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Jay's 05 WK Build Thread

75K views 151 replies 53 participants last post by  K9SAR 
#1 ·
Figured I'd start a proper build thread so I'd have somewhere to post up my progress rather than dropping random pics all over the place. After wearing out my WJ I decided to stick with another Grand and get a WK. Here is the WJ prior to selling with 180k miles on the clock:



After selling the WJ I looked long and hard across the entire US for the best deal on the exact WK I wanted. I had a few color choices but a few other specs were must have's-
-tow
-5.7l Hemi
-Heated Seats
-Sunroof
-QDII
-<50k miles
After a few months of patiently waiting and negotiation attempts I found the right WK at a steal of a price. So I made a two hour trip and negotiated that steal price further down and drove it home. I sold my Yakima basket with the WJ, so I picked up a Rola and installed it along with my Yakima load bars and bike trays:



I found that along with my Yakima parts, some of the black trim was beginning to fade, so I picked up some U-Pol Raptor liner and began removing and spraying parts. It's been months since spraying and each piece looks brand new. I highly recommend this stuff!




After saving for a couple more months and reading what seems like almost every lift related thread on the forums I decided on a 4" Superlift. My WJ had 2" pucks and crappy shocks and rode like a shopping cart. This time around I wanted maximum lift with minimal geometry change and ride impact. I'm picky about chrome but decided I liked the mix of chrome and silver on the Jeep, with the exception of the stock chrome wheels. I wanted a bit of a dish, but a very simple wheel. I also wanted a tough wheel that would take some abuse. The winning choice for me was the AEV Savegre. AEV makes great products and I knew I couldn't go wrong with them.



After much debate I decided to have someone do the Superlift install as I just didn't have the necessary tools to do it right. I wouldn't take it just anywhere, but I got connected with a great local shop that does awesome work. Here is the post-lift result:





The next product I recommend is Plasti-Dip, at least as a temporary solution that is completely reversible. I'd read about it on the forums and I was toying with the notion of painting my grille black. So a trip to Home Depot and 5 bucks later, I sprayed the grille with Plasti-Dip:



I'm glad I only used Plasti-Dip instead of actually sanding, priming, and painting, becuase after two weeks of it I decided it wasn't for me. I peeled it off in about 30 seconds and my chrome grille was good as new. I've got plenty of upcoming projects, starting with a lighting overhaul. I chose Rigid Industries for the majority of my aftermarket lighting. They are pricey, but if you compare their light output vs current draw, then watch their ballistics testing videos on YouTube, you will see they make an incredibly great product. I am currently testing different fitment locations to achieve the max light output. Once that is complete I will setup a shoot that shows the different lights and their outbut brightness, all at same ISO/speed/arpeture. Here is a quick look at light output of just the Rigid LED, no headlights:

 
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#35 ·
Insurance covered everything. I've ordered a ParaMedic hood from BlackOps which should take a while to get built. In the meantime I'm in no rush to get the rest of the bodywork done. All the local bodyshops are slammed and trying to get vehicles in and out as soon as possible so I'm going to wait until they can take their time and do it right, possibly as late as next year.
 
#36 ·
jayl00p said:
Insurance covered everything. I've ordered a ParaMedic hood from BlackOps which should take a while to get built. In the meantime I'm in no rush to get the rest of the bodywork done. All the local bodyshops are slammed and trying to get vehicles in and out as soon as possible so I'm going to wait until they can take their time and do it right, possibly as late as next year.
Yeah, that's probably a smart choice. I had a 06 wk that was silver and it had hail damage(not NEAR as bad as yours) and it reminded me of it.

Sent from my Droid using JeepForum
 
#37 ·
I just went thru this last October as well with my WK and the freak hail storm we had in Phoenix. My insurance covered everything just had to pay for my deductable. I cant even tell anything happened, those paintless dent removers did a great job. Cant wait to see the new hood.
 
#39 ·
Finally got my Gibson cat back on. I couldn't stand how low the tip hung so I notched the bumper and had a muffler shop reweld the tip sticking straight out.
 

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#42 ·
Nicely done! May have to steal this idea, as I hate how low my Gibson tip is angled.
 
#40 ·
opinions of the gibson system? im thinking about getting one but have heard they are a little loud in the cab and sound terrible when the mds kicks in...

i personally love loud but its going on the girlfriends ride and you know how women are with noise :rolleyes:


ps i freaking love your wk, my girlfriend just got hers last week but im already putting a list together for when she gets done and it becomes mine. awesome light pics too...
 
#44 ·
The Gibson sounds great! It's not too loud at all, just a warm, mellow tone. I've got MDS disabled via my SC programmer, so I don't know if it would cause drone. It is a 3" from the cat- back, so you can tell a difference in throttle response. I'll probably change the shift points now to keep it in a higher gear further through the rpm band.

BlackOps should have my hood finished and shipped in 2-3 weeks. The jeep will go in the body shop once I get it so it won't look like a golf ball anymore.
 
#45 ·
Well I started another phase of my lift. I'm working toward 6" total lift using 2" spacers in the rear and either Bilstein struts/additional spacer or OME front strut/coils paired with the Superlift spacer. I want to run either 285/75/17 or 35x12.5x17 for my next tire. So far I've been focusing on the rear. Installed the 2" spacers:



installed SRT8 sway bars to reduce body roll with the new higher center of gravity. These things make the WK handle awesome. 100% on road improvement! They will be disconnected for anything serious off road.



Next up for the rear I wanted to address the slightly altered driveshaft pinion angle and rear axle bieng slightly forward, so I called up Rusty's offroad and they are making rear adjustable LCA's so I can fine tune it. If I want to run a larger diameter tire, the rear axle needs to move back slightly:



Stay Tuned!

-Jay
 
#46 ·
Nice work Jay! Missed this thread but glad I found it!

These are the best wheels on WK bar none :highfive:

Good luck with the lift, watching with interest

Dave
 
#47 ·
Thanks Dave! Yeah, I've drooled over your WK quite a bit. How do you like the snorkel? I've checked out AirFlow Vector's site and shipping to US isn't that bad. I'm tempted...Do you think it is paintable as long as flex agent and adhesion promoter is used?
 
#49 ·
Snorkel rocks! The airfilter is soo much cleaner when i change it now, and I dont have to worry about the depth of the creek or mud pit as it were :teehee:

As a painter I make a great sparky so i wont even attempt that one. I actually knocked the corner in on mine on a trail and then left the car in the sun the next day and it popped out, so it definately flexes!

Dave
 
#50 ·
Acidcold said:
Your Jeep is sexy Jay! we have to get together sometime and wheel these beasts!
Thanks Carlos, I'm always down for a road trip! I know a lot of trails in SE Kentucky, but I'm not sure what else is between us.
 
#51 ·
Thanks to the bravery of jager, acid, and some others, I finally got up the nerve to hack at my front bumper. I used a dremel and ez-lock cut off wheel, then a sanding wheel for finishing.

First I taped off where my line would go. This helps to keep the paint from chipping or peeling back when cutting.
Tip: in curved areas, use tape to make your line. Just lay a strip over your taped off area, mark your line, an peel off to make a perfect straight line:

Next, I had a couple hits of shine to get some courage:

Rough cut:

After the rough cut I knocked off all the plastic burrs with my hand and proceeded to finish off with a sanding wheel. I rolled the edge for a nice round bevel.

Afterwards I taped off and rattle canned everything underneath flat back, including the washer fluid reservoir (until it is relocated).
Finished product:




I also got my new hood in today!


Bodywork starts Monday.
 
#55 ·
Yeah, it's the black ops version of the medic hood. I'm now trying to figure out how i'm going to have it painted. I don't want an all black hood, but I also don't want to paint over all that carbon fiber! I'm going to stripe it somehow.
 
#57 ·
That would look sweet! I loved micallef's wk when the hood and roof were flat black. I got a sample piece of 3M Di-NOC film and I'm going to see how close it matches the CF hood. I might try wrapping the grille in it and then spraying a few coats of clear over it.
 
#58 ·
Front bumper hack v 2.0:

 
#59 ·
Hows the lift coming along Jay? Did you get the adjustable arms on?

My Superlift is about to arrive so very interested in how its coming along!

We are going with a different path on the rear, but the front will be the SL with some custom coils at around 2" extra (also based on the weight)

I like the cut out front bumper, now you just need to make it steel :rofl:

Dave
 
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