The first thing done was cutting a hole in the center of the bumper for the 2" hitch. Brad (Overbuilt Customs) then welded the hitch to the bumper and reinforced it to make it stronger.
Once that was completed we needed to close up the holes on the bumper from where the spare tire carrier was (one large hole on one side and 4 smaller holes on the other side). It was sanded down to make it smooth...turned out GREAT!
The bumper was then place back onto the Jeep so we could determine where the low profile (rectangular) KC HiLiTES would be mounted.
Two holes where then drilled on each side (one hole to mount the light, one hole to feed the wires through).
Since the lights we're using were originally mounted on a hood mounted light bar, I removed that. Here's what the front of the Jeep now looks like.
The last thing I did was take the rear bumper to be powder coated...it will be ready Wednesday or Thursday and should look awesome!
Once that was completed we needed to close up the holes on the bumper from where the spare tire carrier was (one large hole on one side and 4 smaller holes on the other side). It was sanded down to make it smooth...turned out GREAT!
The bumper was then place back onto the Jeep so we could determine where the low profile (rectangular) KC HiLiTES would be mounted.
Two holes where then drilled on each side (one hole to mount the light, one hole to feed the wires through).
Since the lights we're using were originally mounted on a hood mounted light bar, I removed that. Here's what the front of the Jeep now looks like.
The last thing I did was take the rear bumper to be powder coated...it will be ready Wednesday or Thursday and should look awesome!
WFTW
Adventurer
Have them. Those will be installed soon. Once those and the Cobra CB is installed, we'll wire everything up.
Tomorrow I will be crawling under the rig and washing it really good. Going to spray some Purple Stuff underneath, wash it off, use some sandpaper for any rust spots, and then paint everything black. It's going to take me hours and hours to do, but it's needed. The underside will then look better than the rest of the Jeep.
Here is some of what still needs to be done...
Rock Lights
Rear Bumper Lights
AEV Heat Reduction Hood
Modify Front Bumper (adding a stinger)
Clean, Clean, Clean
XXXpedition
Explorer
i bought mine Nov. 2007 and started with sponsor work right after...
so i've been working on it way longer :-(
and not having a place to work on the rig doesn't help either...
but back to you:
awesome looking bumper, can't wait to see all the lights in place!
WFTW
Adventurer
I took it easy the past few days. I sprayed the underneath with a cleaner and scrubbed it up as best I could. Once it dried I hit it with some semi-gloss spray paint...turned out nice.
After that I installed 3 of the 4 panels that divide the interior of the Tuffy trunk. I decided not to install the last panel so that I could fit some larger items in the trunk (such as recovery gear).
Tomorrow I should have some more pictures.
After that I installed 3 of the 4 panels that divide the interior of the Tuffy trunk. I decided not to install the last panel so that I could fit some larger items in the trunk (such as recovery gear).
Tomorrow I should have some more pictures.
XXXpedition
Explorer
looking forward to the pics! :victory:
jeepmedic46
Expedition Leader
That rear bumper looks awesome and the jeep does as well. Can't wait to see pics.:smiley_drive:
The last thing I did was take the rear bumper to be powder coated...it will be ready Wednesday or Thursday and should look awesome!
Your JK is looking great. I'm curious about something. The Rocker Guards look like the RockHards that I have. I've never seen a rig with them and also Xenons and was wondering how they would interact. Is it possibleto get a side picture or two showing how they look together?
WFTW
Adventurer
The rock rails are actually from TeraFlex. I had no issue with them and the Xenon fender flares interfering with one another. I know quite a few people running Xenon flares and haven't heard of anyone having issues with them. Below are a few more pictures from different angles.
Thanks for the kind comments. The very first time I spoke with Brad (Overbuilt Customs) about building up the JK I made it clear that function takes precedence over looks (but I wanted it to look good too). He understood completely and we were able to build a truly capable rig.
I did a bit of work on it the past few days. The first thing was to install the Wild Boar Products wrap around tail light guards. You will notice in the pictures the tail lights are canted up a bit...this is due to interference with the AEV rear corner guards. This coming weekend we'll be sanding that down a bit so the fit like they should.
I then tackled cleaning under the Jeep. For this, I sprayed it with Purple Power, let it soak in a bit, scrubbed, then hosed it off (note: you want to wear protective gloves when messing with that stuff). I then hit any rust spots with 80 grit sand paper and then spray painted everything with semi-gloss black paint. It turned out nice.
Finally, I installed the Tuffy partition panels for the rear security drawer. I opted to only install 3 of the 4 panels because I wanted a large space to carry things like recovery gear.
Looks as though the rear bumper will be ready on Wednesday or Thursday...can't wait to get that back from the powder coater.
Tomorrow we will tackle the front bumper...a custom built stinger is being installed. Once that's on there I will tape off the lights and winch and hit the front bumper with the same semi-gloss black spray paint I used for the underside. I'll paint the rock rails as well.
Next weekend is the tough part...installing the rock lights and CB and then wiring everything up.
EDIT: Forgot to mention...I'm most likely getting the Best Top 2-piece soft doors from 4Wheel Parts. If that happens, I'll be leaving the hard doors in Florida when I travel around the country...so much easier to remove the soft doors and store them. Unless it's raining, I want my doors off the the trip...makes it more enjoyable I think.
Last edited: