2007 Jeep JK Wrangler Paint - 4Wheel & Off-Road Magazine

It's the fifth and almost final installment of our Ultimate Adventure Jeep buildup, and there is still much to cover. We started with a two-wheel-drive '07 Jeep Wrangler with less than 1,000 miles on it, and we cut out the factory rollcage and installed acustom cage at Twisted Customs in Rapid City, South Dakota (Sept. '07). Then we took it to American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) in Missoula, Montana, where we proceeded to have it torn apart and cut up to fit a new drivetrain (Oct. '07). We then revealed how we shortened a Dodge Mega Cab frame, channeled and manipulated the Jeep tub to fit over it, and then started fabricating a new firewall to clear the Cummins diesel that will power our Jeep. Last month we got into the nitty gritty of bolting the Cummins to an NV4500 five-speed transmission and Atlas transfer case from Advanced Adapters, adjusting the suspension with some Superlift shocks and add-a-leaves, and finally bolting in some axle from a new Dodge Power Wagon (equipped with 4.56 gears and selectable lockers). We christened her the Rubi Wagon, since it epitomizes all the best stuff Jeep and Dodge have to offer for the off-roader-part Jeep Rubicon, part Power Wagon.

This Jeep was being built to lead a troop of 18 rigs during a weeklong off-road trip known as Ultimate Adventure (seen elsewhere in this issue), and as such it has to be capable off road, driveable on road, and have all the gear and requirements for the trip. Since a winch is required on the trip and both Warn and Fab Fours are sponsors, we had the Jeep outfitted with some of Fab Four's Jeep bumpers with the most timeless winch Warn makes-the 8274. And since the rig has to be unique (as if a Cummins-powered Jeep isn't unique enough), we had to get the Jeep painted a non-factory color so it doesn't get confused with all the other new four-door Jeeps out there. The final touches required to finish up a freshly built Jeep before a long trip, like the PSC steering, the Poison Spyder Customs bead-lock wheels and tube fenders, and the sliding-drawer toolboxes installed from Slee Off Road. We'll try to stuff them all into these final two installments, but don't expect to never see this Jeep in the magazine again. It will definitely be getting other upgrades over the years, plus you can see it at upcoming events like the Off Road Expo in Pomona, California, October 6-7 as well as out at Moab for the Red Rock Fourwheeler's Easter Safari next year.

Here it is as we were leaving AEV, the first ever Cummins-powered four-door Jeep Wrangler. Though it looks like a short four-cylinder engine, there are in fact two more cylinders of this massive 5.9L, 24-valve, 325hp, 610-lb-ft of torque diesel engine hiding back under the cowl. Note the S&B air filter and the Optima blue-top battery. Many people told us we would need two batteries to crank over the Cummins, but we never ran out of power from this single unit. That includes starting, winching, and powering an ARB fridge/freezer as well as a Lowrance GPS, Sirius satellite radio receiver, CB, and multiple cell-phone chargers over the course of the week.
Here it is as we were leaving AEV, the first ever Cummins-powered four-door Jeep Wrangler.
The next part of the build took place in South Dakota, where we enlisted Twisted Customs to help with paint. The first step to a good paint job is good prep, so we started by tearing the Jeep back apart and giving it a rough sanding so the new paint would stick. We knew we weren't going to keep the plastic fenders so those came off, plus we planned to spray the interior of the Jeep with Rhino Lining so any slight overspray of paint on the interior floor wasn't a problem either.
The next part of the build took place in South Dakota, where we enlisted Twisted Customs t
With the body getting prepped, we knew that to make our new 42-inch BFGoodrich Mud-TerrainKM2 tires fit, we were going to do a little fender trimmage. We had a tire mounted on one of the 20x10-inch bead locks from Poison Spyder customs, and it was pretty obvious that the Sawzall was going to be needed. Rather than wait, we hacked away at it prior to paint.
With the body getting prepped, we knew that to make our new 42-inch BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain

Once chopped, sanded, and papered, we shot the paint. Shane Dalquist from Shadow Coatings volunteered to help get our green Jeep even greener. Choosing the color was a major battle in this buildup since Jeeps have been every color under the sun. We were very close to painting it pink like the Surrey Jeep in UAJK Part 1 (Aug. '07), but we just didn't feel manly enough to drive a pink Jeep so we settled on Army Green. And not just any olive drab; this is the same color paint used when restoring World War II Jeeps. We got it straight from Rapco Parts Company, where they sell everything you need to restore a classic Jeep.
Once chopped, sanded, and papered, we shot the paint. Shane Dalquist from Shadow Coatings
With the paint barely dry we hauled the Rubi Wagon over to Rhino Linings of Western South Dakota, where Scott Sime and his crew prepped the Jeep and gave it a coating of black bedliner in the tub. We've used Rhino on trucks before and found it helpful for sound deadening, plus it's a great way to protect the interior of an open-topped 4x4.
With the paint barely dry we hauled the Rubi Wagon over to Rhino Linings of Western South
Spraying Rhino liner helped to clean up all the bodywork we had done to the tub. The liner gave the floor a clean, uniform look, and though you can see how we channeled the rear floor to cover the Dodge frame, you don't notice all the spot welds holding the bodywork together.
Spraying Rhino liner helped to clean up all the bodywork we had done to the tub. The liner

Since we now had a modified Jeep body on a modified Dodge frame, we couldn't just bolt on the standard Jeep bumpers. Luckily AEV and Fab Fours were able to share some of the digital drawings of the project so custom mounting brackets for the frame were ready and waiting for us upon arrival. However the front and rear framerails were left extra long and had to be trimmed with our Hobart plasma cutter.
Since we now had a modified Jeep body on a modified Dodge frame, we couldn't just bolt on
These brackets are different from the standard JK bumpers since we're using the Dodge frame and we have a JK body. Also the bumper itself has been modified slightly to accommodate the upright Warn 8274 winch we chose for the front of our Rubi Wagon. Otherwise it is the same as your normal Fab Fours JK bumper made from 3/16-inch steel and outfitted with 1 3/4-inch tubes and hefty 1-inch-thick shackle-hanger recovery points.
These brackets are different from the standard JK bumpers since we're using the Dodge fram
The rear bumper with swing-out tire carrier was also modified to work with our Jeep/Dodge. With leaf springs we had to cut the bumper to clear the shackles, and mounting it farther away from the body meant a small filler piece was added. Due to the added leverage of our giant 42-inch spare tire, we chose to weld this bumper to the rear of the frame. Notice the AEV rear corner guards. These are stamped to fit nicely around the rear corners, yet are made of 1/8-inch steel to protect the tub from trail abuse.
The rear bumper with swing-out tire carrier was also modified to work with our Jeep/Dodge.

The rear bumper uses a positive locking mechanism which is followed up with a safety pin. Plus we added a special brace with a caster to help support the 150 pounds of spare tire and bead-locked wheel that will be hanging off the rear end. In addition there is a locking pin that snaps into place when the tire carrier is open to allow easy access to the rear of the Jeep.
The rear bumper uses a positive locking mechanism which is followed up with a safety pin.
The front bumper looks great on the Jeep, especially with the 42-inch tires, and the 8274 sitting nicely down in the bumper so it doesn't block much airflow. We also installed one of AEV's heat-reduction hoods. This hood is aerodynamically designed to pull heat through the radiator and out from under the hood, and is specifically designed for engine swaps, and we think it gives any JK a much more rugged look. With bumpers on and paint drying, we loaded up the Rubi Wagon and headed towards Denver. We had less than a week to get it finished and a list of things that needed to be done, so we called all our friends in the area and recruited (bribed with pizza) them to come help us. See the conclusion in 30 days.
The front bumper looks great on the Jeep, especially with the 42-inch tires, and the 8274

SOURCES
Bestop	Jeep 800-925-5337 www.jeep.com
Mastercraft Seats www.mastercraftseats.com	Poly Performance N/A www.polyperformance.com
Twisted Customs	American Expedition Vehicles www.aev-conversions.com
Warn 5-03/-722-1200 www.warn.com	Heat Shield Products
Lizard Skin 877-278-9468 www.lizardskin.com	PSC Motorsports www.pscmotorsports.com
Knoll Racing	Optima Batteries 5757 N. Green Bay Ave. Milwaukee WI 53201 414-524-1200 www.optimabatteries
Superlift Suspension	Off Road Design www.offroaddesign.com
Hobart Welders N/A www.hobartwelders.com	Rhino Linings Of Western South Dakota www.rhinolinings.com
Centerforce 9-28/-771-8422 www.centerforce.com	S&B Filters 787 S. Wanamaker Ave. Ontario CA 91761
Lowrance N/A www.lowrance.com	ARB 2-06/-264-1669 www.arbusa.com
Griffin Radiator 100 Hurricane Creek Rd. Piedmont SC 29673 864-845-5000	Slee Off Road
Ingersoll Rand Annandale NJ 8-00/-866-5457 irtools.com	JE Reel
Rapco	4Wheel Drive Hardware N/A www.4wd.com
BFGoodrich Tires 877-788-8899 www.bfgoodrichtires.com	Ford Cummins
Advance Adapters 4320 Aerotech Center Way P.O. Box 247 Paso Robles CA 93446 805-238-7000	Poison Spyder Customs
Flowmaster Mufflers Santa Rosa CA 8-00/-544-4761 flowmastermufflers.com	Fab Fours www.fabfours.com
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