TX-WJ's build thread.

[TX-WJ]

Been around for a while, and couldn't sleep tonite, so I finally get to start my build thread .

So far I have owned 3 WJs, started with a graphite '99 Laredo, loved that color, kept it stock until I sold it; old pic of me and the missus. (The MK3 '97 Jetta in the background, GLS 2.0 5spMT; my first love, gone but never forgotten)



Then came the silver '03 Laredo, bought it new for $29K (worst deal I ever made on a car ), started wrenching on it, 2"BB+UC, MX6s, JKS Disco's, rear Addco, 32 ATs, freedom conversion LOL; was fun while it lasted, lots of mudding, minor dents.



But with the 4.slow and 32s, major loss in power came (was my DD then), started thinking about re-gearing the 30/35, but after pricing the gears/install opted to look for an '04 with the V8; then I found her, my current steel blue pearlcoat V8 4.7 Ltd., what a joy it was stock on the freeway, the power; got her on Sept '07 for $15K with 37K mi on the odo; sold the '03 for $10K with 65K mi on it .

In its pure "stock" form (sidesteps and all ; first mod, the sidesteps have to go).






In with the new, out with the old:



more to come....

[TX-WJ]

Rocking her stock:





Oh yeah, I forgot, some tint went in the first week, gotta keep my wheeling buddies cool in the summer .

[Posers]

Looks good

[TX-WJ]

Then the process started; transplanted the 3" lift from the '03 to the '04; that was a long weekend, which ended with a sore back and a big smile on my face LOL.




Got some chrome mopar towhooks:




Added tera bumpstops front and rear, they suck!, what a waste of money , too short to do anything at 3"; should've gone with IROs custom ones.




Added the JKS adjustable trackbar while I was there, since was dogtracking a little at 3":




Redrilled holes for the washer bottle mounting bolts on it's stock location and was able to move it forward about 1"; still alive and well to this day with the 32s fully stuffed; but will need to get a bottle inside the engine bay for the next phase of the build.




Tossed in the front Addco and added grease zerks to the mounting brackets since the poly bushings that it came with would squeak like crazy after a few days.....especially after water crossing with the heep . (Had to drill the front addco holes to fit the JKS disco pins as the bolts were bigger than the addco's holes, what a pain!, make sure you have some sharp cobalt drillbit for this, I think it was 1/2").




Getting her dirty after the lift and wheel/tire transplant:

[SnowLeopard]

I love the color. You need the Freedom Edition wheels though. They look better. I'm just saying. I love them even more than my Canyons, and I thought I'd never love a wheel more. Simple, sophisticated, sharp.

You know, I like pics of the interior, also. I know it's not everyone's favorite thing on JF, but I love to see a well outfitted interior. Is it charcoal or regular gray? I've never liked tan, but I'll forgive you if yours is that color.

Now for the 'upgrades'...

[TX-WJ]

Originally Posted by SnowLeopard

I love the color. You need the Freedom Edition wheels though. They look better. I'm just saying. I love them even more than my Canyons, and I thought I'd never love a wheel more. Simple, sophisticated, sharp.

You know, I like pics of the interior, also. I know it's not everyone's favorite thing on JF, but I love to see a well outfitted interior. Is it charcoal or regular gray? I've never liked tan, but I'll forgive you if yours is that color.

Now for the 'upgrades'...

Sorry, still working/building the thread, yes, the freedom wheels passed on to the '04; gray interior, pics of interior will come :-P

[TX-WJ]

Painted the inner grille gunmetal to match the wheels; also swaped the Laredo black housing headlights from the '03 and got rid of the ugly chrome ones on the Ltd. (I wonder if the lady that bought the '03 ever noticed that ).






OME SD40 SS (sat too low):




Flipped the brackets on the TR to get better clearance; helped some but still managed to hit the SS on the rocks, 32s" FTL .



Wife's '05 Z71 burban in the backgraound, AKA the great white .




Driver side tire stuffed, testing the bumpstop extensions..... not even close :-(



To be continued....

[sandman]

that kid seat looks comfy.

[TX-WJ]

Then scored some JKS supernerfs for cheap on craigslist, I think I paid $150 for them, were never installed by seller; of course, I put them backwards thanks to the infamous mislabel issue ; they still work pretty good though, again some sharp drillbits and a right angle drill are a must for this one; I added some extra pinchweld self tapping screws for good measure (has provisions for only 2 screws per side out of the box). Best money ever spent on armor fo shoo!, have saved my butt countless times.








Finally tracked down and fixed the stupid clunking up front; superglued some rubber washers to each side of the JKS QDs top and bottom, and voila, clunk free (until the Aussie install that is :-P).






Flipped and pushed the fog lights forward to save them from the tires, and trimmed the bumper cover at the "rubbing corner":
(More details on it here.)

[TX-WJ]

Then came some interior misc. stuff.

All weather mats (F/R) and trunk liner: (forgive the dirt )






One of my favorite mods, the RB1 (E-bay $600ish) with iPhone integration and MP3 10CD changer; oddly enough the limited was the only one of my WJs not to have factory CD changer , but that's OK cause the one on the '03s crapped out after 3 yrs: (The iPod cable is now shrink wrapped in black to blend it in).

[lakailimited06]

how bout that 44a lol

[TX-WJ]

On to the lights.

E-bay projectors with HIR bulbs; also swapped fog bulbs for 9005s : (some more info here.)








Will prolly unhook the halos eventually, but figure I'd rock'em for a while :-P, oh yeah, also swapped the sidemarker white LEDs for ambers.




De-ambered and quad tails: (more info on the quads here.)

[TX-WJ]

Originally Posted by lakailimited06

how bout that 44a lol

Still torn last time I checked, LOL.

[lakailimited06]

haha i had plans but i think im just going to gear the 30/35 for now and run my 31's, maybe 32's max...

[TX-WJ]

Originally Posted by lakailimited06

haha i had plans but i think im just going to gear the 30/35 for now and run my 31's, maybe 32's max...

Good luck, I'll letcha kno when I swap it out either way jst n case .