Gave this mod a go as one of my first to my new '09 JK. Here is the frame job and final product:







A big thanks to David for this write up and answering some questions I had along the way. Top notch guy, even hooked me up with some left over stamped aluminum and shipped it all the way to Canada. If you're thinking it looks pretty much the same as his, that's why!

I had a small problem with a ripple in the aluminum, maybe bent a little in transit or something... Who knows... I used some small rubber bumbers I had laying around to stretch the metal towards the outside a little to correct it. Four bumpers did the trick and got rid of the indented look. Also had to relocate a small sensor (or something) that you can see in the pic. Not sure wtf it is though. Temperature sensor maybe??

 

Looks great guys.......might have to give this a whirl. I've only had the JK for about a month and my radiator is starting to look like it was in a war zone due to the highway travel I do and all the cinders still on the road.

and yes.....that is the outside temperature sensor

 

If anyone was interested I would pay someone to make me an insert and ship it to me.... let me know.

 

Man that is a great color. The grill mod looks great. I can’t seem to find c channel at a low price. I think that I might try it with 1/2" pcv pipe and if I like it well enough then I will have to get some c channel. Could anyone provide me with a link where they bought theirs?

 

nice job
kind of makes the one i did with the hot glue gun and gutter guard look silly.

 

Hey D_A, I got mine at the local Home Depot. It was less than $10 per stick. I hope that helps.

David

 

I'm out of the stamped aluminum now. The pieces I have left wouldn't cover the entire grille opening, or I would try to help you out somehow...

 

Wow! I'm glad I saw this thread before using the plastic gutter mesh they sell at Lowes. It doesn't look bad, but nowhere near as cool as the style of this stamped aluminum. I just might give this a try. Thanks for the write-up!

Is the bedliner coating usually preferred over a normal flat or semigloss black? I'm assuming it has a course texture to it? In the photos, it does seem to reflect a lot of light which leads me to believe it's pretty glossy... I was thinking that I'd prefer a flat paint, but maybe it would be difficult to keep clean.

Any advice on the coating?

 

I wouldn't have described it as glossy. I think you're probably just seeing the reflection of the camera flash. When I look at mine in normal daylight, it looks like a flat black paint. I don't know if there is any real advantage to using the bed liner coating to be honest. More or less, it was just a personal preference. It did add to the thickness of the aluminum slightly, which made it more rigid. For me I thought that was a plus, but I'm guessing with enough coats of any regular paint you could accomplish the same thing. The bed liner coating does have a slight texture to it, so if you want a nice smooth finish, you should probably use a regular enamel. I hope this helps.

 

Thanks for the explanation. I think I'll give the black bedliner a try since I do like a little texture.