Sarge Green Build Thread, 40s max tow... overland etc

[rob_o]

Build log of my 21' Gladiator

Vehicle was delivered July 12th from Gupton motors

Started with DV8 Offroad beadlock wheels, the polished beadlock rings are nice but they would stand out too much

Had a local shop paint the beadlock ring to match the body color

40" Milestar patagonias showed up & started mounting wheels... This takes a while, beadlocks are very time consuming.

To be continued

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[rob_o]

While i waited for the lift kit to arrive i started installing my headlights. These are HIDprojectors.com Expedition Series Bi-LED projector Headlights for the Gladiator / JL. Mine are heavily customized with paint & White / amber switch back halos.

Here's a quick installation guide

The bundle of wires here are for my Halos, i will wire those up in the near future.

Put grill on in reverse and you're good to go.

 

[rob_o]

Stock vs HIDprojectors.com Bi-LED projector Headlights

 

[rob_o]

Moving forward, skyjacker 4.5" lift arrived a day early Part number is GM452KMLT and this kit was a breeze to install. Only two holes had to be drilled for the rear trackbar mount bracket.

Everything else is bolt in, it took me about 7 hours to do this in my driveway. Note the one spring is longer, this accounts for the gas tanks extra weight.

40s vs stock lift height

I forgot to take some pictures, but i have motobilt aluminum inner fender flares installed. The best time to do it is before the tires were mounted. Ripped out all of the factory plastics and put them in with self tapping screws & included hardware.

And here we are rolling on 40s, the max tow 4.10 gears do just fine with them. I did have to use a superchips flashcal that i bought from thejeephut.com to program the computer.

This will continue in a few weeks with my genesis dual battery install along with bumpers / fenders / winch etc.

 

[rob_o]

Started working on the bedliner, I've had very good luck with herculiner roll on over the years.

10mm bolts hold the trail rail system on, there's a few of them

you need a T30 for the two tailgate panels. and I believe it was a T15 for the inverter socket.

I dont remember what the hold downs were.. maybe T50?

Be careful when removing the bed LED lights they only come out one way. You need to depress a tab from the middle-top of the lense so the tab inside releases.

Next I took 100grit paper & sanded the paint off, you don't have to reach bare metal. Just enough to help the herculiner bite.

Once I was finished sanding I took a microfiber rag & some acetone to the entire bed.

I actually used a long handle brush and stippled the *entire* bed. I'll take a roller to it for the final coat.

Make sure you do multiple thin coats, if you paint it on too thick it will Crack and look like dried mud.

Going to let this cure out for 4hours and see if it's ready to stand on so I can finish the job, if not I'll let it sit overnight.

 

[A 2]

Started working on the bedliner, I've had very good luck with herculiner roll on over the years.

10mm bolts hold the trail rail system on, there's a few of them

you need a T30 for the two tailgate panels. and I believe it was a T15 for the inverter socket.

I dont remember what the hold downs were.. maybe T50?

Be careful when removing the bed LED lights they only come out one way. You need to depress a tab from the middle-top of the lense so the tab inside releases.

Next I took 100grit paper & sanded the paint off, you don't have to reach bare metal. Just enough to help the herculiner bite.

Once I was finished sanding I took a microfiber rag & some acetone to the entire bed.

I actually used a long handle brush and stippled the *entire* bed. I'll take a roller to it for the final coat.

Make sure you do multiple thin coats, if you paint it on too thick it will Crack and look like dried mud.

Going to let this cure out for 4hours and see if it's ready to stand on so I can finish the job, if not I'll let it sit overnight.

Looks good. I used Hurculiner in the tub of our old YJ. Held up great for many years. It faded but so did the rest of the jeep.

 

[rob_o]

Looks good. I used Hurculiner in the tub of our old YJ. Held up great for many years. It faded but so did the rest of the jeep.

Yeah I'm expecting that, but I don't mind the flat / faded black look.

I'm not a fan of how glossy line-x is with their UV coating.

 

[rob_o]

Not much going on today, final coat is on & it's curing in the sun. I hope to get the rails on later tonight.

Total cost was $60 and some of my time. Advance auto currently has a 20% off special for online - store pick up orders + I also had $20 off with my speed perks.

pretty good savings compared to line-x or factory installed spray on liner.

i

 

[rob_o]

Alright got some more stuff done, bed cured out and I put the trail rail back in

Motobilt front bumper arrived, cleaned it up with acetone and painted it with brownells aluma hyde II epoxy paint. Used this stuff on firearms for years and it's amazingly tough paint. Waited a day for it to cure out and then hit with the herculiner too.

Waiting on my Diode Dynamics SS3 Max fogs to arrive before I install later today. (yeah the $550 ones) I've seen standard / pro in person lets see how good the maxes are.

 

[RodRecket]

Really nice build progress. Looks awesome. Do you daily drive with 40's? How's the steering holding up moving that much weight around?

 

[rob_o]

Really nice build progress. Looks awesome. Do you daily drive with 40's? How's the steering holding up moving that much weight around?

I daily it,

Patiently waiting for my synergy steering parts to arrive. Stock really can't handle the 40s very well.

Also factory steering geometry is not the best with a 4.5" lift. I will be flipping my drag linbwith said synergy parts.

 

[rob_o]

Alright got the motobilt hammer bumper mounted with Diode Dynamics SS3 Fog lights, these are the "max" tier - aka the $550 ones

these specifically have the JK style mount bracket as motobilt retained the JK fog light bolt pattern for their hammer series bumper.

I cannot wait until it gets dark out here, these are looking very promising.

I also wired up the halos for my headlights, these are switchback so they flash amber with my turn signals... oh yeah and I received my fender chop reinforcement brackets from rugged ridge, nobody likes a floppy fender!

The diode dynamics SS3 Fog lights are the same color temperature as HIDprojectors.com Bi-LED Projector headlights too!

 

[rob_o]

Only headlights:

headlights + fog lights

 

[The Gas Man]

Alright got the motobilt hammer bumper mounted with Diode Dynamics SS3 Fog lights, these are the "max" tier - aka the $550 ones

these specifically have the JK style mount bracket as motobilt retained the JK fog light bolt pattern for their hammer series bumper.

I cannot wait until it gets dark out here, these are looking very promising.

I also wired up the halos for my headlights, these are switchback so they flash amber with my turn signals... oh yeah and I received my fender chop reinforcement brackets from rugged ridge, nobody likes a floppy fender!

The diode dynamics SS3 Fog lights are the same color temperature as HIDprojectors.com Bi-LED Projector headlights too!

Loving the build so far, it’s on point! Any chance you could throw a side-profile pic of the hammer bumper on here? I’m between that and the LOD destroyer stubby and am interested in how far forward the bull bar pokes. Thanks!

 

[rob_o]

Loving the build so far, it’s on point! Any chance you could throw a side-profile pic of the hammer bumper on here? I’m between that and the LOD destroyer stubby and am interested in how far forward the bull bar pokes. Thanks!

I will get some for you in the morning, currently processing photos from today's shoot and it's dark now.

I will say from personal experience that LOD bumpers powdercoating was pretty bad about 5 yrs ago... not sure if they changed their formula yet but my friends front / rear & rails on his jk rusted out after one winter.

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