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153 Posts
Hello everyone! After almost 3 years of preps and part sourcing and pocket emptying purchases, my JK build is almost complete. I bought my JK in 2008. Been slowly building in it over the years. First to go on the JK was an OME lift. And everything went "up hill" from there 
. The mods that followed are:
2in Body lift, ARB front deluxe winch bumper, T-max 12k winch, JKS trackbars, 900xs driving lights, Hi-Lift jack + hi-lift tailgate mount, ARB Diff covers, Wade wind deflectors, Mopar rear light covers, Gap guards, AEV rear corner guards, modified rear euro bumper, Delta hood light bar, 33" Maxxis Big Horns, Ripp s/c, MBRP Exhaust, Pioneer head unit, MB Quart sound system, back up camera, Rugged Ridge front seat vests, DirtyDog4x4 Mesh headers, Viper Alarm, Daystar dash panel, Daystar hood latches, Volant Snorkel, US spec license plate holder, Spidertrax spacers, IPF H4 head light upgrade.
Then came the HEMI!!! 6.1l pullout from a 2008 Grand Cherokee SRT8. Bought the engine 3 years ago from a local scrap yard. Engine had only 18k km on it. The scrap yard guy had it lying around his shop and told me he has no customers for it and he would only sell it to me as is with its A580 tranny attached to it along with every conceivable part on it. The engine came with all its options (AC compressor, power steering, starter, alternator, even the OEM wiring harness was intact). He let the whole thing go for $4K. He was asking for a stand alone 5.7 Hemi with nothing on it for 3500$. I ended up with a spare A580 tranny lying around. The 5-45RFE tranny was also sourced from a local scrap yard 3 months ago. And that too was in great condition. It was on 2007 Ram or Durango. Switched the A580 for that at no extra cost :bounce:
The kit I used is the AEV premium kit. Very well designed kit. Everything was easy breezy and bolted on great. Along with the Hemi kit I got 17" Rugged Ridge matt black wheels, 35" Cooper SSTs, Synergy hood louvres from Poly Performance, Alloy USA 4.88 gears, having the front ARB bumper resprayed in wrinkle finish matt black to match the AEV corner guards.
The JK is still under the knife at the moment because the paint supplier guy messed up on the delivery of the paint supplies so got pushed till tomorrow. I managed today to get the hood louvres cutouts done. Only thing left is the front bumper.
Dunno if I forgot some things to mention! I will post detailed pics of the Hemi build later on when all is done. It has been a hectic month doing the build. I enlisted the help of a local premium body shop and a friend mechanic to conduct and assist with the difficult parts of the Hemi build. Swapping an engine is no easy task! I am no mechanic but I know how to twist a screwdriver! I helped in every way possible in the swap process to the best of my abilities. And when it seamed I would mess things up, the guys at the bodyshop and the mechanic pushed me aside to correctly install/setup things :lol:
Anyway on the some early pics!
The before pics:
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The before Hemi pics:
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. The mods that followed are: 2in Body lift, ARB front deluxe winch bumper, T-max 12k winch, JKS trackbars, 900xs driving lights, Hi-Lift jack + hi-lift tailgate mount, ARB Diff covers, Wade wind deflectors, Mopar rear light covers, Gap guards, AEV rear corner guards, modified rear euro bumper, Delta hood light bar, 33" Maxxis Big Horns, Ripp s/c, MBRP Exhaust, Pioneer head unit, MB Quart sound system, back up camera, Rugged Ridge front seat vests, DirtyDog4x4 Mesh headers, Viper Alarm, Daystar dash panel, Daystar hood latches, Volant Snorkel, US spec license plate holder, Spidertrax spacers, IPF H4 head light upgrade.
Then came the HEMI!!! 6.1l pullout from a 2008 Grand Cherokee SRT8. Bought the engine 3 years ago from a local scrap yard. Engine had only 18k km on it. The scrap yard guy had it lying around his shop and told me he has no customers for it and he would only sell it to me as is with its A580 tranny attached to it along with every conceivable part on it. The engine came with all its options (AC compressor, power steering, starter, alternator, even the OEM wiring harness was intact). He let the whole thing go for $4K. He was asking for a stand alone 5.7 Hemi with nothing on it for 3500$. I ended up with a spare A580 tranny lying around. The 5-45RFE tranny was also sourced from a local scrap yard 3 months ago. And that too was in great condition. It was on 2007 Ram or Durango. Switched the A580 for that at no extra cost :bounce:
The kit I used is the AEV premium kit. Very well designed kit. Everything was easy breezy and bolted on great. Along with the Hemi kit I got 17" Rugged Ridge matt black wheels, 35" Cooper SSTs, Synergy hood louvres from Poly Performance, Alloy USA 4.88 gears, having the front ARB bumper resprayed in wrinkle finish matt black to match the AEV corner guards.
The JK is still under the knife at the moment because the paint supplier guy messed up on the delivery of the paint supplies so got pushed till tomorrow. I managed today to get the hood louvres cutouts done. Only thing left is the front bumper.
Dunno if I forgot some things to mention! I will post detailed pics of the Hemi build later on when all is done. It has been a hectic month doing the build. I enlisted the help of a local premium body shop and a friend mechanic to conduct and assist with the difficult parts of the Hemi build. Swapping an engine is no easy task! I am no mechanic but I know how to twist a screwdriver! I helped in every way possible in the swap process to the best of my abilities. And when it seamed I would mess things up, the guys at the bodyshop and the mechanic pushed me aside to correctly install/setup things :lol:
Anyway on the some early pics!
The before pics:
The before Hemi pics:
