Hothead Headliners

Hardtops introduce some amount of wind and road noise into the cabin because they don't have any kind of liner. In the summer time they also contribute a bit to heating up the cabin because they don't really have good insulating capabilities. To address both at the same time in the Jeep, I picked up a set of Hothead headliners. These headliners are really nicely constructed compared to other products in the market with a radiant barrier to reflect heat and a firm backing for a support the high quality headliner fabric. 

Hothead Headliners

They install by 3M VHB tape so you need to prep is key. Ideally you'd install this in the summer time when things can get nice and hot and with the outside temps near freezing today, I put the jeep in the garage, turned on the heater and let it get to a bit warm before starting this project. First step was to scuff the hardtop a few times with the provided sandpaper. You don't have to get too crazy, 3-4 passes just to rough up the surface a bit is enough. 

Scuffing up hardtop interior

Then to ensure that the surface was free of any dust or contaminants, I applied acetone twice just to be extra sure. 

Acetone time

I also ordered their "Sound Assassin" strips as part of the kit. It's really nothing more than sound deadening pre-cut into strips that go right into the hardtop ridges to help further dampen noise. A quick application and some pressure with the included roller was all that was needed to set them in nicely.

Before

Sound deadening strips being applied

All the strips installed

I also opted for the liners to cover the sides of the hardtop for a uniform look. Those are attached via Velcro strips so I put those strips down first before putting in the rest of the panels.

Velctro strips applied

Side panel ready to go in

Next, I took each panel and put them up against the heater in the garage to warm up the tape as much as I could then quickly applied each panel on making sure to apply several seconds of pressure on each strip to ensure maximum adhesion. 

Front headliners installed - 11-27-2021

Rear headliners and side panels installed

Once I was happy all the panels were in, I let the car run for a bit with the heat at maximum just to give as much opportunity for the 3M tape to bind properly. Overall, this was a pretty easy project. Took maybe 2 hours taking my time to do it and ensuring proper prep. I think it really adds to the interior aesthetically and is very functional too. 

Jeep Modding - A Few Convenience Items

After a few short weeks with the Jeep (and spending way too much time researching parts), I've started to accumulate a list of parts I think my wife's Jeep could use. Thankfully, my wife has at least allowed me to continue tinkering with her vehicle. Modding is, after all, a lot of the fun I get out of vehicles. I love driving and all that stuff but I also enjoy learning how things work, seeing if there are ways to improve things, and ultimately make each vehicle their own. A lot of times I like to be able to do stuff myself but more often than not I'm either tool or skill limited. This Jeep, however, is very much like Lego and I feel it's so easy to work on that I've just enjoyed hanging out in my garage and working on it myself as much as I can.

Barricade Extreme HD Rocker Steps

The first order of business was to remove the factory Rubicon rails that come with the Willys Wheeler package and replace it with Barricade Extreme HD Rocker steps. This Jeep isn't lifted but sitting on 33s I felt that sliding in and out of the seat was a sure recipe for killing the side bolsters of the seats in the near future so having a step to stand on makes getting in and out much easier. Of course, if you have steps, you probably also want a grab bar to pull yourself in and a pair of GraBarsUSA a-pillar grab bars fit the bill nicely.

GraBarsUSA Handle Set

The previous owner had a plastic center console mounted phone mount which was decent but put the phone too far away and covered a lot of the windshield so I replaced with a 67Design carbon fiber phone mount system. Looks much more slick and puts the phone in a better, and more importantly safer, spot.

67Design carbon fiber phone mount

Continuing on with the interior improvements, the previous owner also had a set of random mismatched rubber floor mats that definitely weren't form fitting. I'm not OCD but that definitely bothers me so a fresh set of Husky WeatherBeater floor mats all around including the full cargo area under the rear seat had to go in.

Husky Cargo Mat

Husky Cargo Mat with rear seat re-installed

Perfectly form fitting Husky floor mats

In keeping with the military inspired Jeep theme, a green Smittybilt storage system attached to the tailgate to keep various things like spare oil tucked away seemed like a logical choice.

Smittybilt GEAR Tailgate cover and storage

The rubber hood latches were starting to look a bit weathered so an upgrade to a set of Rugged Ridge aluminum latches not only improves the look but removes any hood flutter at highway speeds. 

Rugged Ridge aluminum hood latch

Little details matter to me so the "stubby" antenna the previous owner installed didn't look right (and was starting to show rust at the base) so it had to go. Replaced by a nice 13" flexible rubber antenna with a carbon fiber base, it just cleaned up the exterior while still providing great radio reception.

Rydonair 13" antenna

These were some nice appearance and convenience upgrades to get it to where it should be but we've got some nice performance related upgrades coming next that I'm very excited to put on. 

Chopper's looking pretty sweet now

Maintenance Update:

Mileage: 67,888

- New 15" RainX front wiper blades

- New air intake filter (temporary while I wash and re-oil the K&N filter that was already in there)

JK Wrangler Willys Wheeler - Chopper

My wife pick up her first vehicle ever. We've been keeping an eye out for dark green Jeeps for some time now and this one came up on Facebook marketplace a few weeks ago. 1-owner with 67K miles, the vehicle was well loved and maintained. It was a no brainer really. 

2016 Willy Wheeler 2-door - Chopper - 10-24-2021

We finally registered and took it home this weekend. It's now affectionally named "Chopper" after the rather sassy Star Wars droid C1-10P. She wanted to get to know this vehicle a bit more and learn some things so today I had her do the first oil change under her ownership.

Getting ready for the oil change

After only have nothing but lowered sports cars, it's a bit of a breath of fresh air to have a vehicle that's so easy to work on, you don't even have to jack it up to change the oil. A few mopar oil filter and 6 quarters of Castrol Edge 5W-20 was put in since the last oil change was around 5K miles and 7 months ago.

Replacing the oil filter - 11-14-2021

Fresh oil - 11-14-2021

We also took the opportunity to clean up the interior a bit more, getting rid of unnecessary decals and velcro everywhere. 

Maintenance Update:

Mileage: 67,788

- New mopar oil filter

- 6qt Castrol Edge 5W-20