...well I'm finally buildin' me a Jeep

This build has been going on since about Nov 23, and I'm catching it up through this morning (16 Feb 24)...

Nov 23. I've been loosely scanning the local ads for a derelict JKU with a blown engine or something which would actually make it affordable, and honestly wasn't expecting to find the right fit...but lo and behold I brought home this 2014 JKU Thanksgiving Eve 23 - it's bone stock, right-hand drive (mail route), and other than a hurt engine 100% complete. So...I'm pulling the plug on my big bad Dakota build...and taking all of its juicy bits of goodness and dropping all of it under this Jeep.

The plan. Magnum 360, tons, 40s. Gonna gut/sell/discard the Jeep's driveline and all electronics, drop in all of the driveline from the Dakota, and install a fresh yet primitive Painless Performance nervous system with stand-alone toggles and switches - except for the Holley Sniper there won't be a computer in sight. It all goes in - Magnum 360 with Sniper EFI, 46rh trans, Atlas 4-speed, D60 front, 14b rear - all of which have been tested and proven. Both axles are getting Artec trusses and the front will get a full-hydro kit with a 2.75x8 double ended ram, and Artec high-steer arms. A 4.5" long arm lift from Iron Rock Off Road will smooth out the bumps, and a full compliment of HD armor will protect the body...and wow - I don't have to fabricate 'everything' - I can buy every single bit of it - what a nice change. It'll be fully highway friendly, and a beast off-road, with lots of strategic armor to protect pretty much everyone and everything. It'll be about 10 times stronger than my Dad's M-38, so I'm calling it the M-380. Start jammin' on it Jan 24.

Here's what my daughter n me brought home Thanksgiving Eve 23; Other than the dash I'll keep the majority of the interior, but otherwise I'm gonna pretty much rip everything out of this -


...drop in all of the awesome 5.9 Magnum/46RH/Atlas4/1-tons/40" driveline from this -


...incorporate lots of the charm and dirt-simple simplicity of this -


...build it to feel and perform pretty much like this -


...and after brushing on Air Force Strata Blue oil-based paint it'll look more or less like this -


...and in the end it'll nicely compliment the wife's 08 JKU -


And like I said I'm going to completely remove the OE Jeep electrical harness and install a stand-alone, computer-less, dirt simple, primitive, and effective switch-to-component harness, mod the firewall and wiper system for left-hand drive, drop a nice aftermarket 4.5" suspension kit under it, weld on the Artec hardware to utilize the D60/14b, go full-hydro, and rock on.

In the meantime, if'n anyone is looking for a heavily upgraded 4-door Dakota with a legit SAS, on leaf springs, engineered for a Magnum v8 and 46RH trans, cocked and ready for your driveline of choice, including a fully reinforced frame, front/rear rock bumpers and sliders, full interior...lemme know.

- Sam