6.1 Hemi JK Wranglers - Feature Story and Photos

Both Rubicons came with the new, excellent Dana 44 front and rearends with electronic locking differentials. These are much beefier than earlier 44s and have 32-spline axles in the rear and 32-spline outers up front. The ring gears are stronger, and the pinions are much larger and stronger. To return the gearing to just about stock with the 37-inch tires both Jeeps would be running, Burnsville installed 4.88 gears from Superior. J.E. Reel supplied the front and rear driveshafts for both Jeeps. The strong CV shafts run true with no vibration problems.

Burnsville installed Full-Traction's 4-inch Unlimited suspension on the two-door Rubicon. The Full-Traction system includes 4-inch coils, adjustable upper and lower control arms for both the front and back, and adjustable track bars front and rear. Bilstein reservoir shocks were installed to handle damping chores. When Burnsville was building our four-door, it was hard to get suspension components as everyone was out of stock, so we mixed things up a bit. Our Unlimited has 4-inch Superlift coils, Superlift front and rear adjustable track bars, Superlift diff guards, Daystar adjustable control arms, and adjustable Walker Evans 2.0 reservoir shock absorbers. The 12-way compression-damping adjustments on the Walker shocks allow us to quickly dial in the suspension no matter what we're doing. A JKS shock conversion kit allowed the Walker shocks to bolt into the JK.

Dan left the Howe radiator in plain sight in the Wrangler, while we opted to reinstall the factory cover in the Wrangler Unlimited. The aluminum radiator looks good uncovered, but the cover looks stock and keeps hands and arms from burns when we're fooling around under the hood. The wiring harness from Squire Incorporated is of the same high quality as original equipment. Burnsville flashes the computer so everything works just as it rolled off the assembly line - except for the giant increase in horsepower, of course.
Dan left the Howe radiator in plain sight in the Wrangler, while we opted to reinstall the
The SRT 6.1 Hemi is a hand-built, balanced and blueprinted V8 with 425 hp in stock trim. It looks tight in the JK engine compartment but really is hardly wider than the stock 3.8 six it replaced. It's just longer. The big Howe aluminum radiator fits fine and, with the factory fan and shroud, keeps the 6.1 cool no matter what the outside temperatures are. We used Optima YellowTop batteries in both Wranglers.
The SRT 6.1 Hemi is a hand-built, balanced and blueprinted V8 with 425 hp in stock trim. I
Both Jeeps keep the stock drag link and tie rod. Up front, the Wrangler Unlimited has Superior 4.88 gears in addition to the stock electric lockers. It also has a Superlift diff guard, Superlift adjustable track bar, Superlift coils, and Walker Evans adjustable reservoir shock absorbers. The Rubicons have a sway bar that can be disconnected electronically, so you don't need quick-disconnect sway-bar links.
Both Jeeps keep the stock drag link and tie rod. Up front, the Wrangler Unlimited has Supe

LoD makes great-looking bumpers for the JK Wrangler, so LoD bumpers were bolted on the Wrangler. The front LoD is clean and simple and allows the use of the factory foglights. A Ramsey 9500UT winch fit perfectly. Burnsville fabricated a hoop to bolt onto the LoD bumper. The LoD tire-carrier rear bumper easily handled the heavy, 37-inch Nitto/Mopar-Hutchinson beadlock combination. The rear bumper has a nifty toolbox where we like to carry straps and other extraction accessories. Although we didn't get them for this project, LoD also offers gas-can, gear-rack, and Hi-Lift jack carriers for its swing-away tire carrier. Front and rear bumpers from MORE were used on the Unlimited. A Warn 9.5xp was installed here, as well as two HID driving and two HID cornering Soltek Fuego lights from Baja Designs. The lights throw off an unbelievable amount of illumination for off-road night forays. The MORE rear bumper has a swing-away tire carrier that can also carry a Hi-Lift jack.

Inside, Dan decided these two Jeeps needed to stand out a bit more, so he had both of the seats covered in quality charcoal leather. The seats are all leather, even the sides and backs, not matching vinyl like some. He also had the SRT8 emblem embroidered in the seatbacks. The Unlimited also received a Tuffy Security console insert that was covered in matching leather. A Cobra CB keeps us in touch with others. The UltraMount CB antenna mount from Cool Tech is really... well, cool. It mounts inside the license-plate bracket, grounding to the body and using an existing hole in the body to route the antenna cable. Our SWR was no more than 1.5 on all channels, 1 through 40.

Mopar Accessories supplied a number of products, including seat covers that were used until the leather was decided on, a Freedom Top panel bag that keeps the top panels protected when removed for storage, doorsill guards, and a hardtop caddy that holds the hardtop and doors in a handy roll-around cart when they're removed for the summer. Mopar Rock Rail rocker-panel protection and taillight guards were bolted on the two-door. We also plan on installing our Jeep Trail Guide GPS when time permits.

The rear of the Wrangler Unlimited has 32-spline axles, the stock electric locker, and 4.88 Superior gears. Superlift 4-inch coils, a Superlift adjustable track bar, Daystar adjustable control arms, and Walker Evans adjustable reservoir shocks complete the suspension package. We've since painted the Superlift diff guard as we think black looks better than gold.
The rear of the Wrangler Unlimited has 32-spline axles, the stock electric locker, and 4.8
We wanted a fairly quiet muffler in the Wrangler Unlimited, so Burnsville installed this stainless MagnaFlow that keeps the 6.1 Hemi quiet until we get on it, when you can tell there's a lot more under the hood than the stock six. The entire exhaust system is built from mandrel-bent stainless steel.
We wanted a fairly quiet muffler in the Wrangler Unlimited, so Burnsville installed this s
Daystar JK arms are adjustable so we can adjust for caster and lift height. J.E. Reel CV driveshafts are strong and perfectly balanced. There are no driveline vibrations in either Jeep. The front Dana 44 on the JK is reverse-cut with the pinion up high out of harm's way. The front 44s have 30-spline inner axles, but 32-spline outers with big U-joints. Burnsville had the axles machined so full-circle C-clips could be used. The only problem with the JK is that the half-circle C-clips work their way out, letting the U-joint cap fall out. With the U-joint rattling around in the ears, the axle breaks. We had no problems at all with our 37-inch tires on the stock axles with the full-circle clips.
Daystar JK arms are adjustable so we can adjust for caster and lift height. J.E. Reel CV d