First, a little background. I picked up this 87' a few months ago in Chicago. We only have a single parking spot in our garage up there. The LC had to street park so, any major changes had to wait until I got back to our place in Florida. In the meantime, I ordered all the usual suspects. Once I got back down south, I didn't waste anytime. The day after I got there, I opened Pandora's Box.
I started with the OME Heavy Lift. It was probably the easiest, most straight forward lift I've ever installed on any 4x4. Then, I swapped wheels and tires. I went with some 15" fake bead-lock Pro Comps and the new 33x12.5 Mickey Thompson Deegan 38 tires. Which IMO are one of the best looking tires to come out in a long time. I can't say how they perform bc I've yet to leave my driveway.
All the while, I went to town on the chassis surface rust. Half of it fell off when I was installing the lift i.e. beating the the old bushings out. The rest was removed via 4" flap disc. I can't describe the amount of rust dust that filled my garage. I can still smell it as I'm writing this post.
For weeks, I looked high and low for a bumper set-up. One evening, I came across a thread of this guy building his own custom bumpers. Granted, I'm new to the forum and don't really know anybody on here but his bumpers looked as good, if not better than any bumper offered for our rigs. So, I got in touch with him. Turns out, I met one of the coolest, most helpful, knowledgable LC guys out there. His name is Jason he goes by reevesci on here. Here's a link to his bumpers thread:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/bumpers-racks-and-accessories-for-sale.812458/
I'd recommend him to anyone looking for a bumper of any kind. He updated me with progress pics of my build numerous times and stayed in contact through-out. You can call his cell anytime and speak directly to him and not some salesperson. I'm fortunate to have been able to work on all sorts of automobiles over the years and Jason's customer service is as good as any I've ever dealt with. Obviously, I give him high praise for his products and availability but I have to admit, giving my business to the little guy in this corporate world makes it that much better.
Sorry for the rant. Here are some pics of the progress.
I started with the OME Heavy Lift. It was probably the easiest, most straight forward lift I've ever installed on any 4x4. Then, I swapped wheels and tires. I went with some 15" fake bead-lock Pro Comps and the new 33x12.5 Mickey Thompson Deegan 38 tires. Which IMO are one of the best looking tires to come out in a long time. I can't say how they perform bc I've yet to leave my driveway.
All the while, I went to town on the chassis surface rust. Half of it fell off when I was installing the lift i.e. beating the the old bushings out. The rest was removed via 4" flap disc. I can't describe the amount of rust dust that filled my garage. I can still smell it as I'm writing this post.
For weeks, I looked high and low for a bumper set-up. One evening, I came across a thread of this guy building his own custom bumpers. Granted, I'm new to the forum and don't really know anybody on here but his bumpers looked as good, if not better than any bumper offered for our rigs. So, I got in touch with him. Turns out, I met one of the coolest, most helpful, knowledgable LC guys out there. His name is Jason he goes by reevesci on here. Here's a link to his bumpers thread:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/bumpers-racks-and-accessories-for-sale.812458/
I'd recommend him to anyone looking for a bumper of any kind. He updated me with progress pics of my build numerous times and stayed in contact through-out. You can call his cell anytime and speak directly to him and not some salesperson. I'm fortunate to have been able to work on all sorts of automobiles over the years and Jason's customer service is as good as any I've ever dealt with. Obviously, I give him high praise for his products and availability but I have to admit, giving my business to the little guy in this corporate world makes it that much better.
Sorry for the rant. Here are some pics of the progress.
