CLIFFORD, 2014 JKU

[HammPhoto]

Im a little behind on this and finally have had a minute to gather everything up to put this build thread together. Ive been going through all my images and figured hell, why not put this together.

In 2014 we welcomed our son into the world.
At the time I was driving a 2000 XJ with no AC, that didnt always start and sometimes died on the highway, it had character and i loved it. I learned a lot from that truck and it gave me the confidence to take on bigger vehicle maintenance/repair projects but with a growing family, a new vehicle was needed and sadly white lightening had to go.

Enter Clifford a 2014JKU with barely 19K on the clock.

 

[HammPhoto]

the first mod was fabbing up a dead pedal. our first road trip I was searching for a place to rest my foot, Its a bit hack but it gets the job done. I still need to adjust it further out by about an inch but it works,
Second mod was the Rhino rack backbone. the install was a bit nerve wracking drilling holes in a perfectly good roof but i love the system

 

[HammPhoto]

next step was the lift. I settled on a Metalcloak 1.5" kit which is 2.5" 2 door springs, some brackets and bumpstops. 285/70/17 Falken At3s and Spidertrax,

I ran the stock shocks for about a week while i waited for my Fox 2.0 Resi shocks to arrive. even without the new shocks the difference in ride quality was very noticeable.
once the new ones were installed the ride was even firmer and more controlled, A bit of dremeling needed to be done to install the new ones on the passenger side.

 

[Edward Gentle]

Good choice in rides, keep us updated on changes.

 

[HammPhoto]

June 2016 i added the Teraflex cargo rack in the back to help organize further

 

[HammPhoto]

July 2016 my wonderful wife got me a Viar OBA system, i hacked it together after the birth of our second for a trip that september, My install involved a Fuse tap, house wiring and some other sketchy hookups. It worked but was no where near permanent... or sustainable...

 

[HammPhoto]

October 2016- i had changed rear pads on the vehicle and guess i missed the torque spec on caliper slide bolts. Oops...this happened on RT95 right before the Del Mem bridge on a sunday . Thanks to an advance auto parts and some good ole mcgyver ingenuity I was able to limp home with a temp line. I bolted up some crown lines later that month.

 

[HammPhoto]

later that month my stock bumper met a sawzall

 

[HammPhoto]

Spod was finally installed to safely control the compressor and a 20" black oak bar that was won in a giveaway was mounted shortly after as well. The bar gets a TON of use in fall/winter and its just the right amount of light.

 

[HammPhoto]

A Craigslist search for an old winch to rehab yielded a steal of a deal on the bumper I had my eyes on, so that went on as well. I figured a winch without a mount was like putting the cart before the horse. a Cobra 75 cb also was installed.

 

[HammPhoto]

This is where things start to get interesting. I had been a member of JK forum for awhile, and with the luck on winning the light bar i figured, why not enter every contest i come across...I entered in their mega-awesome prize pack giveaway for a Currie RJ44 Housing, ARB, Ten factory axles and adams driveshaft and was the lucky winner! i responded to the post at minute 4 of 5 of my timeframe and in January a really heavy giant box showed up at my offices loading dock.
I opted for 4.10 gearing. This decision was solely based on staying in the 33-35" tire range with the 3.6l engine. its been great and I wouldnt change how its set up. when i regeared the rear i also put an ARB in there

 

[HammPhoto]

running the ARBs finally pushed me over the edge to install my air tank that i had been holding on to. I looked at a few different tank options and decided on locating it where the Evap was. Evap got relocated over axle and after a battle with a CEL from an upsidown Leak detection pump I made a custom skid box(I still have the templates for it if anyone is interested) . It sits a little higher than the gas tank on the opposite side. More to come later....

 

[ttephotos]

wicked build man and some awesome luck!