My new(to me) '08 H3

[Shrubf4]

Howdy y'all,
Picked this up this week and it's going to be my DD.
Obviously I shouldn't overdo it with mods, but I'm not opposed to doing some stuff with it should I want to play on the weekends.
So what are y'alls thoughts?

 

[3Hummers]

Nice looking 3.

 

[Bigunit]

Great looking rig. I would think of adding under carriage protection (UCP) and rock rails (sliders) and some good off-road tires. Start there, and your rig will be trail ready and you will then have a good base of mods to build on. For me, if you plan to do any wheeling, those are the first 3 basic building blocks for our rigs. Have fun and enjoy the wheeling!

 

[Shrubf4]

Thanks y'all!
I've been looking at Schwarttzy's sliders since they seem to function somewhat as a step too.
Tires, as soon as these go, I'm looking into 285's or maybe something slightly larger, haven't decided yet.
As for UCP, I'm up in the air and open to suggestion.

 

[JPaul]

Welcome!

Either Scarsman's or Schwaartzy's for skid plates, the OEM are ok from what I've read but aren't the sturdiest though you can get reinforcing plates from 4speedfunk (thorparts.com) to beef them up. I made my own UCP from some 1.5"x1" 1/8 tube (came from a truck rack), it's sturdy enough that I can lift the entire H3 without it deflecting.

Rock sliders are a must as well, OEM is good if you come across a pair, otherwise Schwaartzy's like you're looking at. Some people like Rocky Road's as well, but I don't think it's mounts are as sturdy as they should be.

285's are a great choice if you're doing mild offroading/crawling, and spend most of your time on the street. I have 33" Duratracs which are a popular choice, but there are other good options as well.

 

[rsc]

Nice looking truck. As far as UCP goes, there is the stock lattice frame stuff, Schwarttzy's solid steel plate protector and Scarsman's version of the steel plate with drain slots and reinforcing. Or, you can make your own. Not much else for choices, unfortunately.

Base your mods on what you plan on doing, ucp and sliders are rediculous if you just want to cruise fire roads to your hunting spot or bomb sand dunes or mud puddles. A good 33" or 35" AT like Goodyear Duratracs and a torsion bar crank (and maybe 2" lift rear shackles) are all that is really needed.

 

[Shrubf4]

I'd love to make my own UCP, but that's one thing I hadn't learned how to do yet. But metal fab is on my "To-Learn" list.
I'll check out Scarsman and look at Schwarttzy's again.

For now, I'm looking into lettering for the grill and then Line-X'ing it, can't stand chrome. And maybe AirDoc or Gibson exhaust, will they help much on gas? Or are they just for added pep?

 

[JPaul]

If you look in my build thread, you can see the process I went through to build my UCP, it'll give you an idea if you want to try it or not. I have to say though, UCP is a great place to start because the welds don't have to be pretty and no one will ever see them unless you end up on your side or roof, and someone critiquing your welds on your UCP will be the least of your worries.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

heh... everyone says "I'm just going to do some minor mods" on their first post

welcome to the insanity.

 

[Cowboy]

Thats funny. Welcome!


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[Shrubf4]

Thanks JPaul, I'll give it a read. Anytime I can learn something, I try to do it. I'm going to try and stick with that "minor mod" mentality until I get a house/garage, after that... Well, I don't think it'll be a wild build, but no harm in goofing around on a weekend.

 

[CaddyStrophic]

I also have and recommend 33" Duratracs. Fantastic tarrs.

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[Shrubf4]

I'll have to check them out, thanks Caddy!

I will say, in my searches, I ran across this:
http://www.hummer4x4offroad.com/forum/showthread.php?5603-Some-interesting-things-on-a-local-used-H3
What are the steps for mounting a smaller JK bumper and is there anyone who has tried it? I know Thor makes them, I just like ideas/options/different looks from the standard.

 

[Renagade132]

Welcome, and yes paint that chrome grill black, and power wash, sand down if need be and undercoat the new rig.

 

[Shrubf4]

Since I don't have a Line-X dealer nearby, would y'all suggest sanding it down and applying Rhino liner or multiple coats of something like a rustoleum spray instead?

 

[Pappibri]

Welcome, nice rig. Let the modding begin. 315 Duratracs here.

 

[Shrubf4]

Thanks Pappi!
How do you like your AirDoc? And do you have the I5 or V8?

 

[scoreh3]

I have an airdoc with a k&n drop in filter in the stock air box and the work great , much better than the pos stock one .

 

[awalsh]

Since I don't have a Line-X dealer nearby, would y'all suggest sanding it down and applying Rhino liner or multiple coats of something like a rustoleum spray instead?

I just bedlined my grill a few days ago with the cans, worked fine for me.


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[rsc]

I'll have to check them out, thanks Caddy!

I will say, in my searches, I ran across this:
http://www.hummer4x4offroad.com/forum/showthread.php?5603-Some-interesting-things-on-a-local-used-H3
What are the steps for mounting a smaller JK bumper and is there anyone who has tried it? I know Thor makes them, I just like ideas/options/different looks from the standard.

I remember that old thread! Anyway, the JK bumper is flat across the back whereas the H3 has a little bit of a curve to it. It looks a little funky unless you get a minimalist bumper. There was an older thread than that one on here way back when, detailing what the guy did to install it. It may have been lost though. Have you seen the mod a couple guys have done to cut the wings off the ends of the plastic bumper fascia under the turn signals?

 

[Shrubf4]

I just bedlined my grill a few days ago with the cans, worked fine for me.

Sent from my iPhone

That's what I figured I'd have to do. We did that to my S-10 years back, shouldn't be too hard then.

I remember that old thread! Anyway, the JK bumper is flat across the back whereas the H3 has a little bit of a curve to it. It looks a little funky unless you get a minimalist bumper. There was an older thread than that one on here way back when, detailing what the guy did to install it. It may have been lost though. Have you seen the mod a couple guys have done to cut the wings off the ends of the plastic bumper fascia under the turn signals?

I was only planning to do a minimalist one anyways if I did it, so that works. I'll see if I can find it later, I like the idea of a small front bumper that I can mount a winch to if I wanted later. I ran across that one too, it's something I may look into as well.

 

[Cyrus Avey]

Also about your grill, I just plasti dipped mine. Took it off and put like........... 6 or 7 coats on it. Still holding good!!!!!!!!

 

[awalsh]

my rig looked almost identical to yours before I started doing mods, I'm obviously no where near where I want my truck to look but it's a constant list of weekend projects
also if your not going to wheel too much take everyone's advice and grab some 33's
I have 33 inch Toyo at2 extremes
perfect for the amount of wheeling/road driving I do


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[Shrubf4]

Thanks Cyrus, I'll check out plasti-dipping. I was checking out Toyo's, BFG A/T KO's, Kelly's, Goodyear Wrangler variants. Luckily I have 50k miles to work with before that happens.