Part I of our Unlimited project covered the installation of a sound system from Crutchfield, along with body armor and winch. The only thing wrong with our very clean Unlimited was the top that looked as if it had been run over a few times. The bows were bent, the little plastic clips were broken, and the fabric was ripped. While Bestop offers Sailcloth Replace-A-Top fabric and windows for the TJ Unlimited, we needed the whole top, hardware and all. The only source for this is Mopar. A call to a number of dealers showed us that these tops are hard to get. The part number comes up, but the tops aren't "in the pipeline" as one dealer told us. A call to Quadratec saved the day. Quadratec sells Mopar products and had the top in stock.
Currie Enterprises supplied their excellent RockJock 60 front and rear ends built with 5.38 Sierra gears and a Detroit Locker up front and an ARB Air Locker in the rear. Currie also supplied their new 1-ton TJ steering system, 4-inch progressively wound coil springs, and TJ rear bumper/tire carrier with Tail Bonez. The newer TJ's steering gearbox is weak, so needs to be addressed. We went to PSC for its ram assist steering system that includes a new gearbox, pump, and ram.
The Currie RockJock high-pinion...
The Currie RockJock high-pinion front and rear axle assemblies include the complete housings with 65-45-12 ductile iron housing centers, AR400 heat treated bottom skid plates, 3-inch DOM steel tubes, 5/16-inch heavy steel diff cover, and yokes (1350 in our case). On our frontend, all new heavy-duty Currie Jeep TJ suspension brackets are mounted. Also included are Currie performance forged alloy 35-spline axle shafts. The Ford F350 unit bearing/hub assembly has proven to be reliable and strong in Jeep applications. The front has Wilwood disc brakes while the rear has Currie's excellent Explorer disc brakes with integrated drum emergency brake.
We had planned to put together our own suspension, but remembered how well the Teraflex Adventure Prospector TJ worked when we photographed it last year. The Teraflex PRO-LCG long-arm suspension system has great geometry and affords plenty of ground clearance. In addition to the Teraflex suspension, we added JKS Adjustable Coil Over Spacers (ACOS) for adjustability. JKS also supplied the 1-inch body lift and 1-inch motor mount spacer.
We mounted a Warn 9,500-pound Warn PowerPlant HP on a Mount Logan Off-Road front bumper. The Warn winch works as they always do, well, but the real story here is the compressor. With 12cfm at 0 psi, the PowerPlant's compressor inflates big tires fast. Very fast. Warn 6-inch Trail Flares were supposed to cover the 37x12.50R17LT Pro Comp Mud terrain three-ply tires mounted on Allied Raceline 17x10 Monster beadlocks, but the tires still stick out a bit.
Mount Logan Off-Road put all these pieces together for a TJ Unlimited that works stunningly well. Highway performance is fine, but the off-road performance is the news here. The TJ doesn't jack up, lift, squat, or do a number of other things TJ's with under-designed suspensions do. The Sailcloth top is quiet and the Crutchfield/Alpine/JL Audio entertainment system keeps the Sirius pumping, making backcountry journeys fun. Unlimited has turned out to be just that - an all-around Jeep that isn't a compromise anywhere.