Janesy's 03' Rubicon Build

Been wanting a Jeep forever and I finally got it, since the Trailblazer that I had was starting to have too many problems. Found a 03' Rubi in nice shape with 100k on it that will only be my DD for a few months and then a weekend and trail toy.

The plan for it is to be a capable trail rig and weekend cruiser. LCG is the long term plan. For now will be 2" suspension lift, 1.25" BL, 1" MML, sitting on 33's. Once those wear out I will plan on flat fenders and 35's. No rush on that as first I want to armor it up and beef up the axles with some RCV's up front...

Here it is the day I picked it up:




Updated: Pretty much how it sits today:





2003 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

Drivetrain Specs:
o 4.0L I-6 engine
o NV241 Rock-Trac 4:1 transfer case
o Dana 44 front and rear axles w/ Tru-Lok selectable pneumatic lockers
o RCV Performance CV axle shafts
o 4.11 gears
o 42rle Transmission
o Novak shifter

Suspension/Steering/Brake Modifications:
o BDS 2" suspension lift
o Zone 1.25" BL
o Savvy 1" MML
o Currie HD steering
o Synergy ball joints
o RE 3/4" spacer (front)
o Black Magic brakes
o YJ Brake lines
o Currie AntiRock
o Metal Cloak Control Arms

Exterior Modifications:
o A to Z front builder bumper
o Rampage Frameless Soft Top
o 35x12.5x15 MTR's w/ Kevlar on MB TKO wheels
o Rear bumper plate w/ D-ring & Swag frame tie-ins
o JK Turn signals

Armor
o Rokmen Steering Box Skid
o Smittybilt Crusher Corners w/ 3" flares
o Rokmen hilines w/flare
o A to Z Fab sliders
o Savvy GTS
o Savvy Under Armor
o Barnett Diff cover (front)
o Poly Performance Front cage & extra DOM for custom rear additions

Engine Modifications:
o AEM Bruteforce CAI

Recovery Equipment:
o 12' Wheeler's Tree Strap
o 20' & 30' Wheeler's Straps
o 9k lb Engo winch w/cable
o Smittybilt Snatch Block

Electrical Modifications:
o iSimple
o Uniden Pro 510xl CB
o 3' Firestick Firefly CB Antenna
o Scangauge II
o 4" LED tails
o Rigid Ind. Dually's - Flood
o Nalin Speaker/Tweeter adapters w/ Polk db Component Dash System
o Polk db speakers in soundbar

Misc.
o MV50 air compressor
o Oasis Trailhead Tire Deflators
o Mostalined Tub

Have, to be installed
o Motive 5.13 Gears/install kits
o Ten Factory Rear Chromoly Shafts
o Riddler Diff. Cover
o CJ Tailgate
o F250 shock towers and BBCS 11" shocks for outboarding

Got the stinger and soft top on. Also picked up some half doors with black uppers for $300. Planning on painting them black and running them for the summer months.

Nice!

With the body lift and MML, any plans for a tummy tuck with the new skid or an SYE?

Yes. Planning on UCF 'original' extra clearance tcase skid along with the engine skid. No need for SYE as its a Rubi, but from what I've been reading, I'll need at minimum adj. rear upper CA's and possibly driveshaft. So we will see when that can happen.

I'd like to go with the ultra high clearance, but being an auto, the LoPro mount wont work with the tranny.

janesy wrote:No need for SYE as its a Rubi, but from what I've been reading, I'll need at minimum adj. rear upper CA's and possibly driveshaft.

Oh right, I forgot they elminated the slip-yoke with the Rubi's. Such an improvement, and nice that you don't have the issue.

Do you have any vibes, or is the CA upgrade just proper preventative action?

From what I've been reading on JF and what people have been telling me, I will most likely need them for the vibes once the skid is installed... I don't have any right now. Just been trying to figure out what I can get by with.

Also think I will do the Novak shifter cable while everything is down as well. I guess it really is Just Empty Every Pocket... My fiance will prob not be too happy, haha.

Where did you get the front bumper?

Scored it off a WM4x4 member that made it himself... Only charged me $50! Pretty simple, lightweight, and gives it a BA look, which is what I wanted. Plan to get a winch mount and a winch on there in the near future.

Very nice doors.... I'm exceptionally jealous.

Nice deal! i really need to get a rear bumper so I can get some recovery points back there.

I hear ya on the rear bumper... Mine didn't come with the stock hook back there, like my buddies Rubi's. So for now, since mine came with a curt tow package, I'm just running a receiver d-ring. Will work for the time being.

I noticed that. Looked like simple solution considering you already had the hitch. I am thinking about getting a shittybuilt classic rear bumper with D-rings and receiver. Its cheap enough that is it gets some rust on it I won't care.

Just found out that the stinger is a Rough Country. Not made anymore, and actually only found out because I was reading thru saxmanclay's build on JF... The guy I bought it from didn't mention and I thought it was made by him, but he just added a couple more hooks to the side of it.

And I got the BL/MML done on Friday after work, by myself, it only took me 4 1/2 hrs or so. Not as bad as I was expecting. After drilling 1/8" holes in the tub to soak the body mount bolts and applying generous amount of PB blaster, they all spun off without much effort! Glad to have that taken care of!

And when I did the 2" BDS, I wasn't able to get the upper rear shock bolts out (what a surprise) because the PO replaced them with a bolt coming from the top, with a nut on the bottom, but all they wanted to do is spin. After the BL I had some room to get a wrench in there, but still only had success with the passenger side. Drivers side still wound budge, so I'll have to resort to cutting off the bolts when I get a chance.

Yeah, sometimes the most useful wrench is just a cutoff wheel.

In the end it's often just not worth the hassle of dealing with the original.

I hear ya, thats the plan, just need to get my hands on one, can't seem to find mine...

And even doing the front shocks when I did the lift were a pain. Couldn't keep the piston from spinning no matter what I tried. In the end I ended up just unbolting the bottom mount, grabbing the shock body and pulled it toward me. The thread on the top of the piston snapped right off. Made the job much easier.

Got the Zone 1.25" BL and 1" MML on over the weekend and painted the half doors satin black that I picked up for $300! And some more shots of the stinger.

Looking good man!

Homebrewed CB bracket, well, stole the idea from a buddy... Just picked up a 2" u-bolt I believe and a couple wing nuts w/ bolts. Already had the piece of aluminum. Bent it to my liking, drilled a few holes and viola:





Want to cut the threads down a bit and paint it all black, but you get the idea..

Went to MaBell over the weekend, here are just a few pics... But, the Rubi was awesome out there, just crawled right up anything. Looking foward to getting out again, hopefully soon.

Looks like a great time man. Keep your eyes out for a more advanced run (might even include Mabell) in the next few weeks.

So jealous. I can't wait to get my rig back on the trails!

How technical was Ma Belle? With 33s and lockers, how worried about body damage were you?

CrawlingForward wrote:So jealous. I can't wait to get my rig back on the trails!

How technical was Ma Belle? With 33s and lockers, how worried about body damage were you?

It was an awesome time. Love crawlin' up rocks. Not at all worried about body damage. Just a bunch of ledges and rocks to climb on. Locked front and rear makes it almost too easy.

Looks good. Can't wait to get my CB installed as well.

janesy wrote:

CrawlingForward wrote:So jealous. I can't wait to get my rig back on the trails!

How technical was Ma Belle? With 33s and lockers, how worried about body damage were you?

It was an awesome time. Love crawlin' up rocks. Not at all worried about body damage. Just a bunch of ledges and rocks to climb on. Locked front and rear makes it almost too easy.

Not sure that's exactly a fair assessment. Mabell can be as difficult as any trail in New England depending on which route you take. Body and undercarriage damage can be highly likely without rocker protection and skid plates. I'm lifted 3.5" and running 35's and have enough torque to jerk a single wide down the street and there are still a couple of sections that I can't get through without winching.

That being said, there are plenty of go-arounds there and it is do-able in rigs of many different sizes. The nice (or boring, depending on your perspective,) thing about Mabell so far this year is it has been really dry so traction is easy to come by. I ran it last fall and it was slick enough even the easier obstacles could be difficult.

Yea, I didn't give a whole run down of the trail, I was just saying that me personally had no trouble at all. I hit all the ledges, maybe not the biggest sides, as I'm only on 33's and 3" of lift, but I did not go around anything. But of what I did there was no thought of any body damage. That is all.

But you are right, there is stuff that more built rigs can have fun on and be challenging and could certainly lead to carnage for sure.