Baystate Jeepers

I'm starting to shop around for lifts for my JK and so far I'm liking Metalcloak. I am considering the 2.5" game changer minus those fancy shocks. I no longer have the garage space and my tool collection isn't what it once was, so I was thinking about having it installed by a shop. I normally enjoy these types of builds where I can take my time over a week or two in my spare time, but this is my daily driver and I currently do not have the luxury of a second vehicle. I either have to just get it knocked out, or wait until my situation changes enough where I can take my time with it. I don't know when that would be. I was in Moab the other day and Jeep Safari was going on so I really have the itch to get the lift done. Was wondering if there was a recommended shop (person) in western Ma/southern NH that I can get a quote from.

Elias 4wd in Townsend Ma
Steve's Auto Repair and 4x4 in Worcester Ma
Central Mass offroad

OR - you could host a wrenchfest in your driveway. We could get it done in a couple of hours, for the price of a few pizzas and some beverages.

DDewar53 wrote:OR - you could host a wrenchfest in your driveway. We could get it done in a couple of hours, for the price of a few pizzas and some beverages.

A couple of hours?

Ask Kurt or Don how long it takes! They have recent experience with that.

I thought about a wrenchfest but my most of my tools disappeared before I got a chance to get them out of my ex-garage at the ex-wife's. Decided to go with Elias, I'm traveling a lot with work over the next 2 months. I'm just going to drop it off then pick it up when I get back. I would like to partake in a wrenchfest at some point, can make it a BBQfest too, nothing like eating messy ribs with greasy fingers. Yum.

Lou at Elia's is great. They will install a quality kit and makes sure everything works correctly. They installed my lift kit when I first started and since then, I've slowly gotten a set of shop tools together, learned how to weld and fabricate, etc.

del_TJ wrote:Lou at Elia's is great.

X2

He's done work on a couple of my rigs and one of my PU trucks. Top notch work.

RalphTomaccio wrote:

DDewar53 wrote:OR - you could host a wrenchfest in your driveway. We could get it done in a couple of hours, for the price of a few pizzas and some beverages.

A couple of hours?

Ask Kurt or Don how long it takes! They have recent experience with that.

Ralph he's talking about a 2.5" lift, he doesn't say so but I'm assuming it's a short arm. Me, my son Matt, and James did one on a 2012 JKU in 6 hours - in my driveway with a floor jack and jackstands. Remember James Crosby - the blue Arctic Edition JKU with Purple Heart license plates? He was only a member for one year or so - that's the Jeep we did. That included installing the exhaust pipe extender kit.

We did Matt's TJ in about the same amount of time. Short arm kits don't take all that long to install.

DDewar53 wrote:

RalphTomaccio wrote:

DDewar53 wrote:OR - you could host a wrenchfest in your driveway. We could get it done in a couple of hours, for the price of a few pizzas and some beverages.

A couple of hours?

Ask Kurt or Don how long it takes! They have recent experience with that.

Ralph he's talking about a 2.5" lift, he doesn't say so but I'm assuming it's a short arm. Me, my son Matt, and James did one on a 2012 JKU in 6 hours - in my driveway with a floor jack and jackstands. Remember James Crosby - the blue Arctic Edition JKU with Purple Heart license plates? He was only a member for one year or so - that's the Jeep we did. That included installing the exhaust pipe extender kit.

We did Matt's TJ in about the same amount of time. Short arm kits don't take all that long to install.

Six hours is much more realistic. My recent experience which, also, was a 2.5" lift took 10 hours. So, when you said a "couple", well, you can see why I couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

I'm going with the 2.5" MetalCloak Game Changer ARB edition, short arm. It's a little more than I feel comfortable knocking out in a weekend in my driveway. I've heard good things about Elias, don't mind spending the money knowing its going to get done right.

They did my lift couple months ago. Quality work. I love my metalcloak lift so far. Rear is a bit stiff if your not heavily armored. Atleast on the tj.

FWIW, there are 3 places my Jeep gets worked on. First is in my driveway, with me turning wrenches. If, for whatever reason I'm not going to do it, then it will either go to Lou at Elias (a 1.5 hour drive for me, but worth it) for lifts, driveline, and other offroading related work, or to a local shop - O'Brien's Car Care, in Holbrook, for regular automotive stuff. I went to school with the owner's brother.

Chris over in Medway did a great job helping me install my 3.5" Rock Krawler lift on my 2009 Wrangler. He kept honest to his price and was very knowledgeable. Even drove me home when I dropped it off and when I had him install my bumper, he gave me a free loaner for the day. Just an honest cool guy who treats his employees and customers right. Tell him Pat sent you.
http://www.chrisautontruck.com/
53 Milford St, Medway, MA 02053

I was wondering what should be done first, under carriage protection or a lift?

That's a question most of us have gone through. Here are my thoughts, FWIW:

Doing a lift first gets your Jeep up and over rocks quite a bit, but still leaving the underside exposed. Unfortunately, once you feel comfortable at that height and you see you're making it over some obstacles, you begin looking for more challenges and now begin to hit different obstacles, therefore leaving your undercarriage once again unprotected.

Doing skids first protects your undercarriage immediately from day one, protecting you while you're learning to become a better driver by choosing better lines. The challenge is still there to always do more. When you do get the skids, you are now able to clear larger obstacles knowing your underside is still protected.

So, for me, my vote is skids first, lift second. It seems to have worked well for me. Just my $.02. YMMV!

I'm sure some will feel just the opposite. Do what feels right for you after hearing others opinions.