Posted: 3/27/12
The next stage of our 2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon dubbed "SCX10JK" involves some protection, styling and clearance. We headed back over to Rebel Off Road to check on the progression of our build, and they are busy working on the next few steps to include the front and rear steel Poison Spyder Crusher Flares (check out the front here , and the rears here ), and steel rear Crusher Corners (found here) .
The Crusher flares will offer a significant amount of extra space for the wheels to travel while the vehicle is fully articulated. They will also offer some much needed strength should our rig rub up against the rocks while out on the trail. Let's have a look at the stock fender then the Poison Spyder Crusher flares....
The stock front and rear fenders on the JK
The front and rear stock fenders removed from the Jeep.
Rebel sent out the Poison Spyder Crusher Flares to have them powder coated in a Mat black, should look great against the silver!
You can really see the difference between the stock fenders and the Poison Spyder Crusher flares, they will offer a tremendous amount of extra clearance, and will offer strength should they hit the earth.
These Crusher flares are very easy to install, completely "bolt on", and man do they look good!
Here are the fronts....
And here are the rears...
The next step was to install the Poison Spyder Rear Crusher Corners. These are a work of art. Made from steel, they have been formed to fit exactly against the rear corner of the Jeep body shell. This body armor will likely see a few scratches if the jeep ever rubs up against a giant rock versus completely crushing the stock body panel in the same scenario. These are a bit more complicated to install, as it requires a little more surgery to get them on proper. This is where the owner of a brand new Jeep JK should probably leave the shop, it is hard to watch the drill push through the outside of the brand new body for the first time!
The first step was to send these Crusher Corners out to be powder coated. Bond at Rebel knew the exact color to powder coat them to almost match the silver of the Jeep exactly, they came out perfect!
The contours and curves in this part is what makes it a work of art, as a metal fabricator, I can't imagine what it takes to make the tool that made this.
Before install, Rebel needed to completely strip the corners of tail lights and place some blue tape on the crusher flares to protect them while mocking up the corner to mark the holes.
As stated before, we fully trust Rebel to the job, but you still cringe when the drill cuts the first hole!
Well Jeff, there it is, the first bit of Body damage to your brand new Jeep, and the guys at Rebel were smiling the whole time they were doing it!
After all the holes are drilled, riv-nuts or threaded inserts are installed to be able to bolt on the corners, this process looks crazy!!!
After all the inserts are installed, it is time to "final" install the corners.
Once the corners are installed, the LED tail lights are placed in the rear corners.
With both rear corners installed, the body protection is really coming along, got to love the "Rebel" spare tire mount block off plate!
The guys at Rebel also put a little black behind the Poison Spyder logo on the Crusher Corners to make it stand out. These are the details that make the difference in a build, and that's why this rig is at Rebel!
Jeff stopped by Rebel to check out the progress on his Jeep build, here is a candid of him obviously playing with the compression clicker on the Icon shocks. Busted!
This Axial Project "SCX10JK" is at full speed now, with more and more parts being installed every day over at Rebel. We will continue to update you with the progress as it happens. Next on the list are the front and rear bumpers, sliders, and some more body protection from Poison Spyder. Please stop back in to the Axial Blog on the regular to see the latest updates. For the history on this vehicle, please visit our past blog entries outlined below... Oh, and thanks for stopping by!
The Full Size Connection
Axial 2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited
Axial Visits Rebel Off Road
Axial "SCX10JK" - Icon Suspension
To learn more about Poison Spyder and the very high quality products they produce, be sure to visit their website here
