Charlie's 95 KR to KY LT Taco

After waiting a few days in Houston and dealing with a lot of BS from the shipper/broker, I was able to clear customs myself, pay $0 in customs duties/taxes and drive the truck away from the port on Friday, July 15th. There were so many vehicles there but mine was parked right by the office kind of in the most convenient spot possible and right next to two 90's Defenders that were imported from South Africa (they were really nice).



I immediately started driving it and after a couple hours I hit the 120k milestone and by Friday evening, I made it all the way to Ozana, TX. It was close to 100 degrees outside and that's when I noticed that the temperature needle was going back and forth between normal and RED. That's when I got off the first exit I found (Ozana) and stopped to figure out a plan. I searched all the shops in town and they were all closed but I went to one anyway. Luckily, the two mechanic's numbers were on the door. I called one and explained the situation to him and asked if he knew any private mechanics who could take a look at it now so he gave me a number and the man said to come right over. He was a nice guy and we flushed the coolant and filled it back up with some new Peak stuff we got at a gas station. I was so exhausted from everything that I ended up sticking around the guys house and drinking and talking until 3 in the morning. I also learned that my mechanic believes that the earth is flat and has seen UFOs before. I learned many interesting things about Ozana and it's safe to say that I won't be back for a visit.



By Saturday evening, I made it all the way to Florence, Arizona. I had originally intended on meeting the owner of the Jeep TJ forum but for whatever reason he was unresponsive so I just grabbed a motel, had some terrible tacos and margaritas, and went to sleep.



Sunday afternoon, I made it to Vegas, where I met Javier, the spindle guy (Heavy Friction Works - on Instagram) to pick up my spindles with new hubs and dials. These things turned out amazing. Pictures don't really do them justice. He really puts in a lot of time and does quality work. That said, they aren't cheap. Mine was actually the first set that he used powder coating on. All previous sets are Steel-It. Upon my arrival, he was even nice enough to press in my UCA slugs for me which is ultimately going to save time on my install. I then visited the Gold & Silver pawn shop from the show Pawn Stars and bought a Roman coin that I'll give to my father-in-law later, probably for Christmas. The rest of the night was spent at a bar in MGM Grand and then I gambled for the first time in my life on some stupid machines. It took me about 30 minutes to lose $60.

 

I woke up on Monday morning and immediately started the roughly four hour drive to Covina, CA, where Solo's shop is located. I arrived around 11 AM and was given the bad news that their install guy cannot touch my vehicle until the following Wednesday! This was a big issue for me since I really only intended on being there for a few days. So I drove to Advanced Fiberglass to pick up my 3.5" fenders and wait for some news about finding someone else to do the work for me. Luckily, Javier connected me with someone who could start the work immediately so I then again hit the road to Rancho Cucamonga and work started promptly that evening!

 

good looking road trip!!

Gonna drive or ship back to KY?

 

I'm still thinking about it and it's kinda tricky for me.

Options
1. Ship core parts to Vegas and Denver - ship truck from CA and fly back from LA (puts 0 miles on truck)
2. Drop off core parts in Vegas and Denver - ship truck from Denver and fly back from Denver (puts 1,100 miles on truck)
3. Drop off core parts in Vegas and Denver - drive all the way back (puts 2,200 miles on truck)

 

well if you're bored and have time... turn it into a 2500 mile trip over a week and see some really cool spots on the way!

 

yeah, but I would feel pretty guilty about having this turn into a trip for pleasure since my wife is abroad working full time. I've tried to keep leisure to a minimum. Need to start working here asap.

 

It appears that every single part on my front end is original. (except for rotors and pads and maybe the struts, but those might be, too)

Monday around 6 PM. This can serve as a before pic.



After the strip down, probably around 9 PM.

 

By Tuesday, most of my parts (minus LCAs and brake lines) had been dropped off to my installer.

All-Pro cam tab gussets welded on




Solo W.I.Y. UCA double-shear kit welded on




Frame cleaned up a little bit

 

Day 3

painted




Advanced Fiberglass fenders fitted up mostly. (probably have to get some body shop work done later before painting)

 

Day 4 & 5 updates (July 21/22, 2022)

B.A.M.F. BPV relocation bracket installed finally. Set at 4" of lift. When I originally lifted the rear in Summer 2021, I measured 6" but it's been about a year. Hopefully this setting turns out to be about right.


Wheelers extended stainless rear brake line installed


As of now, on both sides of the truck:
All-Pro cam tab gussets, bump sleeves, reservoir tabs, Solo UCA double-shear all welded on
Wheel wells have been cleaned and painted in Rustoleum flat black
Front portion of frame/coil buckets cleaned up and painted in Steel-It
Heavy Friction Works gusseted and powder-coated spindles installed (with new DuraGo hubs, extended lugs, ASIAN hub dials)
CVJ 3.5" long travel axles for manual hubs installed
Anonymous Fabrication uniball-converted lower ball joints installed
Fox coilovers in, Fox bumps in
Control arms in
Brake calipers sand blasted and painted, new NAPA rotors and pads






Still left to do:
driver's side fiberglass
diff drop? maybe.
limit straps
durobumps diff bushings
bleed brakes
bleed steering, steering lines
resi hose adjustment
new tires and alignment
remove shittybuilt side steps?
remove lower portion of front bumper and wire parking lights to turn signals?
go home

 

I may have completely glossed over this, but what CV axles are you using with the manual hubs and LT?

Edit: Ofc its in the first post rofl. Sweet, trucks gonna be sweet man!

 

Thank you! I'm looking forward to it! Hopefully I'll have it on the road Sunday. Tires and alignment Monday.

 

Day 7 - 6/24/2022

I went to pick up the truck today and it's made quite the transformation.












It's scary as hell to drive right now. So I just drove it a few miles to my hotel. First thing in the morning, it's going to get 33" KO2s mounted in place of these old 30" KOs and then off to get an alignment. Then back to KY! I miss home and this trip ended up costing more than I expected, as it usually does.

 

good lord, lower the preload too. You are like maxed on down travel. Probably rides like shit. You want the CV axles to be almost level, a bit angled down. You want to try and split you up and down travel at ride height so that your suspension can cope with a bit bump or a big hole.

I don' t have the best close up but this will give you an idea.

DeTour-32.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Do not get it aligned with it that high. you'll be wasting your money. Lower it first.

 

7/26/2022

five new tires - BFG KO2s 33X10.50R15
(previously BFG KO 30X9.50R15)

and a couple pics I took in Utah on the drive back from So Cal to KY.

 

7/28/2022 - arrived home in KY!

7/29/2022 - titled/registered and plated in KY - got historic plates!
new wipers put on - 17" RainX Advantedge

now over 124k miles on the odometer. I put ~4,200 miles on the truck in 2 weeks



Here is the Korean temporary plate I was issued before importing the truck. The DMV in Korea took both original plates At least I got to keep one of the temporary plates as a souvenir.


New plates



Before/After

 

8/21/2022


After dealing with a really rough ride in the rear, I measured the 5100s at ride height and confirmed that they are almost fully extended.
Measurements at ride height, I believe, were 20.5" driver and 21.5" passenger so I ordered:

Bilstein 5125 10" travel shocks
Energy Suspension shock bushings - two sets of part no.

$9 9.8108G 3/4" Hourglass Shock Eye Bushing

9.8108G - these have the correct I.D. (0.75")
Toyota washers - part numbers 9094803011 (4X) & 9094803020 (4X)

I also removed my rear fender flares and the Smittybuilt sidesteps. The truck looks better, I think, and rides much better. Front still needs to be dialed in, though.

thanks to @Bandido for the assistance, tools and company today!





Before flare and side step removal


and After

 

It was super nice to work on a truck that wasn't equal parts rust, mud, and metal.

 

hopefully that's still the case a year later. thanks for your help today

 

so uh... wheres the video of yours ripping??



also, @CharlieTaco nice lil truck.