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Whaler27

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Probably... But stuff adds up fast, if I had to guess I am already north of $10,000 (everything has been self installed).
If youā€™re anywhere near done with your mods at anywhere near $10,000, youā€™ve gotten off much better than most of us.
 

SH556JL

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If youā€™re anywhere near done with your mods at anywhere near $10,000, youā€™ve gotten off much better than most of us.
Nah, but I am slowing down for a bit.ā€¦ I have some other more long term goals I want to hit before doing some of the bigger, more expensive projects.

I just have it for the most part setup how I like it for the time being.
 

Whaler27

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I agree these look great and capture the classic look that many of us like or grew up with. While not cheap, you do get a lot for your money and AEV does quality builds.
The look pulls at my heart strings because I have such fond memories of my early CJs, and I do generally like AEV builds, but I donā€™t want a complicated facsimile of my first real Jeep. I want the real thing, with a steel dash, exposed steel floors, ample headroom, manual transmission, and so much room under the hood you could install a toaster oven and still see pavement on three sides of the motor.

Iā€˜m sure Iā€™d love this Jeep, because AEV really does do great builds, but 70s-ish graphics isnā€™t my thing either. None of my CJs had them when they were new, and the graphics didnā€™t age well, especially if the Jeep spent a lot of time in the sun, sand, woods, or mud.
 

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Whaler27

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Nah, but I am slowing down for a bit.ā€¦ I have some other more long term goals I want to hit before doing some of the bigger, more expensive projects.

I just have it for the most part setup how I like it for the time being.
I get it. My JL build has developed in phases, usually in $2000 to $5000 chunks. At the end of each of those phases I have it at a happy place, and my wish list is shorter, but I have ā€œjust a few more things to doā€.

Iā€˜m currently waiting on the AAL mass storage floor and a few other components for overlanding, including a fridge and tent. Cha-ching, another $10,000.

Then the long-awaited re-gear and axels. I can do the axels, but Iā€™m not confident about installing/shimming the gears myself, so thatā€™s probably another $4k. Donā€™t know whatā€™s next after that, but Iā€™m sure there will be something.

AEV tries to deliver off-the-shelf packages that are complete and balanced, and they do a good job of it for the many people who are more sensible (and probably wealthier) than me.

One of the really cool things about the 70s CJs was the inability to easily modify them. You could install blocks and bigger tires, and you could do a motor swap, but almost nobody did. I installed a winch, white steel wheels, a bikini top, and slightly larger tires on my last CJ. That was fancy and modified back then (and still cheap). In the end, I donā€™t think my bazillion dollar JL will get me more places or provide more fun than my simple CJs did in the 70s and early 80s, but the build has been fun. Having said that, Iā€™d pause my build in a blink if I could find a straight, stock, rust-free 1970s CJ-7 for less than $20k.
 

Whaler27

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Wait, I forgot the CB, with body-mounted, 6 foot USMC-style spring-base antennae, and my crappy cassette deck on custom-fabbed strapping mounted under the dash. That, and my custom hose-clamp-mounted ā€œRealisticā€œ speakers (from Radio Shack) mounted on the roll bar ā€” that combination was cool! šŸ˜‚

Edit: As much as I loved the old CJs my ā€modsā€ described above are embarrassing to look back aā€¦. Made a cool, practical, vehicle into a Clampets shit show. Almost as silly as the clothing and haircuts of the 70s and 80s. At least the Ray Ban aviators are back in style... As for the rest of it, thirty years ago I decided that returning to the high-n-tight and Wranglers is the safest, timeless mod. :like: The guys who are sporting the retro-mullets are really going to regret that look in 20 years.:CWL:
 
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I was going that route of different parts but then I stumbled upon a little company called AEV and I could not take my eyes off of their builds.
I started with just the front bumper then the wheels...then the rear bumper, then the dif covers..etc
I have a mild case of ocd so I needed everything to match; AEV
I'm so glad I saw this!

I literally fell prey to the same journey. Have a 2021 JLUR 6-speed manual. Initially was going to do just larger tires (35's). Then speaking to a 4wd shop started researching lifts and they recommended the AEV DUALSPORT RT. So I said ok. Next thing I know have AEV Salta XR wheels, front bumper, diff covers, rear bumper and tire carrier on order and on the wayšŸ¤Æ

Glad I'm not the only onešŸ¤Ŗ
 

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I'm so glad I saw this!

I literally fell prey to the same journey. Have a 2021 JLUR 6-speed manual. Initially was going to do just larger tires (35's). Then speaking to a 4wd shop started researching lifts and they recommended the AEV DUALSPORT RT. So I said ok. Next thing I know have AEV Salta XR wheels, front bumper, diff covers, rear bumper and tire carrier on order and on the wayšŸ¤Æ

Glad I'm not the only onešŸ¤Ŗ
I started with not wanting to pay Jeep's price for steel bumpers when I knew that I wanted something better. I ended up with a fully decked-out JL370. Definitely "something better."

We'd never done Wheeler's Lake near Breckenridge before. It was a blast today! I love the Bilstein XP8100s.

Jeep Wrangler JL AEV JL370 & JT370  limited classic editions PXL_20220723_221744776
 

Rubi6mt

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I started with not wanting to pay Jeep's price for steel bumpers when I knew that I wanted something better. I ended up with a fully decked-out JL370. Definitely "something better."

We'd never done Wheeler's Lake near Breckenridge before. It was a blast today! I love the Bilstein XP8100s.

Jeep Wrangler JL AEV JL370 & JT370  limited classic editions PXL_20220723_221744776
Oh wow! Beaitiful jeep and that looks amesome! Wish I could go with the XPs8100 but are currently out of stock so proceeding with the 5100s. Last thing I'm doing is regearing to 4.88s for the 6-speed. Will post a pic when completešŸ˜Š
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