Pics of the 6 watt front lights and the LED light bars for the rock lights

And, a few night pics.  Stock lights only, LED's only, and both.  They don't do the setup justice; the front lights make everything SO much more visible.

Right now I only have one strip on each side for my rock lights; 2 more are on the way, but even with the single strips they do an excellent job of lighting up the ground.  And, even if I turned on all of the LED lights they would run for days before the battery was drained...

I like the rock lights.  For a while now I have been thinking of putting blue lights under the SJ, similar to what you have done.  Sadly, all the night wheeling has been shut down up here.  So no real reason to...

I prefer to think of all the work I do on my rigs as preparation for the big earthquake we're overdue for here on the coast...and wheeling is just a practical exercise.  Lighting will be useful then, for sure
I'm installing about $500 worth of lighting on my deuce and a half...it should be awesome when I'm done with it.

few pics on the bed of my deuce

And, a video:

Deuce haulin' my Samurai

Have a few updates to this rig!

A couple of weeks ago I got some new 31x10.5x15 Goodyear Wrangler MT/R's and a set of Eaton 32 bolt beadlocks.  I've used more expensive beadlocks before; the lock ring on these is a little flimsy, but being steel it should hold up to abuse just fine under the light weight of the Sami.  I was able to get all 4 tires balanced enough to prevent any vibrations at freeway speeds.  

Got some time this last week to sit down with Bend Tech Pro and bust out a little bit of tubing...I have been wanting to do this for a while but just haven't had the time.  The fenders and rocker panels on my rig had several dents and bends from the previous owner.  So, I took them off!
I drilled out the spot welds on the rocker panels, filled them in with the welder, sanded it smooth, and then painted it with herculiner.  
I pulled the fender flare brackets, and then used the dimple in the fender as a guide and cut about 1.5" out of the fender (flush with the inner fender).  Then I welded the inner fender to the outer fender, blended and sanded the welds, and repainted everything.  It gave me a TON of extra room inside of the front fenders.

Next came the tubing; I was originally just going to build some rock sliders, but I got a little carried away with a master plan for an exo cage...the pics show the first half of it (still need a couple of main hoops and the rear fender bars).  But, the front end is complete and it looks great!

And then I tested it out...

Ive welded a few times and stepped back to raise the helmet and say WTH? But, I haven't ever seen anything like those weld boogers Great job on your new rig!

I am / was particularly interested in your 6:5:1 installation. I have that on my to do list yet. I have installed the cradle (a Zor) but not purchased the gears yet. Like yours mine was purchased as a work in progress project and I am trying to get stuff done as time permits.

Did you install the marine grade speakers in the kick panels? I have them to install here and a AM/FM/CD player on the workbench to install. I didn't put it in this summer because I figured that it would get ripped off.

Since then I have purchased a hard top and still haven't put it in because it is lower on the Zuk priority list... LOL...

A few more pics would be great as you go along... Always like to gander at the kewl stuff other folks are doin!!!

Ive welded a few times and stepped back to raise the helmet and say WTH? But, I haven't ever seen anything like those weld boogers Great job on your new rig!

I am / was particularly interested in your 6:5:1 installation. I have that on my to do list yet. I have installed the cradle (a Zor) but not purchased the gears yet. Like yours mine was purchased as a work in progress project and I am trying to get stuff done as time permits.

Did you install the marine grade speakers in the kick panels? I have them to install here and a AM/FM/CD player on the workbench to install. I didn't put it in this summer because I figured that it would get ripped off.

Yep...those exhaust system welds make me laugh every time I look at the pics.  Never seen a pile of weld boogers that big!  What made it even better was how badly it leaked; it is truly an epic welding fail when you deposit an entire pound of welding wire on one exhaust joint and it STILL leaks.

I have done about a dozen sami transfer cases; they're pretty easy to do.  The deeper gearsets often require grinding/clearancing inside of the case, so be prepared with a grinder, flap wheel, and a bunch of solvent.

Yep; I have some kicker 6-1/2" marine components in the kick panels, with the tweeters flush mounted in the dash.  The tailgate has some marine grade Polk coaxial speakers.  Both are driven by an alpine amp.  Sounds pretty good...but still a little hollow and metallic (having no carpet in the samurai causes this). 

 Wow that is one nice sammy!! The thing you did with the frame rails and cross member blew me away! I can only dream about that kind of fabbin. Are you a machinist by trade?

Wow that is one nice sammy!! The thing you did with the frame rails and cross member blew me away! I can only dream about that kind of fabbin. Are you a machinist by trade?

Thanks!  Nope...I was a nuclear Electronics Technician in the Navy for quite a while...now a general contractor, firefighter, and all-around tinkerer.  But never did any kind of commercial fab work. 
Honestly...the frame/winch project is a pretty simple one that most beginners could do.  The tube work takes a bit of practice though. 

My Samurai has spent the last few weeks in my shop; polished off a few more projects.  I pulled it out of the shop this morning and snapped a few pics; here is what I got done:

1.  Added chromoly front axleshafts
2.  Added a lock-rite front locker
3.  New Goodyear wrangler MT/R's on 32 bolt beadlocks
4.  YJ SPUA with 3" light duty superlift springs and missing links
5.  New shocks/mounts at all 4 corners
6.  Extended SS braided brake lines
7.  New poly bumpstops
8.  Full exocage with 1-3/4" x .120" DOM tubing
9.  New rear bumper integrated into cage with LED lighting
10. Quick-release flag mount

I flexed it out before and after the YJ swap; went from 13.5" of flex to about 34" at all 4 corners (with the missing links pinned).

 

A little bit of road/offroad testing tomorrow...

well....im jealous