ZMotorSports 2011 JKUR Build Thread

I am new here but thought I would throw up some pictures of my latest Jeep build. It is not real time as I have owned it now for almost two years.

I bought the Jeep with only 3208 miles on the odometer and commenced building my "Dream Jeep". This is my daily driver and weekend wheeler.

On lift just before sitting it down with the 4" BDS Suspension Lift and 35" KM2 tires/ATX Crawl wheels.

Backed outside the shop after just barely sitting her on the ground with new lift and tires/wheels.

More to come as I dig through the pictures. Also pictured here is the Warn Rockcrawler bumper/Powerplant combination that I purchased used just to get me by until I could fabricated my own bumpers.

Mike.

 

[Hickey]

A swinging mic drives me crazy, and wears out a mic cord quickly. I use the same style retractable tender, but mount it differently.

I use 3M lock strip (Velcro) and a magnet glued in place. I can let go of the mic and it will retract until the magnet catches it and keeps it from swinging around.

 

[zmotorsports]

The magnet idea is a great idea. I may have to look at an area to put one of those and give it a try if this doesn't work.

Thanks.

Mike

 

[Hickey]

The magnet idea is a great idea. I may have to look at an area to put one of those and give it a try if this doesn't work.

Thanks.

Mike

Damnit, now you're gonna make it look all fancy and mine will look all... Hickeybilt.

 

[zmotorsports]

The wife and I just returned from a week long FMCA 4-Wheelers gathering in the Black Hills of South Dakota. We love the Black Hills and had so much fun last year we wanted to attend this year as well. We had great hosts and there were 22 couples in attendance.

Here are a few pictures from the gathering.

Our base camp was at Elkhorn Ridge RV Park in Spearfish.

Fall colors were just beginning. Last year at this time everything was in full vibrant fall colors but it was much warmer this year and didn’t feel like fall at all yet.

We stopped near this beautiful little lake one day for lunch.

Air-down spot another day.

One of several dry river bed crossings on the Camp 5 trail.

My lovely wife and I on a trail that led us south of Sturgis and then west. If you look really close you can see the faces of Mt. Rushmore way off in the distance.

On Tuesday we had a “down day” where everybody was on their own to do whatever they wanted. My wife and I love Custer State Park so we took off on a drive south through the park and returned via the Needles Highway which is also a favorite of ours.

They were getting ready for the buffalo roundup in the park.

The event officially ended on Thursday with a nice bar-b-que/pot luck dinner but we opted to stay another day and run some more trails with friends. We left on Saturday and drove the 640 miles straight through to home. Unfortunately we drove through some weather but saw several wonderful rainbows along the way.

Thanks for looking.

Mike

 

[zmotorsports]

Yesterday after breakfast I commenced my post-vacation cleaning ritual. Due to the heavy rain we encountered on the drive home, the cleaning was much more involved than normal resulting in pressure washing the engine bays and undercarriages of both the coach and the Jeep.

Thanks for looking.

Mike

 

[Jinx]

Can I be the first to say I will by anything you want to sell, just because on the way you take care of things.

 

[zmotorsports]

Can I be the first to say I will by anything you want to sell, just because on the way you take care of things.

Thank you.

I try to keep things maintained and in proper condition, maybe even a bit overkill. I guess it's a labor of love.

Mike

 

[bryson]

Cool! What's with the airplane on a stick in the median?

 

[zmotorsports]

Cool! What's with the airplane on a stick in the median?

I believe at one time I heard that it was a family around the Sundance, WY area that had an old Beechcraft airplane that they had decommissioned and rather than junk it, they turned it into a windsock. It is kinda cool to see it alongside the interstate.

Mike

 

[zmotorsports]

A couple of weeks ago I made a rather lengthy post about my suspension and the various iterations I have gone through with it due to my Jeep's weight and some observations I had made over the years and miles both on and off-road. After all of the highway miles I have put on the Jeep in the Black Hills area with the winding and curvy roads as well as the off-road manners I can report that I am very, very pleased with the results. The rocks and ledges we encountered on the trails in the Black Hills area were not as large as others I am basing my information on so I am waiting to fully pass judgement on the configuration until after next month's Moab trip.

That being said, I was so happy and impressed with the Jeep overall as a package during this last trip. I think this has been the first trip in the 8 years that I have owned the Jeep that I haven't wanted to do something more or "different" with the Jeep when I have returned, usually it was due to lack of power.

There was quite a variation of Jeeps at the gathering as well as many Jeeps rolling into the area for the Black Hills Jeep Jamboree so we saw a little bit of everything on the highways and the trails. One thing in particular I commented to my wife about was the fact that I could run so easily at 60-65 MPH through the winding canyon roads whether flat or going uphill and it just sipped the fuel and handled flawlessly with power to spare, something I have not experienced before as I was usually maxed out on speed with any kind of incline. In fact, it was a joy to drive because it was so responsive and sure footed. There was less body roll and it just felt more planted all the way through the canyons no matter the speed.

Once I aired down off-road it was just as much fun to drive. Between the increased power, 6-speed transmission, hydro-assist steering and now the 37" tires moving down the trail was a pleasure and going over most of the rocks was uneventful. As much as my wife was against me going to the 37's, even she commented about how much less we rubbed the belly of the Jeep compared to last year on the same trails.

Another thing we both took notice of was that there were several Jeeps that attended the gathering that were built to the point that they were not really street friendly so the owners kept to the nearby trails vs. many of the trails that we ran which in some cases were 50-70 miles from camp. These same Jeeps were also trailered everywhere behind their coaches whereas we flat-tow ours all over the place with ease. Not that trailering is a bad thing as I have trailered mine as well at times but flat-towing when traveling around in a coach is so much easier.

My Jeep may not be a purpose built rock-crawler but it does well on all types of trails as well as the pavement which is exactly what I built it for and I couldn't be happier. IF I were to install flat-fenders I'm sure I could get another inch or 1-1/2" of uptravel but I don't think it would really alter the overall off-road performance all that much as it does so well now.

I just thought I would report out on my experience after the last suspension changes for anyone else who may be having similar experiences and searching for information.

Mike

 

[Bart]

Thanks for this update and so glad to hear it's all working well. Not that I needed more affirmation on the LS swap, but you just made me want to expedite this project. I have no problem driving 60 to 80 miles, but the power and especially the super charger are a PITA. Still not sure if I can stop building at some point but its nice to hear that some people can get there.

 

[zmotorsports]

Thanks for this update and so glad to hear it's all working well. Not that I needed more affirmation on the LS swap, but you just made me want to expedite this project. I have no problem driving 60 to 80 miles, but the power and especially the super charger are a PITA. Still not sure if I can stop building at some point but its nice to hear that some people can get there.

Drivability was goal number one with this whole build which is why I wanted to stick with an OE engine/trans and especially OE tune. This is also why I didn't add a supercharger to my 3.8 engine prior because I haven't been that impressed with them on the JK's.

I've built a lot of hi-performance engines, installed turbo's and superchargers as well as installed/tested about most every other performance enhancing item over the past 30+ years of wrenching and while they all had their idiosyncracies when daily driving, none have performed flawlessly over ALL of the driving conditions that I have put them through. From the superchargers on my trucks that I have had to tweak the jetting on the carbs at various altitudes to the rumpity rump idle of them at the stoplight there seems to always be compromises. For a race car or Sunday driver these things can be tolerated with but I didn't want any compromises with this build.

The old saying that they're never done is true but at times we get close enough to call it done. Back when I was racing and showing my cars I was one of those who didn't like to be outdone so they were always coming back apart to make changes/improvements but I think I've grown up now and that is no longer my priority. There's always someone with something nicer or faster so now I just want to enjoy what I have rather than having more. There also comes a point where we tell ourselves we don't want to keep throwing time and money at a project for minimal (if any) gains and rather save the money for other things. I think I am finally there, on this build at least. Now I just want to drive the hell out of it, keep it maintained and enjoy it while continuing to save up for retirement.

I think you will enjoy the LS Bart as it doesn't have any of the compromises that the other options have.

Mike

 

[zmotorsports]

Thought I would post up some pictures from last week’s trip to Moab.

The wife and I wheeled with some friends from the FMCA 4-Wheelers club that we belong to the first part of the week. This wasn’t a club sanctioned event per se, just some friends getting together prior to the official FMCA 4-Wheelers St. George rally that commenced yesterday.

Then on Wednesday evening, my son and DIL drove down to join us and we wheeled Thursday and Friday with them. We were able to test out his suspension and he was grinning from ear to ear. Not only because of how well his Jeep WJ did but also because his sweet wife had a great time as this was her first ever off-reading experience.

Airing down on day one.

Lunch spot near the Cameo Cliffs.

Next to Tombstone Mesa heading towards Secret Spire and Dellenbaugh Tunnel.

All in all a great week. Best part is my daughter-in-law is hooked on off-roading and already wanting to go again. My heart was full all week being able to spend time with family and friends doing what we love with those we love.

Thanks for looking.

Mike

 

[Jinx]

Crazy kid! signing on the bottom line before he knew she liked off roading? ?

He lucked out on that one. ?

 

[zmotorsports]

Crazy kid! signing on the bottom line before he knew she liked off roading? ?

He lucked out on that one. ?

Yes. He was very fortunate. He kept saying he needed to take her off-road before they got married but time got away from us all.

 

[Jinx]

Ok here is the important question...

Can she pee in the trees?

That was a deal breaker back in the dating days.

After having to race from the top of mineral basin to tibble fork to find a potty for a date. If a girl couldn’t pee in the trees I wasn’t interested in taking her out. ?

 

[zmotorsports]

That was also a first for her last week and she handled it like a trooper.

 

[Hickey]

Ok here is the important question...

Can she pee in the trees?

That was a deal breaker back in the dating days.

After having to race from the top of mineral basin to tibble fork to find a potty for a date. If a girl couldn’t pee in the trees I wasn’t interested in taking her out. ?

My wife is so proud of her She-wee that she has one in every vehicle, and gave each of my daughters a She-wee for Xmas last year.

 

[zmotorsports]

I started another change to the Jeep a couple of nights ago.

When I originally built the Jeep back in late 2011 (over 100k miles ago) I added a BDS 4.5" long-arm suspension lift with the JKS ACOS front setup. As most of you know the ACOS are an adjustable coil spacer that allows a couple inch range of adjustability placed between the upper spring bucket and the coil spring itself. It is designed to have the ability to compensate for changing weight and/or ride height of the vehicle and we all know Jeeps are never done and ever evolving so I thought they would work perfectly for my application.

That being said I don't think I would ever run them again. In the 8 years and just over 100k miles I have had my Jeep I have only adjusted them one time and that was about a year and a half after the initial build. I made about a 3/8" adjustment to compensate for some slightly taller springs I added to the rear in which to compensate for the added weight which caused the BDS springs to sag.

Personally, I would suggest that a person uses springs and if necessary a small spacer for final adjustment as once these are installed they are on there. Even JKS mentions that installation of these is irreversible. Although I am reversing them it comes with some time and effort.

Hands down the worst part was removal of the ACOS from the Jeep and I put a healthy dose of anti-seize on them upon initial installation.

A few pictures from last couple of nights work.

Passenger side ACOS removed with a little persuasion but really not that bad to remove.

Driver’s side was much, much more stubborn. Trying to free the driver’s side ACOS.

Passenger’s side assembly and lower portion of the driver’s side.

Finally. All the components removed.

Passenger’s side painted.

Driver’s side painted.

Stay tuned for reassembly.

 

[Bart]

I think I can guess where you're heading, but looking forward to the details.