Here we go, the story of my KK:
One thing to note is that all the mods were done in Germany by myself and a few buddies. Before I get started, I wanted to give a big shoutout to a few members that have personally helped me in my journey. Diggerfreek: answered all my stupid questions from the get go and showed me the vast amount of wisdom in the Tech section. DirtyKK: helped me with my tire selection questions, and during my Detours Backbone phase. We had the same Jeep there for a while bud
, and finally, Atthehelm: He helped my Jeep progress so much since I first bought the bumpers from him. Normally people wouldn't go through the hassle to have to breakdown their bumpers just so it'll ship to APO via USPS, but Attthehelm went above and beyond to deliver excellent customer service. I now own, everything he makes for the KK, as well as a really cool custom switch bank.
She's come along way since I bought her used back in Feb 2010. She was completely stock when I got her, and to be honest, at the time, I had no big plans to upgrade her. A guy I worked with pointed me in the direction of this fine forum, and thus, my dream began to take shape. Two deployments to the sandbox later, as well as two bad wheel bearings, a blown radiator fan, three sets of tires, one crazy alignment story, and a broken belt, she's still kicking like a mule. I refer to my Jeep as a she simply because I have grown quite attached to her over the last three years. She's my first owned vehicle, my first Jeep, and so many other firsts. I wouldn't change this journey for the world. I started painting things black with the grill, then , about a year later, I did the fenders. I absolutely love the way it all turned out. My Jeep truly is one of a kind. That being said, I made a few mistakes with her as well. Such as neglecting to get an alignment done after I lifted it, resulting in the premature death of my Cooper ST's. I have (embarrassingly) accidentally rolled into someone else, when I forgot to engage the parking brake (did I mention this is my first stick as well?) fortunately the damage was only cosmetic, and was removed when I replaced the bumper with Atthehelm's awesome Bumpers. Last weekend, I went on my first Official offroad park trip in my Jeep, to a German quarry that was opened to the public for the last time this year. I had tons of looks and comments about my bumpers, overall look, and the capability of her. I too have to admit that I was impressed by what she could do. We separated into groups when we entered the the park, and somehow I ended up with the two biggest Jeeps in our group. Next thing I know, I'm flooring it in four wheel low to climb up a 55-60 degree hill to get to the top. When I finally crested the climb I was so excited I almost slid into the tree 15 feet from the hill. The look on the other guys faces that I made it up were priceless. I snapped a few pictures at the top and let me adrenaline settle.
Installing my lights to the rack was another project in itself. I had never done wiring of any sort before, and have learned so much from figuring out myself. As much as I love the lights, The negative thing about the 6 inch round face, is that no matter how seemingly tight you have nuts and bolts torqued down as to not move the light pattern, it seems they always adjust themselves. I suppose autobahn driving does no good either.
The ultimate plan for my Jeep is to make her into an Overland vehicle. I would very much like to make an expedition of the continental divide in the entire United States. One day......
Here are all the pictures I have at hand at the moment. I will add new ones as I take interesting ones to share.
Here is the switch bank Atthehelm custom made for me. I worked with the folks over at OTRATTW.com to have custom light rockers made with the front vector of my Jeep.
Just one of the guys.
This one was taken at the excavation pit in Germany. On the other side of mine is the monster JK, 4 inch lift and 37's.
Another from the Pit, as are the next few:
Taken at the top of the hill at the Pit, I was so proud of my Jeep.
Here are a few older ones in the mountains by the house (in Germany). this was before I painted the fenders and had my bumpers and rack.
Here she is bone stock, in our first winter together:
Pictures of various angles outside the house:
All the lights on:
More in the woods by the house
The final picture I have for now is when my window got busted out on a trail. I was bouncing along, minding my own business, when a thick tree branch decided to hang out with my passenger in the back seat. My bonehead buddy in the picture shoots a pose.
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Wow that's a great before and after picture!