The Rubi Q Build

UNSTUCK

But stuck more often.
Of all the builds I've done, I think I'm most excited about this one....for so many reasons. For me, the 2006 LJ Rubicon is probably equivalent to the 1968 Camaro for most people. It's been my dream for a long time. My daughter, Alivia, turned 15 in April and kind of out of nowhere she came up to me and told me that she could only learn to drive in a red Rubicon with a black hardtop. On one hand I was very happy at her choice of vehicle, on the other hand I knew this could get expensive. :D
On a whim I started looking around. I found a "perfect" example at a mom and pop dealership outside of Miami FL. The guy on the phone seemed pretty decent. He went above and beyond to accommodate me. I was able to get an independent inspection which told me everything I already knew about it. So I pulled the trigger. I arranged shipping to my house in Manga, and what a fun surprise it was when the truck showed up!

Now before we go any further, I need to stress this point: I did not just buy my daughter a $15k red Jeep LJ Rubicon with a black hardtop. I bought it for me.....and I'll let her drive it to school when she gets her license next April. I don't care what she tells you! :D

So the plans are simply two goals: First and foremost, it will not look like a rock crawler.... for as long as possible. Second, it will run trails like Pritchett with relative ease. I'm really not sure how to do this. One or the other is easy. Both provides a bit of a challenge.
I've actually had a huge crush on DAAs LJ for a long time. I see it as perfectly basic. We will try to follow that same logic. Reverting a few things back to stock and only adding as much as needed, while keeping it clean. I was really torn about it having a manual transmission. On one hand I want my kids to know how to drive them, but on the other, I don't want to rock crawl with a manual. Not after the last couple autos I've had. So the goal is to quickly teach all three kids how to drive it and see whats happens after that. After all, it does have 180k miles.

Speaking of 180,000 miles, I don't know how that happened. Seriously. It's so clean I would have guessed more like 50-60k. There's no rust. There's no indication of off road use. For the most part everything looks great. It has the three top package and the soft top was never removed. The bolts for the hard top have no indication of being removed. I'm really happy with it, minus a few items that need addressing.

One other reason I'm really excited about this one is the interest Livy has in helping me with it. She can't wait to pull out the welder and learn how to build bumpers. It's going to be awesome building this thing together. She says she has no interest in crawling, but we'll see.


We were outside playing when the truck pulled up in front of our house. Talk about mass confusion with the kids!
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When they strapped the jeep down to the trailer they ended up breaking the fuel supply line. When he tried to start it, it just puked fuel all over the left rear tire. We had to roll it down the trailer and push it into the drive way. Not a good way to get started.
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In the driveway at the new home. The kids sat in it for hours, just playing around taking turns pretending to drive it. Pretty sad knowing we couldn't drive it till we got the fuel line fixed.
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First Mod! I ordered the fuel line and got it installed. I've had this TJ Warn fuel tank skid for years. I cleaned it up and installed it.
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I took all of about 3 seconds to decide the tube parts and the 15" wheels and 33" tires needed to go. I listed it all on KSL and it all went pretty quick.
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UNSTUCK

But stuck more often.
Overall I'm pretty happy with everything that has been done to it minus the wiring! I have major wiring OCD. I pulled out the brown paper bag when I saw the LED headlight voltage box. Now the more I dig into the Jeep I find more random useless wiring.

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All of this wiring ran across the rear cross member. Back up lights that didn't work. Dual CB antenna wiring, back up camera. What a mess.
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After we got it driving we noticed the turn signals didn't work very well. Also noticed it has a brand new looking multifunction switch. Hmmmm. Took it apart and found this connector.
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I found a set up JK take offs in great shape so we snagged them, along with some adapters. Found Maxxis Razr 35" tires to be interesting and priced right so we got 5. Livy helped me jack the jeep up. It took all of her 98 pounds to work the jack. She learned about jacking and proper jack stand use.
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Next up was mounting the new wheels. She learned about torque wrenches and their use. She found 100 ft-lbs to be a bit easier to get to than using the floor jack.
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Where it's sitting now. We are now playing the waiting game for a pretty big parts order to come in: 1" body lift, motor mount lift, tail gate struts, multifunction switch connector, air filter, other odds and ends. We have been talking about the bumpers we want to build. Livy wants to try drawing them up in CAD and watch the cutting process. Then we will weld them up together.
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So I actually found a set of Rubicon fender flares to put on. They were in pretty good shape. I spent some time sanding them up a bit and they were ready to go on.....then somehow one of the rears just disappeared from my garage!!! No idea where it went. So I'm afraid I'm going to have to buy a new set. So anyways, these pocket style are up for sale if anyone wants them.
 
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zmotorsports

Hardcore Gearhead
Vendor
Location
West Haven, UT
Nice score on the LJ Rubicon, looks clean. I still miss my son's 2004 LJ.

I like them when they are kept simple and somewhat stock looking yet are built to handle off-road with ease and have the mods where they count.

Subscribed.

Mike
 

rholbrook

Well-Known Member
Location
Kaysville, Ut
Nice score on the LJ Rubicon, looks clean. I still miss my son's 2004 LJ.

I like them when they are kept simple and somewhat stock looking yet are built to handle off-road with ease and have the mods where they count.

Subscribed.

Mike
I miss your son's LJ too, especially after you got a hold of it. I still think I made a mistake. I have been thinking about selling my JK and getting another LJ.
 
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N-Smooth

Smooth Gang Founding Member
Location
UT
I love those!

It'll run Pritchett with relative ease just like that. I ran it for years in XJ's on 33's and a couple years ago with a buddy in a TJ with a 2" lift and 32's. No winching and only bypassing Rock Pile (not like Son of Rock Pile is much of a bypass lol)
 
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nnnnnate

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Location
WVC, UT
I call shenanigans. 180k miles, sold with an unused soft top, signs that the hard top had never been removed, and you bought it out of Florida? No way.
 

UNSTUCK

But stuck more often.
I call shenanigans. 180k miles, sold with an unused soft top, signs that the hard top had never been removed, and you bought it out of Florida? No way.

Does it help that he previous owner was from Georgia? :D Oh, can't find any left over mud in the frame either. I don't recall ever seeing transfer case mounting bolts actually having threads below the nuts or even the nuts not being halfway ground off.

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johnsonbz

Active Member
Digging the LJ love out there.
Been my favorite jeep owned so far.... and with new supercharger lungs (Thanks Josh ;)), I am even more thrilled with my LJ.
 

UNSTUCK

But stuck more often.
Digging the LJ love out there.
Been my favorite jeep owned so far.... and with new supercharger lungs (Thanks Josh ;)), I am even more thrilled with my LJ.
Have to admit, after doing that it's had me think about it once or twice. Doesn't make sense with so many miles though. I do see an LS in it for sure though.
 

zmotorsports

Hardcore Gearhead
Vendor
Location
West Haven, UT
I'm sure the LS has something to do with that.

The LS might have something to do with it but also for the room. I needed comfortable seating for four due to my in-laws traveling with us as much as they did.

That is why my son ultimately ended up selling his LJ even though we were planning on dropping a 5.3 LS into it, he wanted more room.

Mike
 

kmboren

Recovering XJ owner anonymous
Location
Southern Utah
Looks great. Do you find those tires rubbing on the front control arms? When I installed the JL take offs they rubbed even with the adapters/spacers.
 

UNSTUCK

But stuck more often.
Looks great. Do you find those tires rubbing on the front control arms? When I installed the JL take offs they rubbed even with the adapters/spacers.
The front tires are just kissing the controls arms. The guy I bought the adapters from said they were 2" wide. Turns out they were only 1.5". I bet 2" would be perfect. I haven't decided if I will just get wider adapters or move the links in a bit when I 3 link the front. I haven't fully flexed the Jeep yet to see what it does.
The rears rub the flares right now. The stock flares are about 2" wider so once I get them back on I should be good back there.


Being an LJ makes up for being red;) Super cool project. Even better when you can get your kids in the shop with you.
This is my third red jeep. What can I say, I love red and black on jeeps. The only other color combo I would consider on a TJ/LJ is your colors.
 

UNSTUCK

But stuck more often.
As I mentioned earlier, I found a set of used stock Rubicon fender flares. I think I paid $75 for them. They were a bit rough. I cleaned them up and filled in some scratches and then sanded them. They looked really good. I was ready to plastic prime them and paint them black. I piled them up in my garage while I worked on another project for a couple weeks. I went back this past weekend to pick up where I left off only to find one of the rears missing! Just up and vanished. The other three are right where I left them. I have a buyer for the large pocket flares I have on the jeep now, but I can't remove them and only install 3 flares.

So can anyone give me any insight on ordering new fender flares? The OEM Rubicon flares are 4.25ish inches wide. The lessor trims use flares that are 3.25ish inches wide. Mopar (maybe FCA now?) is changing factories right now for building them so they are on back order till September. That leaves me with the aftermarket world. They can be had for much cheaper, but no one seems to make a 4" wide flare. I hate the look of the tire being completely covered, but also don't want the tire to stick out too far. After reading countless reviews it seems that getting the width you order is really only luck of the draw anyways. Omix and Rugged Ridge are the same. Not sure about Crown. Those seem to be the three brands in the aftermarket world. Most do note that they are narrower than what comes on a Rubicon or Sierra. But I do see some listed as 5" wide and then 7" wide.

Anyone have a spare Rubicon flare sitting around? Didn't think to check which rear I need though.
 
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