Flogging a Stock Jeep JK Before Adding Performance Mods

(Austin)>> Oh look buddy, there's a ride you could pimp.

(LT)>> I mean there's all kinds of good stuff. B-18 Honda, you'll go nuts over that.

(Austin)>> Yeah, nah, we're good.

(LT)>> BMW! You guys might be wondering what they heck we're doing out here at a junkyard. Well it's time for a new project and we figured what better place to come than this because there's more variety here than we've seen in a long time.

(Austin)>> Options are endless. We've really just got to find what works.

(LT)>> Minivan, I could see you driving that.

(Austin)>> Nah I don't play soccer man. [ Music ] [ engine revving ] [ tires squealing ]

(LT)>> Yeah baby! Woo hoo! [ Music ]

(Austin)>> Okay so we're not really gonna yank our project vehicle out of the middle of this junkyard but we're still here for a good reason none the less.

(LT)>> That's because we just got a new truck, this 2009 Jeep JK Wrangler. At the moment it's bone stock, which is no bueno, but we're gonna have some major plans for it. The first thing we've got to do though is a very important test to validate how it performs. That brings us to where we're at today.

(Austin)>> For sure, and the only question is who's gonna drive first. I've got the answer for you. You're not a Jeep guy, I know that. So I'll go ahead and give you one. Lend you the keys, take it for a spin. It might turn you into one after all.

(LT)>> I don't know if I really want that but I'm up for driving anything. So let's do this.

(Austin)>> What's the worst that can happen? You gonna have fun? [ Music ] Houston all systems go. Check, countdown, three, two, one, takeoff.

(LT)>> Alright there Texas I guess the first thing you're gonna do is how this approach angle looks.

(Austin)>> Just drive straight baby. [ Music ] It looks great.

(LT)>> Alright!

(Austin)>> We got up! [ Music ]

(LT)>> Alright I can't see much from here. So you're gonna have to kinda direct me left and right huh?

(Austin)>> Passenger, straight, money! [ Music ]

(LT)>> Alright I'm gonna back up and bump it just a hair.

(Austin)>> Clear, go for it.

(LT)>> Alright if I need to go left or right which way should I go?

(Austin)>> Just go straight. [ Music ] Yeah buddy, getting close. You didn't think he could do it.

(LT)>> I had all the confidence in the world. [ Music ]

(Austin)>> Up and over dude!

(LT)>> That is how you do it!

(Austin)>> That is awesome, and you didn't think it could do it.

(LT)>> Alright we don't even have to build it.

(Austin)>> We're just gonna drive over some more cars. Where can we go?

(LT)>> Alright I've got to see this. I have never crushed a car before. That was awesome!

(Austin)>> Oh I thought you didn't like Jeeps.

(LT)>> I still don't like Jeeps but that was pretty cool.

(Austin)>> Dude stock, straight over. I mean we didn't want to go all out, and these cars were on tires and wheels I might add. They were not smashed.

(LT)>> That was beautiful man.

(Austin)>> That's awesome! Alright I'm gonna take it from the back.

(LT)>> Look at that. Like I expected it would have crushed the roof maybe just a little bit more.

(Austin)>> Yeah I know, not a lot of weight though really.

(LT)>> Well it kinda shows how strong they make these cars like for roll overs and stuff. That is pretty impressive.

(Austin)>> That's just down right cool bro.

(LT)>> You could have been sitting in there and you wouldn't have been hurt.

(Austin)>> Let's see if we ripped some vitals out from under here.

(LT)>> I don't know man. All I'm seeing is a couple of scuffs on the plastic bumper and we're gonna get rid of that anyway.

(Austin)>> That's it man. The rest of this ready to go again.

(LT)>> It's all you buddy. [ Music ] Hold on there smart guy. The one thing you've got to keep in mind is your bumper is actually lower than the trunk of both of these cars. You're not going up and over anything.

(Austin)>> What?

(LT)>> I mean you could push them a little bit. What do you expect is gonna happen?

(Austin)>> This not working?

(LT)>> I miss understood. You were trying to push the cars instead of go over them. I just didn't know what challenge we were doing.

(Austin)>> Yeah I'm going from the front. I was just kidding about that.

(LT)>> You had to line them up right?

(Austin)>> Exactly, they weren't in the right position.

(LT)>> I've just got one thing to say man.

(Austin)>> Do tell.

(LT)>> Nobody remembers the name of the guy that walked on the moon second.

(Austin)>> Ground control are we clear? [ Music ]

(LT)>> Alright come my way just a hair. [ Music ]

(Austin)>> Yeah buddy!

(LT)>> Up and over, send it home.

(Austin)>> We might need reverse! Yeah! [ Music ] That's how we do. [ Music ] Just like that.

(LT)>> I'll tell you what. It doesn't get much better than driving a Jeep over a couple of old cars. It's just something like automotive therapy you know?

(Austin)>> I don't think it does. That's what they were made for originally.

(LT)>> I feel great now.

(Austin)>> It's what the army had in mind when they designed the whole Jeep thing back in the day.

(LT)>> Is that what it was?

(Austin)>> I think so.

(LT)>> So if you guys are ever having a bad day all you've got to do is find yourselves a Jeep, find yourselves a junkyard, a couple of old cars, and a couple of people who are nice enough to let you drive over the cars and you're gonna feel so much better. Give a special thanks to Express Pull 'n Save in Lavergne for letting us destroy some sorta destroyed cars.

(Austin)>> Don't let us destroy more. Hop in dude, we'll go find some cool ones.

(LT)>> We've got to go modify this thing now. [ Music ]

(Austin)>> But first a little off pavement predicament.

(LT)>> Alright settle down cowboy.

(Austin)>> Another six hours I'd have had this.

(Austin)>> We're taking our newly purchased Jeep JK out for a fun run, and since it already conquered an old pair of junk cars some off roading will be a piece of cake.

(LT)>> That's the thing that makes these JK's so popular. It's got four doors but is relatively compact. It's easy to drive every day, and on the weekends you can load the kids in the back seat for some fun in the field. So when it comes to buying a play toy you've got a couple of different options right? A lot of guys now days are going the side by side route.

(Austin)>> Yeah they're cool.

(LT)>> And they're getting big.

(Austin)>> Expensive too.

(LT)>> Saw a guy with a four door, I think it was a CanAm side by side. The thing was lifted up. It had 35 inch tall tires on it. It was like legitimately about the size of this Jeep, but the thing is with a CanAm, or any side by side for that matter, you can't really drive them on the street legally in most states without doing a bunch of modifications first.

(Austin)>> They're fun but it also takes the fun out of it right. You're putting all this money into something that you're not using every day, but you've got this. The footprint honestly not that much bigger than these side by sides.

(LT)>> It's not a whole lot bigger. Plus for the price that we bought this thing for it's actually less than you would buy a brand new big side by side for.

(Austin)>> And the old lady can jump in it. Go get the groceries. Go get a sack of crawfish down the road if you want.

(LT)>> A what?

(Austin)>> Some crawfish, load up some oysters in the back, ice chest, it don't matter. They've got drain plugs in this thing.

(LT)>> What are these foods you're talking about?

(Austin)>> Okay see if you can find something interesting for us to climb, or go through.

(LT)>> Yeah let's get in the woods. There's a little tight trail coming up here. We can kinda see how maneuverable this thing really is. It's all yours man. Don't wreck it!

(Austin)>> This looks kinda low down here. See if it's like a little creek or something.

(LT)>> Dropping down in. There it is. Ah she slid right in this time. [ Music ] [ engine revving ]

(LT)>> Come on!

(Austin)>> Just have to get on some throttle buddy.

(LT)>> You had to go in the creek didn't you? [ Music ] [ bleep ]

(Austin)>> Lawrence get my stuff. Oh *&^#, the bumper's dragging that's why.

(LT)>> Well yeah cause you buried the *^$# wheel in a hole.

(Austin)>> Dude you've gotta have fun.

(LT)>> So it looks like that rotten stick is gonna maybe give it a little bit more traction underneath.

(Austin)>> See if none this would be here we wouldn't be in this predicament. My rodeo days, the heyday as they call it. I used to ride bulls you know. So what better solution than get on this thing, give her a little love. [ Music ] It's not really working like I envisioned. [ Music ]

(LT)>> Alright settle down cowboy. [ Music ]

(Austin)>> I told you he'd be a party pooper. Another six hours I'd have had this.

(LT)>> That's what you call a good ole fashioned rescue.

(Austin)>> Always gotta take the easy way out.

(LT)>> This is second time this week I've rescued you.

(Austin)>> Really!

(LT)>> Look at that, walking it out. Diesel power for the rescue.

(Austin)>> Hey let me go! I want to get through this on my own!

(LT)>> You want to try it again?

(Austin)>> Yeah absolutely!

(LT)>> Hang on, let me unhook.

(LT)>> I guess a little throttle solves all problems. [ Music ]

(Austin)>> For a little stock Jeep, basically just tires and wheels not bad.

(LT)>> It's not a bad looking Jeep and for the most part other than this little incident it actually did just about everything we asked it to, including driving over a couple of old junk cars.

(Austin)>> Yeah but this is nothing. We've got more planned for it for sure. That's why we're gonna go way up in the air, way bigger tires, and a lot more horsepower cause let's face it, this thing's kinda weak on the ponies you know.

(LT)>> So basically we're gonna be upgrading every single component of this Jeep, but that is very expensive and very extensive. So in the mean time we've got a couple of budget mods that we're gonna do that'll make a Jeep like this just a little more capable and maybe keep you out of the ditch.

(Austin)>> Doubt it.

(LT)>> And next she'll go under the knife.

(LT)>> One of the very first upgrades you're gonna do when you own a Jeep is bolting on a larger set of wheels and tires. Now ours came to us wearing a 285/70-17, and according to the tape measure that's just under 32 inches tall. Now we're gonna be stepping it up a bit to a 35-12.50-17. Now this is an all-terrain tire, which is gonna work great when you're driving in those mud puddles or we're going to the mall to get some lunch, but it's also the same size wheel. So it saves us a couple of bucks, but it's not gonna bolt on that easy.

(Austin)>> Nah I hate to break the news to you but this dude's already got a coil spacer kit on it. So we're not gonna have to put this one on, but with these 35's we're still gonna have to do some modifications. We'll go ahead and trim these fenders up. It'll look a lot better for one and it won't rip it clean off when we hit something. Then we'll probably trim those bumpers and clean up them rock rails, take those steps off and call it a day.

(LT)>> Alright well here's the deal. I'll work the tire machine. You work the cutoff wheel.

(Austin)>> I'll cut these fenders.

(LT)>> Alright! [ Music ] Having a dedicated tire changer makes this job very easy, and it's what the pros at your local tire shop would use. Typically a seasoned tech can get a set of four tires mounted and balanced in less than an hour. [ Music ] With this particular type of tire machine you've got to clamp the rim in these four little spots right there. It's called a rim clamp. Basically that's gonna hold everything nice and secure while you manipulate the rubber, locked in place. Next this guy here called the duck bill comes down and engages on the edge of the rim. You use a tire iron and you use it to slide the outside edge of the tire up and over as long as you push the opposite side down in the dropped center. There's a little groove that allows the whole top of the tire to move over slightly. Then all you do is rotate the table and the tire pops off. Almost like it was meant to be. Now it's time for an upgrade. [ Music ] All we've got to do is put the tire on. She spins home. Second side, need to work with it a little bit more. [ Music ] This machine has several arms which hold the tire in place for easy mounting, but you can actually do this job at home with nothing more than a pair of tire irons, but it's a ton of work. Speaking of work I've got a couple more tires to mount. [ Music ]

(Austin)>> Now don't you worry about cutting into this old Jeep. We ain't messing nothing up but it's a good easy way to make it look better and make it more functional. Like butter! Gotta be real careful in this part. Just rip it out along with the inner fender. [ saw buzzing ] [ Music ] [ saw buzzing ]

(Austin)>> A quick pass with that trusty ole roll lock disc will clean up the edges, make it look nice. Wow we got all these rubbing issues taken care of. These 35's are gonna have no problem traveling all the way up and all the way down without ripping anything apart. The only thing left we've got to do is aesthetic stuff. Now remember these bumpers are gonna be temporary. We're gonna eventually put some nice steel ones on there and they're gonna look a lot better, but in the mean time we still don't want to cruise around looking too crazy. So a simple cut and we'll be able to clean them up. Just find a good line and take it from there. [ saw buzzing ] [ Music ]

(Austin)>> Voila! Now our biggest problem back here is the pinch seams, but that old cutoff wheel zipped these things right off and make all the room in the world for travel. [ Music ]

(LT)>> So for nothing more than the price of a new set of 35's and a little bit of trimming we've completely transformed this Jeep to the point where you might not even recognize it as the same vehicle.

(Austin)>> Let's not get carried away. You're definitely not a Jeep guy cause it's still kinda stock-ish, but we did solve all the problems we created. We cut the fenders, cut the pinch seams. It's obviously flexed all the way out no problems.

(LT)>> Well really there's only one way to tell if all this work was worth the effort and that's to get it out on the trail.

(Austin)>> The fun stuff!

(LT)>> I like it!

(Austin)>> I'll just pull it off this thing. Neither land nor sea will stop our JK now. Or will it?

(LT)>> Well I've got some bad news for you buddy.

(Austin)>> Hit me.

(LT)>> I think we actually made this Jeep worse and not better. I drove it home last night down the highway. I had to lock it out of overdrive because the r-p-m's were so low and so gutless.

(Austin)>> Dude it's terrible, no power! Just by sizing up to 35's we lost 100 horse.

(LT)>> I mean it's probably got 3.31 gears in it or something like that. That's our trail right there.

(Austin)>> Yeah we'll have fun. Pulling into Wooley's Off Road Park. I mean we'll tear it up regardless, no power. We'll find something you know?

(LT)>> I like that really kinda loose clunky feeling you get from the suspension. It's like everything's wore out, needs to be replaced. Just one more thing on our to fix list.

(Austin)>> Literally anything else you jump in and drive will be better than this.

(LT)>> You bring your coffee? Cause it's time for doughnuts!

(Austin)>> Doughnut city baby!

(LT)>> If we don't roll it first. There's a hole! You guys probably don't see it from there but there's a big, giant hole right there we almost went into. There you go buddy.

(Austin)>> Ride it baby! And you said I don't know what I'm doing.

(LT)>> This guy thinks he's an actor. [ engine revving ]

(LT)>> Alright now's where the skill comes in, steer out. What's with this dance you're doing over there? Like what they heck, what is that?

(Austin)>> I was just having fun. [ Music ]

(LT)>> Hey you know if that's the best we can do in a stock Jeep is a couple of doughnuts we have a really high bar to set. We have a lot of things we need to fix. That's all I know.

(Austin)>> You ready for some off road fun having buddy?

(LT)>> Alright!

(Austin)>> Drive it like you stole it! [ Music ] Yeah!

(LT)>> I mean honestly the suspension, even though it basically is stock with nothing more than a spacer, it's really doing pretty good.

(Austin)>> Dude I know. They've got these super light coil springs on here and they handle anything. You can go really fast, hit something, and really not get thrown around too bad.

(LT)>> I've got to say for a budget build on a basically stock Jeep I'm a lot more impressed toward the end of the day than I was at the beginning. I was worried.

(Austin)>> Dude you can put us in a go-cart, on a broom stick, an ice chest wheels, we're still gonna have fun no matter where we're at. Hop in there and tell me what you think. [ Music ]

(LT)>> You ready for this? Hold on! Bump!

(Austin)>> Woo hoo, whoa, brakes, brakes!

(LT)>> Alright there we go.

(Austin)>> Fenders went, both of them got ripped off.

(LT)>> The whole fenders come off. The roof was wet.

(Austin)>> Some kind of way.

(LT)>> Dude where'd the fenders go?

(Austin)>> Fenders gone, my boots are wet from being inside the Jeep cause we got holes in the floor.

(LT)>> There they are.

(Austin)>> Look clown.

(LT)>> That was fun!

(Austin)>> Why did we even waste our time cutting them? You should just take the back ones off too I guess.

(LT)>> The mud will do it for us. Alrighty, let's see.

(Austin)>> Let's go slip on some rocks.

(LT)>> Yeah I feel like we're gonna be doing a lot of that. [ engine revving ]

(LT)>> Okay.

(Austin)>> Easy peasy bro.

(LT)>> Can you see what's in front of that tire?

(Austin)>> Like a rock or two.

(LT)>> Am I going to smash into it?

(Austin)>> Let me hop out, sort you out here. Coming to the rescue, helping him out again. [ engine revving ]

(Austin)>> And I was right. [ engine revving ]

(Austin)>> Yeah you just need more speed bro.

(LT)>> More speed, famous last words right. [ engine revving ]

(LT)>> Got'em.

(Austin)>> How easy is that? Well this little dude obviously got limitations but it just gives us a foundation to build upon right?

(LT)>> I do have to say though for a bone stock vehicle, mostly bone stock vehicle, I am impressed. I didn't think it would go up this, I'll be honest, but no we've got a nice blank canvas to build from and I think we can turn this into an extremely capable off road rig.

(Austin)>> For sure, and it just proves that you can have fun in anything. It doesn't matter. Still build it better.

(LT)>> Alright well back to the shop.

(Austin)>> Let's go eat. I don't care what we eat.