Quote Originally Posted by Timmy View Post
You bring up some great points. Of course, with BB, you had the first of the new engines in a JK, right? So the JK body itself had been around for a while which meant the aftermarket was already in full gear at that point making things for it.

You know... You could look to just buy a low mile JK (like under 5k miles on it) and then build it, but do so with the intent to sell it for a profit (or break even) after the JL has been released and the aftermarket has caught up to it. Some people build their JK so they are sooooo personalized that really nobody else would want it. Instead, make it a build that 80%-90% of any Jeep buyer would love. The perfect everyman's "almost extreme" Jeep. (Saying this because I know you like a challenge and a goal.) As you mentioned, those High Top fenders are a good example of this. Won't offend anyone, people will question if they are aftermarket or not. They even allow you to slap 35" tires with only a 2.5" lift, so you wouldn't even need to change the front drive shaft due to a high lift and yet you'd still be able to get full flex out of it. Make it your goal to see if you can build a Jeep, drive it and sell it for no loss so that you can put that money into the JL.

I was talking with a friend of mine yesterday that just bought a new Infinity SUV. He remarked "you have as much into that Jeep as I do into this Infinity." Well.... $38k for the used Jeep with a spare set of studded 35" snow tires and $10k MAX in aftermarket parts and labor. I'm sure he thought this because he looks at my Jeep and thinks it's better than then $62k AEV decked out rigs he's seeing at the stealerships. I've noticed that 37" tires have a way of making people think this.

In fact, I just may consider selling mine. The JK market is going to soften when the JL hits. I wonder if I could sell mine for break even at just the right moment and then pick up the last model year JK at a discount and start over!
Starting over is a daunting task. All the time invested is lost.

Im confident that any way I'd build a JK would be desirable, It would be ultra light and razor sharp. Id be even lighter than bb this time. Carbon fiber wherever i can put it, aluminum everywhere else. I'd even rip out the steel suspension and replace with aluminum.

There may be a run on JK's when the JL is released. People may not like it. Thats what happened when the JK came out. Jeep was criticized for ruining the TJ.