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. 
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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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