Summer Jeep Build - Part 3

This past Sunday was another full day in the shop. I spent the day finishing up the rear end -getting it all squared away so I could start on the cab. This build has been a great time for me to just get everything fixed and redone that has just deteriorated and gone bad over the years. From the vandalism that took place a couple months ago, to installing lights with minimal supplies while in a parking lot in college, things just need to get cleaned up and put back in order. There is almost a zen that comes over me in all of the chaos and change. I think in the end this vehicle and my work are going to be something I can be very proud of.

So to start off Sunday morning I revisited the bed of the Jeep. Applied another coat of bed liner, and took off the OEM tailgate -which weighs a couple dozen pounds. After applying a coat of herculiner, I made a trip to the store and on my return home realized how awesome it was to be able to see out of the space that the tailgate once blocked. Backing into the driveway I felt much more comfortable maneuvering around the garbage can and even several tools laying on the floor of my shop. Could this be an obstacle advantage when rock crawling? I think so!

With some leftover grill metal laying around and my Android gussets I began working on the new tailgate. I am particularly a fan of Android because I develop games in my spare time for the platform. This next year will indeed be quite exciting because I finally found a professional game designer to complement my coding abilities. Here's something etched and permanent to negate the hundreds of Apple stickers I see crudely pasted on vehicles each day.



If you are in the market for some custom gusset's, send me an email! Next I started working on the frame of the tailgate.

One of the issues I was having with my old setup was having essentially two tailgates. This new tailgate will utilize the hinge on the tire carrier.

Against the Jeep bed.

Top rail.

Attached and painted in three locations. Bottom left, another segment top right, and a much larger segment not seen along the top. The tailgate is not going anywhere! During this process of attachment I used cardboard to space the tailgate from the body. This will minimize collisions between the two when going over bumps on the road.



Messing around with the camera. I particularly like how the green of the trees symbolize the native color of Android, yet out of focus. I also like seeing an organized work bench :)

Shot of the new lower control arm brackets and tummy tuck. Hard to see in this pic -but to put it in perspective, the stock nicknamed "shovel" hung down past the bolts on the lower control arms by the front and rear tires. Clearance is key in the world of off roading.



Rear netting installed.

I also started ripping out the wiring that has collected over the years. After my last break in I had quite a few slashed wires. The key here is to not be intimidated. It is all very linear once you figure it out!

Not even the half of it. Can you say bird nest?

New fuse link to dynamic relay box.

Relay box with switch inputs and load outputs. This will allow me to easily add more switches in the future. I call it dynamic because the system utilizes unbiased switching power. This will allow me to add and remove switches as they are acquired and registered obsolete.

Axle truss welded on. U bolts will also be added to each side and welded on around the axle tubes.



A shot of the old brake lines. I tired to adapt them to fit... Decided I wanted to learn how to flare brake lines :)

The new brake lines flared and installed. As it sits right now the 8.8 needs shock tabs burned on to be completed. I think I will end up mounting them when under the Jeep. Or I could do a complete shock relocation.... hmm.



As the Jeep: Baja Edition sits right now. I ended up removing the upper bars to the light bar. Version two is always better than version one!



Another shot. As soon as the 8.8 yoke adapter comes in, it will be ready to lift!

Continued - Part 4