Storm Cloud - 2023 4xe Rubicon Build

[Storm Cloud]

It’s been a long journey, not quite as long as many of you, but it felt long to me. I ordered my Jeep on February 24 and it sat in D status until June 14. I honestly didn’t think I was ever going to get it. It was hard waiting in a lot of ways. I had sold my car for a nice profit, but my wife and I had to share a car for a while. Eventually she got tired of that and I had to borrow my moms mini-van for a few months while I waited. It was nice, though, because without a car payment, I had a lot of time and extra money on my hands to get some mods ready. I had tires, rims, step sliders, various nick knacks and some skids ready to get slapped on. My weekends were pretty booked up for the rest of the year.


When I heard that the 2023 orders were opening up in June, I made the decision to cancel my 2022 and put in a new order. It just wasn’t going to sit right with me to drive off the lot with a 2022 when the 2023’s were on the next truck. I put in my order on June 14 and that same day was when my 2022 went into D1. I tracked them both for a long time. My 2022 was built and delivered on August 30 but my 2023 was moving much more quickly. It went into production August 26 and was shipped on September 4. I finally picked her up and my voyage down the rabbit hole has officially begun.

Here is my new baby Storm Cloud! I named her after my wife, Stormy. I figured if she had a vested interest in her, she may not complain too much when I spent money on mods. That hasn’t really gone over as planned. I’ve never had a Jeep before, but it’s been my dream car since I was a teenager, riding around in my friends CJ7 without the doors. I was always a luxury car driver, because that’s what I thought I was expected to drive, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve also realized that I don’t care. I don’t need to be who I’m “supposed” to be, I just need to be who I am. I love my Jeep!

I have a garage full of boxes and even if it’s only for my own benefit, I’ll be updating this post with all the things I have planned, as I get them done. I’m looking forward to taking her off-road and finally enjoying my dream car.

I have a ton of things to work on, so I’ll be posting as I get further along. I am super happy and am so thankful for the forum members I’ve interacted with here. Especially @kah.mun.rah and @hybrid_eg, who have been a great help and a sounding board for all my crazy rants. There have been many, many more who didn’t know how much their posts contributed to what I’ve chosen to do but they have been so helpful and have taught me so much. The Jeep family is really a great group of people!

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[hybrid_eg]

Looking slick! Can’t wait to see the mods progress!

 

[Bill_BCNtoNY]

Following (with a particular interest given I’m a fellow 4xe rubi owner!)

 

[Storm Cloud]

I'll try to update all my mods as I go and make sure to point out any significant issues for the 4xe. I've already run across a couple of things that were an issue, and I sure wish someone had posted about them.

 

[kah.mun.rah]

I can't wait to see it in person. Congratulations!!

 

[Storm Cloud]

One of the first projects I did on this was extremely irritating. I bought the GPCA grab handles and I can say, they are pretty nice. But I didn’t like the stock color or the upgraded colors and decided to paint them.

First I sanded them down with 400 grit sandpaper

I sprayed them down with self etching primer. It only needed around 3 very light coats, but give yourself plenty of time to let them dry before you flip them. I’m talking days. I can’t tell you how many times I had to redo it because I would get impatient and flip them too soon and in the Summer heat, it would stick on the other side and some would come off when I lifted them.

Once I finally had them nice and dry, I put on 4 coats of Mopar Surf Blue paint on, to match the 4xe blue accents. I had the same problem with my impatience and had to sand and redo a lot of parts. Several days later, I repeated this with a clear coat and I think they turned out pretty
Do yourself a favor and skip out on the Mopar paint and use Dupli Color Bahama Blue, available at Autozone. The can is much larger so you won’t run out midway through the project, it’s cheaper, and it’s a perfect match.

I installed them on the Jeep and it would be much easier with the top off, but you can do it with the top on if you work the strips through the space between the roll bar and the top. What I love about these is that you can flip them up and out of the way so you don’t hit your head on them or have them in your field of vision. As long as you install it per the instructions, they stay up snugly.

All in all, I’m happy with the results.

 

[kah.mun.rah]

They look awesome with the surf blue stitching in the leather.

 

[Storm Cloud]

I did a few minor upgrades just to empty out some of my bags and boxes. Mostly little things, but the big stuff will be coming soon.

I wanted to cover up the chrome on the car and those keyholes are such an eyesore to me, so I went with the threedom key covers.

Then I swapped out the antenna. Yes, I know that no matter what I do, it will never have as good reception as the stock antenna! But I don’t listen to the radio…. Ever…. So it didn’t matter to me. I would do an antenna delete, but I don’t have the time for something like that, when I have bigger fish to fry.

Next, I ordered the 4xe badge for the back of the Jeep and removed the “e”. It fit perfectly into the indentation of an “e” on the charging port and it added just the right splash of blue.

Lastly, I put on the Redline Tuning Hood Struts. Super easy install. The hardest part was getting the holes to line up for the bolt after I slipped the latch in place. I love the quick disconnect for if I ever want to lay the hood all the way back, but being able to open the hood without fiddling with the support is so worth it.

Next up, I’m going to add on tires and bumper bling. Stay tuned….

 

[jack bauer]

Looking good bud!

 

[Storm Cloud]

Looking good bud!

Wait til the winch goes on!

 

[jack bauer]

Wait til the winch goes on!

Can't wait to see the Clayton lift and the Warn installed!

 

[Storm Cloud]

Can't wait to see the Clayton lift and the Warn installed!

I was going to put the lift on this weekend, but I had some personal things come up, so it’s going to have to wait another week or two. Still loving it as is, though!

 

[Storm Cloud]

Nothing big to add. I put on my bull bar and I have to say I love it and have no shame in saying I copied it directly from @kah.mun.rah It’s the perfect blend between the Mopar one, that is too low for my taste and the Maximus one that is just a bit too beefy.

I also added on the Rugged Ridge sill guards. I like how they fully cover the door sill and go over the lip. Between that and the TuxMats, nothing is getting on the carpet.

I also installed the 67 designs phone mount. I don’t really need a phone mount, given that Apple Car Play covers everything I need, but I know that when I go off-roading, I’ll want to have it mounted. That and they have a 4xe electric blue special edition that I couldn’t turn down….

 

[Storm Cloud]

So I took off the end caps to the front bumper and while they were off, it was too easy to not just swap out the fog lights with some Diode Dynamics SS3’s. It was nice to have nothing go wrong for once. It seems like the easiest mods always have a hiccup that makes them take 3 times as long.

While I was at it, I decided to black out the muffler and get rid of that eyesore of silver from the rear. I just blocked it off with some butcher paper and sprayed away with some high heat black spray paint. Another easy project out of the way and I have to say, I like the way it cleans up the view from the back.

 

[Msquad]

Nothing big to add. I put on my bull bar and I have to say I love it and have no shame in saying I copied it directly from @kah.mun.rah It’s the perfect blend between the Mopar one, that is too low for my taste and the Maximus one that is just a bit too beefy.

I'm liking that bull bar. Do you have a link for it, probably going to get the same. Thanks.

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