TJ: The Rubber Ducky Build

[rubberducky]

I thought seeing as i started with a bone stock TJ and i have the dream of making it into a mean rig, i should start a build thread!

This is my daily driver however i do want it to be a very capable 4wd (and also look the part ). Being that I'm poor and have minimal income at the moment, i imagine this will be a very slow moving thread, but it shall be a thread nonetheless! I will try and go into as much detail as i can PLEASE POST ANY AND ALL ADVICE OR COMMENTS, thats what this forum is for after all right?

i'll do a quick rundown of the minor mods i've done to date and then the fun will start.

And so it begins….

[rubberducky]

Here is the jeep as i bought it in december 2011.
2000 TJ wrangler sport soft-top. I bought it in Perth as that's where I'm from originally. It had about 33000kms on it and was completely stock. The dealer told me it had lived most its life in broome but as far as the nature of its life, i can only speculate.





I don't think i had the roof on once, the whole time it was in Perth. god i miss that weather

[rubberducky]

the first thing i did when i got it home. nothing feels better than the air blowing up your shorts

[rubberducky]

Next, being that I'm somewhat of an audiophile (and a DJ by profession) came the sound system… and what a sound system it is. VERY loud and very clear (as if the yellow wasn't attention seeking enough) but just like the car its installed in, i find myself wanting to pump more money into it.

the mono-block amp (the farthest) came off my old car and is a beast of an amp, more than enough power for the sub


the sub has its own story but basically, a mate of mine managed to get it for me for almost nothing as it had a small bend in the outer metal ring, which ended up just bending back when i screwed it into the box. i was sceptical about soundstream gear (possibly something to do with the big spider sprawled across all their stuff) but this sub has been an absolute killer, and i would recommend to anybody looking for a slimline sub (had an alpine before which blew up 10 days after purchase)


the other amp i picked up from cash converters at a risk but turned out ok, it powers the speakers in the overhead console (more on that later)

boot could do with a clean, although I'm thinking on the possibility of a storage system. id also like to rewire and tidy up all that mess at some point

[rubberducky]

Obstacle #1: So apparently there is a lot of red dust in Broome… everything was covered in it. the dealership had cleaned the visible areas but it didn't take long to uncover the desert i was carrying. heres an image of the BOULDER of red dust i found that had somehow formed on a pipe under the steering wheel



so the cleaning began. one day i hope to remove every grain of red dust, but there is still so much in there…

[rubberducky]

put in a budget snorkel (cost about $140 i think) anybody know if there are any advantages to the $400 safari snorkel over something cheap??? they seem to be made of the same stuff…. anyway probably a bit late to change now! can't find any actual pics of the install but here is the finish product.



the location of the windshield bracket poses some issues for removing the drivers side door, anybody found a way around this?



I had to remove the drivers side battery tray to access the point where the snorkel joined the air hose through the outer panel. once removed there was no way i could fit the hose through the holes in the battery tray supports and get it to line up with the snorkel so i had to take to the supports with the grinder



after taking these pictures i think i might need some more padding on those battery tray supports….

[rubberducky]

As most TJ owners will be aware, theres always a constant battle for space! i wanted an overhead console that suited my needs but all i could find was a rugged ridge sort of thing that didn't really fit the bill… so decided to make up my own.

originally my constraints were:
- had to fit nicely within the area of the soft top
- couldn't obstruct any vision
- had to be removable
- had to allow the the soft top latches
- had to house the UHF radio

so scribbled out a rough idea of what i wanted on an old receipt and got to work with the tools and some MDF. i didn't expect it to turn out that well but it actually worked out perfectly!! {i can probably dig up the receipt or write down the specs if you want to do it yourself, just send me a PM.}
The plans changed a little along the way and i decided to go in a different direction with the UHF placement and also decided to chuck some speakers in the console with a little storage area in the middle. It does everything i set out to do. doesn't block any vision, fits perfectly and can be moved for the soft-top latches or removed if necessary.

i did end up removing the sun visors as A) i don't use them and B) they were just an extra step in taking the soft top and I'm lazy…… however I'm considering adding some sort of slide down visors to the back of the console













this reminds me, i still need to carpet those little blocks on the sides
it still has to pass an off road test too…. i have a feeling it won't like corrugations. might have to sort out some kind of cushion or something