The $500 ScienceMobile build

[LibertyTC]

2 Hockey pucks per side, drill hole in center, & on perch, bolt in.
Since the Jeep likes to play on the ice, only used pucks that were game played got installed. Game On !

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[Johnny O]

2 Hockey pucks per side, drill hole in center, & on perch, bolt in.
Since the Jeep likes to play on the ice, only used pucks that were game played got installed. Game On !

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Somewhere around here I have a box with Penguins game pucks. Finally have a use for them!

 

[lfhoward]

Nice to see another field scientist using their Liberty for work!

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[Johnny O]

Nice to see another field scientist using their Liberty for work!

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Damn straight! The best field work is just a paid camping trip with souvenirs no one else cares about! (Of course I make time for some avocational fossils and rocks too...and play EMT when the Damn undergraduates join me)

 

[Johnny O]

So far here is the list of stuff so far:

Just to get it road worthy for now (it is literally six blocks to work, so I figure it is a good time to drive it and find out what else it needs!)

Regulator and motor assembly for passenger rear window- ready to install this sunday

Drive train: (ready to install this weekend once the weather figures out what it is going to do)
Front drive shaft (as the previous owner lost the one that was in there)
CV rebuild kit

Suspension: (will install once all bits arrive, weather is decent, and I confirm the local off road joint can align libertys)
2 ea OME springs 2297
2 ea OME springs 2948
2 ea OME struts
2 ea OME rear shocks
Note- got these all as a 1.5" heavy weight lift set via Quadratec...apparently is a minor back order type thing going on...and I kind of gave up on trying to comprehend Jeep Shocks and Struts numbers

2 ea Terraflex 1903200 front bump stops

4 hockey pucks, 2.5" 3/8" bolts, washers, nuts (as suggested earlier...will add baling wire and duct tape as needed...)

To be ordered/scavenged/traded for my firstborn, etc. etc. etc. :
2 ea JBA UCAs
5 ea Toyo Open Country AT III @ 225/75r16
5 ea wheels for the Toyos (more research needed)
something to replace those plastic roof rails
Replacement interior panel for driver side front door armrest


And likely a bunch of other stuff I don't know about or haven't discovered needs replacement yet...

 

[tommudd]

AHHHHH
little note, rear shocks will top out if you go off road any at all or even off camber
they are good only to 1.5 inches or so of lift, you're going 2.5 inches

1.5 inch is advertised height in Australia for insurance purposes
Quatratec doesn't know one thing about KJs

anywhere can align a lifted KJ, you just have to convince them and give them the specs, I had one shop with a 55 year old guy that did over 40 for me , knew just what to do and did it
one new tech right out of school was totally lost and said there was no way LOL

 

[Johnny O]

AHHHHH
little note, rear shocks will top out if you go off road any at all or even off camber
they are good only to 1.5 inches or so of lift, you're going 2.5 inches

Oh! Okies, back to the planning that. I’m struggling a bit comprehending shock and strut sizing.

I still have time to stop that order, so I’ll rethink all that.

best I can tell from the measurements you had me take, I’ll be fine back and forth to work and such, but I’m gonna get that suspension squared away ASAP.

part of my current struggle was some wonky info from the vin...admitted lack of experience!

it is kind of fun to learn all this stuff...feel like I’m 15 again and teaching myself VWs


I know nothing of vendors really, so I admit a bit of guess work in addition to digging through these forums and the others.

 

[Johnny O]

Interesting bit today about the tires too. It is rocking some fairly beat-up 225/75r16s ... which helped me figure out why various VIN lookups and such were giving me conflicting data. half say its a limited, half a sport...

 

[tommudd]

What flares are on it
if painted then it is a Limited painted bumpers, flares
if sort of rough surface on flares and bumpers , not painted then it is a sport

and since yours is all painted it is a Limited should have leather seats as well

unless of course someone switched it all over
I have Renegade flares, Renegade roof rack and Limited leather interior in the 03 ! LOL

 

[LibertyTC]

Here in post #3 are the Lifted alignment specs: https://www.jeepkj.com/threads/lifted-alignment-specs-question.62844/

 

[Johnny O]

What flares are on it
if painted then it is a Limited painted bumpers, flares
if sort of rough surface on flares and bumpers , not painted then it is a sport

and since yours is all painted it is a Limited should have leather seats as well

unless of course someone switched it all over
I have Renegade flares, Renegade roof rack and Limited leather interior in the 03 ! LOL

So its all painted, has the painted flares, the seats are not leather. As it goes with used cars, anything is possible...maybe ill just install the 64 bug seats I have out in the shed...lol

 

[Johnny O]

Here in post #3 are the Lifted alignment specs: https://www.jeepkj.com/threads/lifted-alignment-specs-question.62844/

Aye! I just spent the last hour or so scouting that one and a bunch of other threads and such. I'm going to sleep on all this new to me data, then try try again to get it right in my head and on paper...and after a whiskey or six post it up on here for review.

I was successful in canceling my previous order!

 

[tommudd]

Just need longer shocks
also contact www.boulderbars.com ( ALLJs )
They sell OME and did have a set of 132L OMEs which is the extended rear shocks for a KJ
Talk to Heather ( co-owner ) and tell her I sent ya

 

[Johnny O]

Project UPDATE:

So, I decided to get a little risky and take the thing for a drive. I just couldn’t wait much longer. Had been having trouble keeping the battery charged, but found an interior light switch was grounded out. Fixed that with some contact cleaner and went for a very cautious roll around campus and my neighborhood. I Did start and dive it home, but that was on back roads at 10mph with 4 ways and a chase vehicle...but this is the first time I’ve drove it if you get my drift.

Zero issues. No idiot lights. Figured out the passenger window regulator motor works just fine, but glass is off the track: easy fix!

Other than the previous mentioned issues, I’m actually kind of shocked what a smooth running machine this is. It is weird to drive something that doesn’t reek of gas and old coconut fiber and feels like a Snickers wrapper with wheels! Keyless entry is shot. Rear window doesn’t latch and can’t get tailgate open, but that looks to be easy fixes too.

additionally, I’ll be damned if I can figure out if it is a limited or a sport. It’s got limited paint and trim, but cloth seats, no fancy overhead brain pod, yadda yadda yadda. At this point, I really don’t care. For 500$ in 2021, hell. Might as well have some entertainment!

Anyway, tomorrow I’m off to various junk yards to look for interesting bits while I continue to learn.

 

[Johnny O]

Just need longer shocks
also contact www.boulderbars.com ( ALLJs )
They sell OME and did have a set of 132L OMEs which is the extended rear shocks for a KJ
Talk to Heather ( co-owner ) and tell her I sent ya

I had seen these guys mentioned and checked out their site, but honestly am a bit embarrassed as I don’t know the lingo yet. I’ll give them a shout and be apologetic!

 

[TorrentIV]

Ok, not a science guy, but a science fan, and this has me all sorts of intrigued. Will be following this with great interest

 

[Johnny O]

Ok, not a science guy, but a science fan, and this has me all sorts of intrigued. Will be following this with great interest

Cool!

for clarity, I’m a retired navy fire controllman. I specialized in CIWS. I’m a lifelong outdoorsman that used the gi Bill to get degrees in biology, chemistry, and invertebrate zoology...which sounds really fancy, but in truth I was last in my class and barely got my degrees...

In my new career, I wasn’t good enough to be a professor or even get into grad school. But I found my niche managing laboratories at the third largest university in Nebraska, which is like saying I got promoted to assistant manager at Walmart...

but now I specialize in aquatic worms no one cares about, yell at undergraduates daily, and most importantly get paid to go camping to find those worms.

for hobbies I hunt fossils and cool rocks, teach Boy and Girl Scouts wilderness survival, play backcountry EMT and Canyonland SAR. Sometimes I collect insects and defenestrate Star Trek and Star Wars fans by proving all Alien movies are better.

im not really good at anything, but can BS my way through everything.

this Liberty build is a lark because my credit union refuses to finance anything under 30k...and I’m a notorious cheapskate that only builds vehicles for function, not looks or trends...

So, thanks for following this fiasco, but I’m building this Liberty to do a specific job set and nothing more...and as a lifelong VW bug guy I have no clue what I’m doing...

but I just saw another at least 60k wrangler build with mall rated badges...and promptly order some of those for this build.

you will likely be disappointed, but hopefully will learn from my painful noob mistakes!

looks are for the young, function is for real geeks!

 

[tommudd]

If you veer too far off course we are here to stop by and beat some sense into ya !
Many of us have been building these things for years now for ourselves and others so have made the mistakes and learned a " few " things along the way LOL
Saw a black JK today with 6 inches of lift and 33 inch tires on 22 inch wheels
wheels and suspension was all really bright green with red interior and outside was black OH DEAR it was horrible

 

[turblediesel]

Try a new battery in your key. The manual spells out different options for the key buttons. If the tailgate is opened without a (big) battery the rear glass won't latch until the rear latch is released by the keyfob or the tiny switch attached to the rear gate handle. The tiny switch gets wet and fails.

 

[Johnny O]

If you veer too far off course we are here to stop by and beat some sense into ya !
Many of us have been building these things for years now for ourselves and others so have made the mistakes and learned a " few " things along the way LOL
Saw a black JK today with 6 inches of lift and 33 inch tires on 22 inch wheels
wheels and suspension was all really bright green with red interior and outside was black OH DEAR it was horrible

WTF? Frakk no. ScienceMobile. Purpose built by a noob. This bit of junk only has life and mods to find worms...and let me haul back legit dinosaurs it took me nearly a decade to legally harvest...and camp out/drink whiskey and shoot/eat the tight pants/beard/sinfluencer **** that leave crap all over my research sites!