The Seattle Sandstorm Build

Thanks guys!

John and Crew at ACR&O did almost all the work on my Jeep and there's nobody I trust more to work on my junk.

As far as some of the other questions, the ladder is the "other" ladder from ebay. It's not bad but I did have to drill some holes and shove some threadserts in there to hold it in place. The bad news is, if I want to take the ladder off, I'll have 4 big holes in the back door.

The roofrack is the ARB short rack with the FJ fit kit. And it fits like a dream. Very little wind noise.

The antenna on the drivers side is a Comet SSB-2 on a K-400 mount. It's the antenna for the Kenwood TM-D700 VHF/HUF ham radio. There will be some other antennas on the rig shortly.

Once I have the truck back from John, I'll photograph the rest of the mods/add ons and post some more photos to the thread. Of course, John will be posting more of the lift/tires portion of the build!

rescue7 said:

This is a dumb question for you vets I KNOW. But is the real gobi ladder a direct bolt on part? DO you have to drill holes for that one as well? It would make me more hesitant if you did. Love the look of that thing though! What about clearence for the ladder with bigger tires?

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The Gobi ladder does NOT bolt on. It's just brackets that "grip" the door. I don't mind drilling or cutting on my rig, as you can see from the shower of sparks in the pictures above ... however, I don't like it when I have to remove something that's been drilled. Thus my concern over the spare tire clearance with the ladder.

Nobody likes a showoff.

ACR&O said:

Like I stated in my introduction thread, I've been mainly a Jeep guy, and new to the FJ's (although learning quick). I spent HOURS surfing here last night and reading. It sounds like the easiest way to calibrate the speedometer is with this:

Universal Speedometer Signal Interface

Which I stole from this thread:
http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/wheels-tires/42841-tire-size-recalibration-speedo.html


Rob, you should probably order one of these if you're worried about it. Once I get your rig together I'll check it /w my GPS and see how close it is.

John

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I'm not really all that worried about it. The GPS on the dash is what I use to keep an eye on speed. I've noticed that my speedo is usualy reading less than my speed measured with GPS. For example, if the GPS says I'm traveling at 70 mph, the speedo is usualy at 66 or 67 mph.

But I never exceed the speed limit anyway. I'm a law abiding citizen. imp:

And once again John has built another amazing rig!

Indeed I will.

As soon as it's back from seeing the Alignment Doctor I'll grab it!

Don't worry... as soon as it gets out and gets dirty there will be pics posted. I also have to take the pics of the rest of the little stuff... bumper, winch, CO2 mounting, Roof Rack, sliders... blah, blah, blah.

I almost forgot how big it was and had to stop myself from parking in the garage at work. Those days are over.

Garsgrl said:

Looks great........ r u going to black out the mirrors, handles and rear wings?

I love the expedition bumper.

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I sure am. I have the black Tundra handles on order. Seems like there's been a rush on them. Hmmm. Wonder why.

And I love the ExpOne bumper too. It really looks good and is a little less beefy than the ARB.

FJinFredericksburg said:

How did you mount the your spare? with a spacer?

Great looking Fj!

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Thanks. The spare is mounted with spacers on the bracket studs. Is that how you did yours, too?

rutherk1 said:

How is the ride on the road?

On the freeway at high speeds?

Any vibrations?

Any check "whatever" lights?

Very nice.

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The ride is great. It really feels more like a truck, which I like. There is some minor clunking and groaning from the lift as the bushings wear in a bit. A small vibration around 55mph but at highway speed it's all good. No idiot lights except the Tire Pressure sensor because I didn't swap the valve stems. Need to find a hack to disable that.

Mtn... do it! It's great training, good to give something back to the community... and maybe, if you're lucky, you'll get an uber-sexy lime green reflective hi-viz jacket like mine. :browsmiley:

Thanks Rope... skids are on the list, too. So many things to buy... so little money.

SafetyDave said:

Looking sharp Rob! Glad to see the SAR team is going strong and well still. Let me know if you ever want to do a ride along with me sometime. Your more than welcome!

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Hey Dave, thanks for the offer! I'd love to do a ride along! As soon as I get a free minute between school and work, we'll connect! I hope all is well... and stay safe.

ridgerunner2021 said:

Great looking rig. I read a lot of the messages but I haven't seen any mention of your headlight protectors. Do I see some kind of grill on there? If so what are they and where did you get them.
Thanks

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Ahhhh... the BBQ grills. You'll want to check out this thread: http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/foru...visual-tech/17449-home-grown-lens-covers.html

Frogeye has discovered one of the coolest $10 mods known to man! (However, I eschewed the sheetrock screws and wedged mine behind the bezel! Sorry Frogeye... just had to flip you some $#!T)

69cobrajet said:

Best looking sandstorm out there.

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Yeah, I'll agree with that.