It’s been a busy week in the BDS R&D Shop as the guys prep Project KJ for the 2013 Ultimate Adventure. The project white board is looming over the guys with a daunting task list and only 10 work days to complete. From body work to engine prep the team is working on all areas of the build. The plasma table was been getting a workout with plenty of parts getting cut out over the last coulpe weeks. A custom aluminum fuel cell was designed in Solidworks and cut out to snuggly fit the contours of our recessed cargo area. We went this route over the conventional cell to allow us to maximize the space available and still allow us room for the dual Optima batteries, air compressors and full size 40” spare while allowing us to reuse the factory tank’s internals to ease plumbing the system. The body work is still on schedule and is being prepped for a fresh coat of paint next week. To help us focus on the KJ body, electrical, and plumbing projects, we decided to pull the axles and drop them off at All Pro Off-Road to help us out with the gear/locker install. You may recall from an earlier update the JK Rubicon Dana 44s we were sleeved, trussed, and gusseted to accept the BDS 4-link suspension linkage, Fox 2.5 remote coilovers, and Fox 2.0 bumps. Internal upgrades for the axles include 5.13 Nitro Gear ring & pinions, air-Ox Locker front with 30-spline Nitro Gear chromoly shafts, and an ARB air locker rear with 35-spline Nitro Gear chromoly shafts. We’ll have the axles back next week for final install along with custom driveshafts from our friends at Drivelines Plus to turn this KJ back into a rolling chassis.

In the meantime the work continues on the body and engine. Panels are being prepped for paint and the new radiator and intercooler are getting plumbed into the little I4 Diesel. Parts continues to arrive on the daily and we have big expectations for next week’s build progress. A special thanks goes out to our buddies at Offroad Power Products, AFe Power, and Edge Products for go fast goodies to make sure our little 2.8L CRD is up to snuff with turning our 40” Maxxis Trepadors. We’ll have more on those upgrades as parts get installed. Stay tuned for plenty more in the coming days as Project Liberty takes shape.

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The crew from Bullhide 4×4 put on a great show with a number of vendors on site, local 4×4 clubs hanging out and special offers all day long. WIth great weather all day, attendance was up and many customers came by to ask questions, sharing stories, and stopping by to show off their trucks and Jeeps. A great show and great people, Ted had a blast meeting customers and hanging out with the Bullhide staff. Thanks again for the hospitality.

To check out photos from the event, head to the BDS Facebook album.

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It’s been a couple days since we updated you on Project KJ, our ’05 Liberty CRD for the 2013 Ultimate Adventure (UA) hosted by 4Wheel & Off-Road Magazine. This week the guys running full steam to getting this Jeep prepped, with tons of fab work still needing to take place and off the shelf parts arriving daily. This week the suspension and steering work continued, t-case was installed, radiator and intercooler arrived and mocked into location, and body work began to cap off the rear window chop. Only 12 days remain until this Jeep needs to hit the road for the secret start point of UA and the guys are starting to feel the pressure.

To get a lower 4Lo range, we went with a NP-241 Rocktrac case out of a JK Rubicon. This will give us 4.0:1 low range and help improve its crawling capabilities. The case bolted right up to our 545RFE tranny, no indexing or body mods needed. Driveshafts are being sourced from Drivelines Lines Plus and should be hear the first part of next week. Pac Racing dropped off the springs to fit our Fox 2.5 coilovers. We went with 12x3x250 and 14x3x350 up front for the weight of the diesel, winch and tubework and stuck with a 12x3x200 and 14x3x300 coil for the rear. Shocks are being assembled to reinstall on soon.

The new radiator, cooler, and electric fan are being mocked up and plumbed. Our Warn 9.0 Rc will mount below (recessed into the front bumper) along with a pair of Rigid dually lights. Air intake, winch controller, C/O reservoir mounts, and PSC steering pump/resevoir still need to be installed. Nothing like trying to cram 10lbs of $#!T into a 5lb bag. Time is not on our side at this point, stay tuned for more updates are this Jeep comes together.

Follow along and join the discussion on Facebook, YouTube, BDS Blog, LostJeeps Forum, Jeep Forum and JeepKJ Forum.

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There was plenty of commotion around the BDS R&D Shop when I stopped by Friday late afternoon. Seems the approaching deadline to have the KJ prepped in time for the 2013 Ultimate Adventure has brought the team together as they work to complete suspension, drivetrain, cage, body mods, fuel cell and more. I mentioned in the last post parts have been arriving on the daily are are prepped for install. There’s still a number of areas that require fabrication and finish welding. Suspension linkage is nearly completed and uses a 4-link front and triangulated 4-link rear. 14” stroke Fox 2.5 remote coilovers arrived and are awaiting a set of Pac Racing springs to be installed (will have more on the coil specs when they arrive). Fox 2.0 bump stops will be installed soon to help keep our soon to arrive 40” Nitto Trail Grapplers off of the fenders. Up front our PSC JK steering box has been mounted to a reinforced front “framerail” and accepts the OE steering shaft linkage. The “framerail” is being notched to allow the track bar clearance at full compression.

Parts awaiting to be installed are heavy duty ball joints and axle seals from Alloy USA, our Nitro 5.13 Gears, Nitro 30-spline front shafts and Air-Ox Locker front, ARB Air Locker rear and Nitro 35-spline shafts, JK NP-241 Rocktrac T-Case with 4.0:1 low range, and an ARB air compressor. A shiny new Warn 9.0 Rc winch is sitting on deck ready to get recess mounted into a front bumper that we will be built in the coming week(s) to protect the front end and the new radiator, intercooler, and electric fan we have to go in. Driveline’s Plus is building a custom set of driveshafts for us as we move towards having this Jeep Liberty CRD mobile again. The fuel cell is being built in CA and just for fun we opened up the sunroof hole to accept the larger 36×40” Sliding Ragtop. Plenty more to come on this project, stay tuned for updates and more.

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BDS hit the road this past weekend for the 11th Annual Adams Jeep Jam hosted by BDS Distributor Adams Jeep of Maryland. This yearly event attracts past customers and Jeepers alike for a fun filled day out at the dealership. From car crushing action to the obstacle course, show-n-shine and tons of giveaways the event boasted tons of fun activities for the whole family. BDS reps Jeff and Bryce made it out for the day to hang out and talk to customers. More than 350 Jeeps and hundreds more spectators made it out for the event making it one of the best turn outs yet. The obstacle course stayed busy all day long as Jeepers brought their rides out for some fun trail riding. The PA Jeep Club brought out an RTI ramp and Adam’s had their ever popular car crush that brings in quite a crowd.

Bryce and Jeff had a great time at the event and wanted to give a big thanks to Chuck and the rest of the crew from Adams Jeep as well as to all the customers that stopped by to say hi. This is always a great event and the guys are already looking forward to next year’s Jam.

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This week the guys are fabbing up the rear of the KJ. After discussing the options to mount the rear suspension, roll cage, spare tire, fuel cell, dual batteries, air compressor, and more into the rear of this Liberty, the decision was made to remove the OE trunk floor and build a new subfloor that will act as a skid plate and give us additional storage space.  We’ve seen some comments on the message boards about not much Liberty left, and this week’s update won’t help our case. That being said the guys are making progress and while the visual of the rear layout may not make total sense yet, it should as they fab work comes together. The plan is to build a fuel cell to mount at the bottom of the subfloor. It will be taller on the driver’s side to incorporate additional fuel storage and allow us to reinstall the OE fuel sending unit and OE filler door location. Dual batteries will be mounted driver’s side forward of the fuel cell, air compressor mounted on the passenger side. Spare tire will be mounted at slant and additional space will be allotted for tool storage and spare parts.

With our Fox remote coil-overs and bump stops in the shop now, the guys will be finishing up the suspension, mounting C/Os and setting up the bumps to work with our low center of gravity suspension.We’ll have plenty more on the install and setup as the suspension comes together.

Lastly this week, we just received a cool retractable canvas soft top to install on what’s left of our Liberty’s roof. This 36×40 retractable sunroof came from slidingragtops.com and will be taking up the remaining real estate along the top of our Jeep. Call it JK envy, this retractable top is a cool way to get the topless feeling out on the trail and some wind in our hair, so to speak. It’ll also help as we finish building and finish welding up the roll cage.

Follow along and join the discussion on Facebook, YouTube, BDS Blog, LostJeeps Forum, Jeep Forum and JeepKJ Forum.

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More goodies arrived today for Project KJ, the ’05 Liberty CRD being built to take on the 2013 Ultimate Adventure. This special delivery comes from our friends at Fox Racing who just dropped off a set of 14” stroke, 2.5” remote coilovers and 2.0 bumps to be mounted at all 4 corners. We’ll have more on these as they get mounted in place over the next couple days as we move closer to getting this chassis rolling again. One month to go until the start of the 2013 Ultimate Adventure. Follow along with the build up at BDS Project KJ buildup.

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Special Delivery just came in from our friends at JustDifferentials.com, 5.13 Nitro gears, master overhaul kit, Ox Locker with air actuator for the front along with Nitro 30-spline axle shafts. In the rear we’re going with 5.13 Nitro gears, ARB Air Locker and 35-spline Nitro axle shafts. Both lockers will be plumbed into an ARB twin air compressor. All great parts going into our Project Liberty CRD. Stay tuned for more…

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