Shocks and tops...

The TJ came with a hard top and a 4" Fabtech lift. 

Turns out the hard top was actually a YJ hard top. 

It fit well on my TJ, but I have always preferred soft tops. 

They may be a bit less secure as far as tops go, 

but what jeep top really is secure? 

So I put it out there that I wanted to trade tops,

a straight up top for top trade.

Turns out a friend of mine had a soft top he wanted to get rid of.

He also had a bikini top, with rear deck cover and a windjammer too boot.

The top had a tear in it, 

but it was an easy enough fix.

I took a piece of black waterproof material,

designed for boat covers, 

and cut two patches out of it.

I bought some E6000 industrial glue, 

and spread it all over the bottom patch,

and stuck it to the torn area.

After that, I simply did the same for the top patch

and then sewed the two together, through the original top.

Problem solved.

Here is what the rest of the soft top looks like:

The other top I got in the deal,

is a combo bikini/tonneau/windjammer.

It will be the perfect top for summer.

from the interior:

The way these soft tops are made amazes me.

The thought and attention to detail is great.

Everything tucks in, or straps down 

and 99% of the elements are kept outside the rig.

I am extremely impressed.

I also picked up some longer travel shocks.

The ones on the rig weren't bad, 

but they were only around 8-9 inches of travel in front 

and about 7-8 inches in the rear.

The new Rubicon Express shocks are 11.5 inches up front

and around 10 inches out back. 

My goal was to get about 12 inches of travel, 

so these are pretty much there.

old vs. new

rear to front - left to right

Another advantage of these shocks is the specific valving.

They are designed with my exact jeep in mind 

and it shows in the smooth ride.

I don't have any flex pictures of the new shocks yet, 

those will come in a few days,

but I do have some old flex shots up on Hunter Lake Trail.

So far so good. 

Preliminary measurements show that the jeep's brake lines,

and the bumpstops should operate just fine with the new shocks.

Plus I got rid of the awful faded red on the old shocks.

Silver just works better for suspension components.

It goes nicely with the blue coils too.