MattMc
New member
Hello everyone, welcome to my build thread. Please keep in mind that this is my first Jeep, and so obviously my first build of a Jeep or any 4x4. I dabbled in imports when I was younger, but lost interest as I became older. I'm not sure what drew me to 4x4s, other than wanting a more versatile vehicle. I did enough research to know I wanted a Rubicon for the lockers. I didn't know anything about axles at the time (D30 vs. D44 and all that). I figured I would eventually lift the Jeep, but planned to wait a year or two. Well, in my wheeling adventures, it became apparent that the Jeep is capable of more than I thought in stock configuration, but that the main drawback is that you drag belly on nearly everything. So, then, the question we have all asked ourselves. "How much lift?" As a newbie, I had no idea. I watched some of the JK experience videos, and thought "This is the end goal." I also knew that I did not want to do this in steps. I'm a firm believer in the "buy once, cry once" philosophy. So, after doing some research, I settled on the EVO Enforcer 4". I do want to keep my stock fenders, as they are painted, and I wanted 37s, as that is the minimum tire size for JKUs on the JKX. I also want to keep this thing realistic for road trips, and generally, not being a pain in the ass to drive. The actual build part of this will start a few posts down. I will start with some of my stock adventures.
I bought my Jeep in February 2015. It is a JKU Hard Rock. Here is a picture as it sat on the lot.
I joined WAYALIFE, about 1 week after buying my Jeep, and an went on my first off roading adventure at the 2 week mark with some fellow WAYALIFErs. Thardy, Grubbicon, and OscarMike2.0, and JSTJPN were all in the group that day and were helpful to a newbie like me. Everyone at work, and most from my family said I was crazy for taking a brand new Jeep off roading. Below is a picture of the first day out.
I also have videos posted to Youtube of some from the day that I will try to attach later, when I figure out how to do that.
Over the past year, I have off roaded the Jeep a fair amount.
Some stock flex pictures on the ramp thing. The owner of this shop said that I could have gone higher, but the bumper was hitting the ramp.
Pictures from Jeepfest, with Thardy riding shotgun. One guy said I won the award for biggest balls of the day by going to the top of this stump in a stock Jeep. :rock:
Here is a picture from Choccolocco Mountain, with JSTJPN, and KenDawg
I think the rest of the pictures are on my phone, so I will pick up from there on the next post.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to point out anything that I may not be planning for, like incompatibilities, or upgrades that should be done together, etc
I bought my Jeep in February 2015. It is a JKU Hard Rock. Here is a picture as it sat on the lot.
I joined WAYALIFE, about 1 week after buying my Jeep, and an went on my first off roading adventure at the 2 week mark with some fellow WAYALIFErs. Thardy, Grubbicon, and OscarMike2.0, and JSTJPN were all in the group that day and were helpful to a newbie like me. Everyone at work, and most from my family said I was crazy for taking a brand new Jeep off roading. Below is a picture of the first day out.
I also have videos posted to Youtube of some from the day that I will try to attach later, when I figure out how to do that.
Over the past year, I have off roaded the Jeep a fair amount.
Some stock flex pictures on the ramp thing. The owner of this shop said that I could have gone higher, but the bumper was hitting the ramp.
Pictures from Jeepfest, with Thardy riding shotgun. One guy said I won the award for biggest balls of the day by going to the top of this stump in a stock Jeep. :rock:
Here is a picture from Choccolocco Mountain, with JSTJPN, and KenDawg
I think the rest of the pictures are on my phone, so I will pick up from there on the next post.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to point out anything that I may not be planning for, like incompatibilities, or upgrades that should be done together, etc