Geoffro's driveway Jeep build

There is one slight drawback to doing all the work of modifying your jeep yourself. Injuries.... From bumping your head (no picture, just a lump) to opening up a knuckle with your grinderImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1469049891.802217.jpg
I don't have access to a lift, so I roll around under my jeep. I was using a cheap horror-fright wire wheel to clean the paint off where I would be welding on the jeep. As I was laying on my side welding one of the LCA skids on, this baby went through my welding jacket, my grubby Tshirt, and straight into my shoulder, all 1/2 inch of itImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1469050120.042064.jpg my dad had to use a magnifying glass, xacto knife, and tweezers to pull it out. That pos wire wheel was shedding and those little wires everywhere. A few lessons learned: never take the guard off of any power tool, and don't use cheap shit from harbor fright, it'll just hurt you.
 
Thank god it wasn't worse! I've got the harbor freight grinder too...the one with the one/off switch. I've been meaning to grab the one with the paddle...a bit safer in case you need to drop it quick, it'll cut the power.
 
Thanks man! I love doing all of the work on the jeep myself. It's such a great feeling of accomplishment. I just wish I could practice my welding skills more often.

My schedule keeps shifting around. My wife and I are hoping to be in Ouray the last week in September, then go to Moab for another week or so. Ouray will be beautiful and if the snows do come early, we will just go to Moab sooner.

Rite on. Well if you find yourself going to the Ouray area around the first of August let me know. I will head out for CO on the 3rd (I hope) and return on the 13th.
BTW I just moved from Hermosa to Redondo. I'm on Wollacott now. Your down by Vail/Mackay rite?
 
Rite on. Well if you find yourself going to the Ouray area around the first of August let me know. I will head out for CO on the 3rd (I hope) and return on the 13th.
BTW I just moved from Hermosa to Redondo. I'm on Wollacott now. Your down by Vail/Mackay rite?

Nice!! Welcome to the neighborhood! I'm near Perry Park. Stop by if you see my jeep and my garage door open, I'm out there.
 
Thank god it wasn't worse! I've got the harbor freight grinder too...the one with the one/off switch. I've been meaning to grab the one with the paddle...a bit safer in case you need to drop it quick, it'll cut the power.

There's nothing wrong with the grinder, just don't ever take the guard off. I was trying to get into a tight spot on the jeep frame where I laid an ugly weld. Not worth it. And the wire wheel, well I should've known better. The wires are so thin they shed off pretty quick.
 
Nice!! Welcome to the neighborhood! I'm near Perry Park. Stop by if you see my jeep and my garage door open, I'm out there.

Thank ya sir! When I'm in town I'll try and swing by. I work in Texas and will be here till the Aug 2nd and then on the 3rd it's off to CO.
In the meantime, keep up the good work and wear some protective equipment! Haha! Be careful!
 
I spent the day working on a dual mounting board for my ARB fridge today. I had some help from my little jeepdog. ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1470460196.238908.jpgI made a gurney board that the fridge mounts to using the ARB straps. Then I made a picture frame type of spacer-box. ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1470460303.295989.jpgImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1470460322.131964.jpgWith the back seat folded down I put the spacer-box over the exposed metal seat bracket. ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1470460412.244274.jpgthen the gurney-board sits on top of the spacer-box and the whole thing gets secured to the seat frame with a ratchet strap. ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1470460511.339166.jpgImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1470460534.095928.jpgImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1470460553.980461.jpgthen the fridge mounts down to the gurney-board. ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1470460612.755056.jpgImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1470460633.592084.jpgThe board and fridge seem very secure here. I can hardly get it to budge at all. I think this will hold. The little fish-mouth cutouts in the gurney board are for the secondary mounting position for when the back seat is not folded down, with the fridge in the very back going from side to side. I'll get a pic of that tomorrow.
 
Alrighty guys, I've found my build thread and I'm digging it out of the boneyard. At this point it's kind of a historical record, because I'm not current on it. I promise, once I get it all updated, it'll stay current, like it or not, it'll be full of my day-to-day dribble. So, without further delay, let's get y'all caught up. IMG_5406.jpglast summers trip to Moab was a blast. The jeep was still on 33's but I had the Enforcer lift with Rancho 9k's. We did okay on the trails. I didn't do anything to difficult because we were solo, and I didn't have very much experience in this jeep with this lift at that time. IMG_5420.jpgIMG_5491.jpgwe had a blast in Moab. We camped in town. It was a bit chilly at night, and in the mornings as it was the first week in October. Low 30's. Burr!IMG_5404.jpgyup, that's my dog in his winter jacket, waiting for him mom to come back from the restroom. IMG_5455.jpgmy boy Franky, learning how to "camp". Looks more like "Glamping" to me. All in all, for this being my wife's very first camping trip where she slept on the ground, in a tent, it went almost flawlessly. Until the cold that she brought with her from her work really started kicking her ass. [emoji17][emoji40][emoji856][emoji855]IMG_5671.jpgwhile we were in Moab, we were getting updates about our newest family member. [emoji7]


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Nice Jeep, it looks like you're taking your time on everything and have lots of attention to detail. Your MOAB trip sounds like it was a blast!
 
IMG_5960.jpgmy wife and I traveled all the way to Florida to pick up Daisy, our newest family member. [emoji7][emoji7][emoji7]IMG_6174.jpgIMG_6525.jpgnext thing done on the jeep was installing my new JW fog lights. IMG_6528.jpgthey go right into the factory spots, but they have their own mounts. I didn't really like how they were kinda loose on the sides where they pivot. So a carefully placed zip tie to snug the plastic housing up around the light made me feel better. The last thing I want to see at night while driving is one of my light vibrating around with every bump. I'm a lighting guy so flickering and hotspots moving around instantly catches my eye. Not having any of that on my jeep, no sir!!IMG_6530.jpgI had to partially remove my winch to get at the mounting screws for the fogs.IMG_6541.jpgone thing I absolutely wanted to retain was the ability to adjust these high-dollar fogs. I'm not about to just slap them in and call it a day. So I carefully measured and drilled a hole in the bottom of the bumper and skid on both sides to be able to get to the adjuster Carew on the fogs. My efforts did not go to waste. These fogs have a precision cutoff on their top edge of output. It's important to get this right so they perform as they should, and not blind oncoming traffic.


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View attachment 256702my wife and I traveled all the way to Florida to pick up Daisy, our newest family member. [emoji7][emoji7][emoji7]View attachment 256703View attachment 256704next thing done on the jeep was installing my new JW fog lights. View attachment 256705they go right into the factory spots, but they have their own mounts. I didn't really like how they were kinda loose on the sides where they pivot. So a carefully placed zip tie to snug the plastic housing up around the light made me feel better. The last thing I want to see at night while driving is one of my light vibrating around with every bump. I'm a lighting guy so flickering and hotspots moving around instantly catches my eye. Not having any of that on my jeep, no sir!!View attachment 256706I had to partially remove my winch to get at the mounting screws for the fogs.View attachment 256707one thing I absolutely wanted to retain was the ability to adjust these high-dollar fogs. I'm not about to just slap them in and call it a day. So I carefully measured and drilled a hole in the bottom of the bumper and skid on both sides to be able to get to the adjuster Carew on the fogs. My efforts did not go to waste. These fogs have a precision cutoff on their top edge of output. It's important to get this right so they perform as they should, and not blind oncoming traffic.


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Looks good man, I like the idea you had to get to the adjustment screw....


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IMG_7115.jpgIMG_7125.jpgIMG_7127.jpgThe tax man was very generous about returning all the extra money Uncle Sam took from me, so I picked up a new set of KMC Machetes with 35 inch Cooper SST pros. With new TPMS sensors too of course!IMG_7129.jpgthere really isn't an easy way to mount BL's. Even with a fancy tire machine, it just isn't happening. Just put the rim on a bucket, get three flat blade screw drivers, get a willing friend, and just fight, and struggle, and sweat, until that bead finally drops down on the lip. Don't touch that tire either until you get the ring on there with all the bolts started into their tread. All the YouTube videos don't really show this part because it sucks, and it's hard to do. It's not impossible, it just sucks and it takes time. IMG_7132.jpggoing from this....IMG_7139.jpgto this almost put a bit of a tear in my eye!! IMG_7142.jpgahhhh, shiny new Beadlocks!!!! IMG_7153.jpgso, I got these on Wednesday....IMG_7602.jpgwent out to Cougar Buttes on the following Saturday...IMG_7275.jpgand put beauty marks all over all four of my new wheels. Ain't new no more!![emoji6]


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IMG_7487.jpgIMG_7500.jpgIMG_7509.jpghere's some obligatory poser shots. I had to return to my brothers tire shop in Bakersfield to get my fifth tire. The guys at Cooper sent on of the tires out that was the wrong size. It had the right paper label, but it was actually for a 16.5 inch rim. Dammit!! Well, I now have 5 matching wheels and 35 inch tires!! Woo-hoo!!!!!IMG_7738.jpgIMG_7739.jpgIMG_7743.jpgwell, as luck would have it, I didn't peel my front fenders off, but they were very much verbally asking to be trimmed every time I flexed the jeep out. Turns out if you do actually wheel your jeep on 35's and a 3 inch Enforcer lift, you WILL NEED to trim your fenders. IMG_7775.jpglooks like the aftermath of a thanksgiving feast. That's an impressive pile of plastic trimmings that come from a fender chop!! [emoji106]IMG_7766.jpgIMG_7767.jpgIMG_7784.jpgIMG_7780.jpgIMG_7782.JPGchopped!!IMG_7823.jpgi decided to go totally against the grain and use my rear fender liners. I know, I know, it's against some people's moral codes, but I wanted to keep them in there. I like having the paint protected, and maybe, just maybe it'll help keep a decibel or two of noise out, maybe. I'm not gonna bust out a meter and confirm that, but I don't really care if I get chastised for running rear liners with trimmed fenders! [emoji6]


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IMG_7801.jpgnext up was getting the infrastructure in place for my rock lights. IMG_7803.jpgIMG_8076.jpgboth of these switches are now active! Woo-hoo!!! The one on the right is for my reverse lights, up is on, center off, down they activate automatically with the reverse lights. The switch on the left now activates my rock lights. [emoji51]IMG_8084.jpgI try to keep all the wiring I've added looking like factory. The last thing I wanna see is a bunch of random wires running back and forth under my hood. IMG_8071.jpgahh! My packages have arrived, and Daisy approves of what's inside. I went with Lux Monster Lights. Made in Oregon, and being magnetic sealed the deal for me. IMG_8094.jpgIMG_8097.jpgIMG_8090.jpgIMG_8103.jpgyea, they be bright!!IMG_8107.jpgIMG_8112.jpgthese are on a switch wired to the battery. So guys have them wired up to the fog light switch. The thing I don't like about using any of the jeep controls is the jeeps tendency to quickly loss interest in what you are doing and just shuts ALL of the lights off when the key is off. Not cool if your stuck with the engine off, and still need light. It even shuts off the headlights. Not cool at all!!


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Magnetic rock lights.... that is a genius idea. Why am I not supporting this.... lol gonna go order me a set now.
 
Nice build :thumb:
Thanks dude!

Nice Jeep, it looks like you're taking your time on everything and have lots of attention to detail. Your MOAB trip sounds like it was a blast!
it was our first time there. Learned a ton about the town, the area, and what's needed and not needed.

Looks good man, I like the idea you had to get to the adjustment screw....


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yea, as hard as it is for me to get anywhere near these lights, I wanted to be able to still adjust them instead of just slapping them in and hoping they were close.

Magnetic rock lights.... that is a genius idea. Why am I not supporting this.... lol gonna go order me a set now.
they aren't cheap, but they are worth every bit of the hefty price. [emoji106]




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IMG_8160.jpga recent adventure to Big Bear was super fun. We didn't really mean to do this trail. It sure was fun though. Turns out it was the Holcomb Creek trail. Kept hitting any trail where we saw the black diamond signs. [emoji51] IMG_8164.jpgIMG_8174.jpgIMG_8172.jpgIMG_8203.jpgIMG_8183.jpgIMG_8212.jpgthere was a bit of carnage.....[emoji17]IMG_8207.jpgIMG_8210.jpgIMG_8162.jpgIMG_8225.jpgI hope this gets me through the next couple months. 🤞


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