mdnky
OBS Enthusiast
My toy and an off/on daily driver. The mileage is low (44K as of 12/20/22) since I've worked close to home, or had another vehicle to use. I bought the Jeep in February of 2010 from dealer stock with just 1 mile on the odometer. I wanted a clean slate to mod it the way I saw fit. To accomplish that, I purchased the most basic 'sport' model available at that time. The only "options" on this unit were Air Conditioning ($895) and 3.73 gears ($50). The latter definitely made for an interesting driving experience for roughly a month until I upgraded the tires from the stock 225/75-16 to some BFG KM2s in 255/85-16.
Originally I wanted a yellow Jeep, but that colour was discontinued for 2010. Second choice would have been Deep Water Blue Pearl, but the wait to get one was quite substantial. I was worried the transmission might be going out (it didn't) in my 1998 Blazer LT, so I didn't want to wait. The choices were Red, Silver or White. White seemed to be the easiest to keep somewhat clean, not to mention it would hide any scratches or damage from trail use.
Before: (night i brought it home and 2 days later)
Now:
Originally I wanted a yellow Jeep, but that colour was discontinued for 2010. Second choice would have been Deep Water Blue Pearl, but the wait to get one was quite substantial. I was worried the transmission might be going out (it didn't) in my 1998 Blazer LT, so I didn't want to wait. The choices were Red, Silver or White. White seemed to be the easiest to keep somewhat clean, not to mention it would hide any scratches or damage from trail use.
Before: (night i brought it home and 2 days later)
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Now:
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| 6MT 4.56 gears ARB Air Lockers front & rear w/CKSA12 compressor Riddler diff covers Poison Spyder extreme duty trans-mount crossmember Rubicon Express Skid Plates (Oil, Trans, Transfer, Fuel) PSC Power Steering Pump Custom braided PS supply line w/AN fittings AEV ProCal Calibration Device | ||||
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| Smittybilt G.E.A.R custom-fit front seat covers Smittybilt MOLLE roll bar padding covers Bestop security drawer (drivers) | ||||
| Exterior | ||||
| Shrockworks stubby winch bumper, MileMarker HI9000 winch w/100' Viking Offroad synthetic winchline & safety thimble, Hella 500s Shrockworks rock rails Poison Spyder BFH crossmember & rear bumper (need to install) Poison Spyder Crusher Flares (steel) w/aluminum front liners Bestop Trektop NX soft top Bestop 2-piece soft doors (summer) | ||||
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| Kenwood KMM-BT525HD head unit (DTA Settings:: LF 2.3'/1.53ms/-4db, RF 4'/9ms/0dB, LR 1.57'/2.18ms/-6dB, RR 3.15'/0.76ms/-5dB, SUB 0'/3.59ms/0dB) Front Channel: Kenwood KAC-M1814 amplifier (bridged 90w x 2) driving Boston Acoustics SL60 passive components (-2db on tweeters) Rear Fill: Stock soundbar speakers powered by head unit Sub Channel: Select Increments NeoPod + Rockford Fosgate P3SD2-8 in series to a JL Audio MX300/1 Cobra 18 WX STII CB flush mounted under the head unit w/4' Firestick II | ||||
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| J.W. Speaker 8700 LED headlights LED corner markers (smoked lens, amber light w/flag overlay) Poison Spyder LED side markers (amber) LED Taillights | ||||
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| Stock w/custom pipe end mod (i.e. trail damage) | ||||
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| FRONT: Rubicon Express 2.5" springs, Bilstein long travel shocks, MetalCloak Adjustable LCAs, Rubicon Express quick discos, Synergy trackbar, Crown tie-rod, SS extended brake lines REAR: OME 2" light duty springs, Bilstein long travel shocks, Synergy weld-on trackbar bracket, Rock Krawler extended links, SS extended brake lines, EBS Stage 5 Rotors/Pads | ||||
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| 36x12.50R17 Interco Super Swamper TSL SX Radials 17x9 ProComp 7069 featuring custom 'Trail Patina' |
| Future/Planned Mods | ||
| Description | Time Frame | |
| Drivetrain | ||
| C-Gusset D30 front axle | April 2023 | |
| Truss D30 front axle | TBD | |
| Replace front D30 axle with D60 Kingpin unit, replace rear D44 with 10.5" Corporate 14 Bolt | A long, long, long time from now...(sadly) | |
| Coty-Built VW 2.0TDI swap | A long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long time from now... | |
| Install York 210 OBA system | [some parts in storage] - Fall 2023 | |
| Interior | ||
| Replace the front seats with 2004 Volvo S60R seats recovered in waterproof material | Summer 2023 | |
| Install or build a Trail Cage | TBD | |
| Respray faded interior plastics using stock colours in SEM ColourCoat. | TBD | |
| Spray the tub floor with tint-able Raptor UPOL liner in dark grey to match stock interior colours | June 2023 | |
| Build removable modular rack system for the rear cargo area | Summer 2023 | |
| Exterior | ||
| Clean/inspect the frame, recoat in satin or flat black epoxy paint and seal with RP-342. Spray underside of tub with Raptor UPOL. Spray rear wheel arches and front fender liners in Raptor UPOL. Spray lower rocker flare in Raptor UPOL. | Summer 2023 | |
| Replace Winchline | [parts in storage] | |
| Install Auxiliary Power Steering Cooler | [parts in storage] | |
| Upgrade/replace all remaining Power Steering Lines w/braided or braided PTFE | very soon... | |
| Poison Spyder BFH II Rear Crossmember with 2" Receiver | [parts in storage] | |
| Poison Spyder BFH II Rear Bumper with Receiver with Tabs [in storage] | [parts in storage] | |
| Source factory half doors or build custom units | Summer 2023 | |
| Audio: | ||
| Install DSP | May 2023 | |
| Front Channel Mids/Highs: Replace components with CDT Audio Unity 7.5 sidebands in custom dash pods where the current tweeters sit. | [parts in storage] / May 2023 | |
| Front Channel Midbass: Install Anarchy 704 midbass drivers in stock 0.11 cu.ft. sealed dash enclosures | May 2023 | |
| Front Channel Power & Processing: Add DSP unit to enable fully active front channel setup. Move Kenwood KAC-M1814 amp to mid/high duty to drive the Unity 7.5s at 90w/ch bridged. Add second amp (Kenwood KAC-M3004) at 150w/ch bridged to drive Anarchy 704s. | May 2023 | |
| Rear Channel: Replace stock sound bar speakers, running limited (80-3500Hz, -8dB to -10dB attenuation, delayed) | May 2023 | |
| Replace sub and box with 10" unit | TBD | |
| Consider ditching CB radio and replace head unit with Apple Car Play compatible Kenwood double-din head unit. | TBD | |
| Exhaust | ||
| Build custom stainless high clearance setup with a Borla XR1 muffler | unknown | |
| Suspension | ||
| Replace front springs with Metal Cloak dual-rate springs | [parts in storage] | |
| Replace rear springs with Metal Cloak dual-rate springs | TBD | |
| Replace stock rear control arms with Metal Cloak arms | TBD | |
| Replace all Duroflex bushings in front LCAs | very soon... | |
| American Iron Ball-joint Delete Kit | very soon... | |
| Replace aging Bilstein 5100s with like units or possibly upgrade to something else | TBD | |
| Wheel and Tire | ||
| Replace the 7069s with Hutchinson RockMonster D.O.T. Beadlock rims in Argent or Black | When I win the Powerball... |
| Off-Road Trail List (what I can remember) | ||||
| Trail / Park | Location | Date(s) | ||
| Big Easley Property (LA4x4) | Easleyville, LA | multiple | ||
| Dirty Turtle ORV Park | Bedford, KY | Aug 2010 | ||
| Catahoula Recreation ORV Park | Sicily Island, LA | multiple | ||
| Daniels Property (LA4x4) | St. Francisville, LA | multiple | ||
| Wilson Property (LA4x4) | Wilson, LA | multiple | ||
| Barnwell Mountain Recreational Area |
| Jan 2014 | ||
| Superlift ORV Park | Hot Springs, AR | July 2014 | ||
| Overland Trail / Trip List | ||||
| The AVOID INTERSTATES Trip | Baton Rouge, LA to Union, KY | Sept & Oct 2019 | ||
| — Part I via US-61 to Natchez Trace Parkway to US-61 | Baton Rouge, LA to Vicksburg, MS | Sept 11, 2019 | ||
| — Part II via Old US-80 to MS-467 to Natchez Trace Parkway to TN-100 to US70 to TN-174 to US-31 | Vicksburg, MS to Lucas, KY | Sept 12, 2019 | ||
| — Part III via US-31 to KY-218 to KY-436 to KY-88 to KY-61 to US-68 to KY-55 to KY-555 to US-62 to US-127 to US42 | Lucas, KY to Union, KY | Sept 13, 2019 | ||
| — Part IV via US-25 to US-68 to KY-169 to US-27 | Union, KY to Burnside, KY | Oct 2, 2019 | ||
| — Part V via US-27 to TN-29 to US-70 to TN-58 to TN-305 to TN-30 to US-411 to US-41 to Cumberland Blvd to Cumberland Parkway | Burnside, KY to Atlanta, GA | Oct 6, 2019 | ||
| — Part VI via Cumberland Parkway to GA-70 to GA-154 to US-29 to GA-34 to AL-22 to AL-259 to Al-9 to US-231 to US-21 to US-80 to US-31 to AL-225 to US-98 to US-90 | Atlanta, GA to Biloxi, MS | Oct 7, 2019 | ||
| — Part VII via US-90 to US-190 to LA-22 to LA-42 to US-61 | Biloxi, MS to Baton Rouge, LA | Oct 7, 2019 |
