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Allstars_S2

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Ok folks!! Time to get going! As stated, we both ordered our Jeeps on 3.12 and as chivalry has it, LADIES FIRST ;) We just picked up my Wife's Jeep on 4.5. VERY quick order to delivery time! I unfortunately will be waiting another week.

Both of our builds will be very similar. I will only post 1 of the installs and the deltas between both builds.

Let's start the build!!! Here's the acceptance at the dealer!
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Happy Wife.... ;)

And so is born the "ARCHANGEL" build. :rock:

We need to get the small things out of the way. In this build i will provide links to all products. Feel free to ask any questions or suggest a better method! :like:

Antenna:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00651CLCS/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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8.4" Screen Protector
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0781V2P6J/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Note: Was easy to put on and walk out the air bubbles. It did add a reflection to the surface, where the typical surface is "matte", but seemed to really make the screen "pop" more. Like it so far....time will tell.

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USB Stick & Card:
USB - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G5JV2B5/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Card-https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079GVC5B8/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Note: There was an initial read issue. I'm not familiar with all of the formatting requirements for UConnect, but we did have to re-format the SD card from exFAT32 to NTFS, then we were good to go!

Cargo Mat
Had WeatherTech in past vehicles, love them. Kept for cargo only....didnt want all the texture in other mats.

https://www.quadratec.com/p/weather...-jeep-wrangler-unlimited-jl-factory-subwoofer
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What is the USB stick and card for?
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Allstars_S2

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I'm doing some custom powdercoating on my new Rubicon Recon and wondering if I should change the color of bar from black to red or leave it black? Thoughts appreciated.

I did a photoshop of what it would kind of look like in red.

Front of Recon.jpg


Front of Recon red.jpg
 
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jlewissystem

jlewissystem

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I'm doing some custom powdercoating on my new Rubicon Recon and wondering if I should change the color of bar from black to red or leave it black? Thoughts appreciated.

I did a photoshop of what it would kind of look like in red.

Front of Recon.jpg


Front of Recon red.jpg
We used the USB/card as a "media source". We loaded them up with MP3s and can play music from them :)

To your question about the color: personally, i like the black for that bar, but that's just me. The red would make you stand out more. i dont think i've seen a red bar like that yet. Do whatever looks better to you. You could always paint it 1 color and if it doesnt work, then have it powdercoated the other color. Also - those red wheels look great! :fist bump:
 

Allstars_S2

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We used the USB/card as a "media source". We loaded them up with MP3s and can play music from them :)

To your question about the color: personally, i like the black for that bar, but that's just me. The red would make you stand out more. i dont think i've seen a red bar like that yet. Do whatever looks better to you. You could always paint it 1 color and if it doesnt work, then have it powdercoated the other color. Also - those red wheels look great! :fist bump:
Thanks so much. Makes sense on MP3 music choices. Great build you have going.

On the color, I wouldn't consider it if I wasn't taking in my EVO roof rack and KC light bar for powdercoating already. Wife and kids are mixed in opinion on keep the bar black or go with the red.
 
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jlewissystem

jlewissystem

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Back to the rear fenders! Based on our previous rubbing, i trimmed the rear fender as others have done. I wanted to try and keep a natural line, so i cut a longer (less gradual) line. I just used a dremmel cutting wheel. (1 wheel per fender). I grinded the edges smooth, used epoxy to fill, re-sanded and painted with touch-up paint. It came out pretty good!

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On to the Artec rear fenders.....these were not that easy to install for me. I guess i just needed something to do. The fitment seemed to be a little funky and i didnt use all the bolts, but in the end....they do look good and extremely sturdy.

NOTE: If you are running the AAL fender retention hardware, you will need to do something with one of the rivnuts/nuserts. If you are doing both at the same time, you'll just use 1 less rivnut. I did opt to drill the additional hole, as suggested. For the rivnut: i decided to "kick the can down the road" and deal with it (fully) later. I cut it from the back and ground it down, instead of drilling it out (for now). I used a dremmel cutting bit and a grinding stone.
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Creeker

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Really like what you have done to your rigs!
Plans for the rear bumpers?
Any chance you might install long arms in the front and rear?
 
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jlewissystem

jlewissystem

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Really like what you have done to your rigs!
Plans for the rear bumpers?
Any chance you might install long arms in the front and rear?
Thanks, appreciate it! Yeah - we do have plans for the rear bumper:
Initially, i liked the MotoBilt bumpers....and still do. At this point, we have Artec front and all fender liners, so i wanted to get the Artec rear, to complete the set :) I would like cutout holes to be able to mounts some rear lights, but i'm not a fabricator.....so i need a DIY'ers method. I figured that we would wait until the trails tell us that we need new bumpers, before proceeding.

For long arms....we havent been out enough yet. So far, we've only done a couple trails and the MC and 37s have handled it well. We live in MO, so there's nothing too crazy (yet). If we lived more west or did harder trails more often, we might consider it, but the MC lift has been doing well so far. I prob want to look more into axle "hardening" before i would get into longer arms.
 

Allstars_S2

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KC Hilites Chase Lights2.jpg
A few more things while I am waiting for my powdercoating and the next stage of my installs here are some pics of my new KC Hilites Gravity Pro6 with custom caps and put in a fire extinguisher, Jeep recovery bag from WARN, and a first-aid kit, and a red antenna.
Jeep1.jpg
Jeep2.jpg
Jeep3.jpg
Jeep4.jpg
Warn Fire Extinguisher.jpg
 
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KevOh93

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I'm doing some custom powdercoating on my new Rubicon Recon and wondering if I should change the color of bar from black to red or leave it black? Thoughts appreciated.

I did a photoshop of what it would kind of look like in red.

Front of Recon.jpg


Front of Recon red.jpg
i think it should stay black but i think the grill should be red! That would look sick and definitely super unique
 

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Allstars_S2

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Build updates with the KC Hiilites Gravity Pro6 light bar with powdercoated brackets (white) and EVO roof rack and a KC chase bar (rear)

Jeep Wrangler JL JL's JLs Builds 20200516_101716
Jeep Wrangler JL JL's JLs Builds 20200516_101605
Jeep Wrangler JL JL's JLs Builds KC Hilites installed 3
Jeep Wrangler JL JL's JLs Builds KC Hilites installed 2
Jeep Wrangler JL JL's JLs Builds KC Hilites installed
 
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jlewissystem

jlewissystem

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Build updates with the KC Hiilites Gravity Pro6 light bar with powdercoated brackets (white) and EVO roof rack and a KC chase bar (rear)

Jeep Wrangler JL JL's JLs Builds KC Hilites installed
Jeep Wrangler JL JL's JLs Builds KC Hilites installed
Jeep Wrangler JL JL's JLs Builds KC Hilites installed
Jeep Wrangler JL JL's JLs Builds KC Hilites installed
Jeep Wrangler JL JL's JLs Builds KC Hilites installed
Jeep's looking really good! Congrats on the build! We love the White/Black/Red theme! It's cool to see the different variations.
 
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jlewissystem

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Threw the RockHard4x4 FAD skids on. They fit perfectly with the....well.....RockHard4x4 LCA skids. The MC FAD skid did not fit with the RockHard LCS skids. The only consideration is that I needed to remove the passenger LCA skid before installing the FAD skid. Heavy like the others.
Jeep Wrangler JL JL's JLs Builds IMG_5831.JPG
Jeep Wrangler JL JL's JLs Builds IMG_5832.JPG
 
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jlewissystem

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We just did some of the trails at SMORR. Was an awesome place and the closest to us - we will DEF be going back. We did the badge trails and a few others. If you're there, check out "Black Mamba" and " Trigger". Cool trails.

It JUST rained when we got there, so that first day was interesting. The slop made it funky. Within the 1st hour, i saw a Tacoma go up this muddy rock-shelf hill and get caught up. I said that i wanted to show him up. Took the same line, but got pulled into a spot where my rear got hung up. Had to winch it out!! So glad i had the MC rear diff skid...pulled right over. That was my only winching of the trip, but still fun!

There were a few breakdowns (from other groups), 1 notably on Guard Rail. We technically didnt finish it because the trail was blocked. We had to come back up the trail, which was a little funky going down. It was even funkier going up! If you can make it to SMORR, get out there and check it out!

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