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I bought a fugly Jeep - meet Ric Flair

DuRsT

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Hey crew I found this 2015 Sport in dire need of saving in Kansas City so I drove up yesterday and picked it up after calling and striking a good deal with the sales team given all that had been ‘upgraded’ on the Jeep. It only has 46k miles and seems to have good bones.

I’m going to be changing a LOT on this Jeep so I thought I would start up a thread to document its progress. As an aside, my wife nicknamed it Ric Flair because it is SO over the top. Enjoy, and poke all the fun you want.

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MtCamper

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You've actually been seen in public driving that thing? Hope you have a garage to keep (hide) it in until it gets fixed. Neighbors could call the cops on you! On close inspection, it does look as if it might have a few redeeming qualities. Hurry!!
 

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That is horrible. Good on you for saving it. I would have taken the grill off and thrown it away and driven it home without a grill😂. I’m really not one for gatekeeping and I live by to each his own, but I really don’t get the angry eyebrow/grumper Jeep grills.
 
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Shots

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Love the name. Meanwhile, all the 20 somethings are googling who Rick Flair is.
 

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timn1984

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The first thing to do is take off the grille, then take the”stickers” off. We know it’s a wrangler. Otherwise a few small changes and it’s a nice JK. Good find!
 

Mountaineers

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Hey crew I found this 2015 Sport in dire need of saving in Kansas City so I drove up yesterday and picked it up after calling and striking a good deal with the sales team given all that had been ‘upgraded’ on the Jeep. It only has 46k miles and seems to have good bones.

I’m going to be changing a LOT on this Jeep so I thought I would start up a thread to document its progress. As an aside, my wife nicknamed it Ric Flair because it is SO over the top. Enjoy, and poke all the fun you want.

Jeep Wrangler JL I bought a fugly Jeep - meet Ric Flair 1613917488981
PLEASE save that Jeep!!! “Upgraded.”
That is horrible. Good on you for saving it. I would have taken the grill off and thrown it away and driven it home without a grill😂. I’m really not one for gatekeeping and I live by to each his own, but I really don’t get the angry eyebrow/grumpier Jeep grills.
I know, right?!?! Changing the most iconic external identifier of the brand!!!
 
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DuRsT

DuRsT

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Thanks for all the input guys!

Grille, bumpers, and fixing/replacing side windows are up first. I think someone tried to use VHT Nightshades on the side windows as a tint, I have no idea how to remove it without destroying the plastic. Can’t see when changing lanes so that’s a safety issue.

Current short list:
Grille (sooner the better)
Bumpers
Soft top windows
Calibrate for tire size (guessing AEV is still the choice here)
Add carpet/plugs/liners to front of Jeep
Remove lots of decals
Remove red paint from frame
Remove rookie wiring
Remove torn 5% tint from front windows


It’s a long list and growing but I love to work on things and I don’t see the pandemic easing up restrictions anytime soon. Suspension appears to be stock, so if I can find a low mileage Rubi setup or inexpensive lift I’ll pick that up.
 
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DuRsT

DuRsT

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It may not look like it, but I have worked on this thing all day and many more days of work are in front of me. Good times and an excellent way to spend time in the pandemic.

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Blue Ridge

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Can’t wait to see more progress pics! It’s going to be like when you rescue a really bad-off dog and it turns out beautiful. Can’t get over how over the top it is currently; I admire you for even driving home in that!
 
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DuRsT

DuRsT

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How many interior trim pieces were spray painted?
ALL of them it seems like.

Vent Rings
Door handle trim
Handle pocket trim
Soft top windows sprayed with VHT

I probably spent too much time trying to save the sprayed interior pieces, going to chuck them and pick up some new or junkyard ones. I was able to get the soft top windows cleaned up a bit by using an adhesive remover from Turtle Wax. Took a lot of elbow grease but they are improved a great deal. I removed the decals from the hood, painted the hood center handle black, and removed the red paint from the hood's rubber bumpers. I used a pressure washer at the local car wash and got about half of the red paint off the frame. Also I aimed the headlights since it was wall-eyed horribly but I just need to replace the headlights overall.
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