We never have and never will understand it when we come across a 4x4 on the trail that's loaded to the gills with chrome, fresh paint, upgraded stereo equipment, and flash wheels, but that's broken down because of some stupid little mechanical thing that costs less than $100 to fix. One that readily comes to mind is a late-'70s CJ that trapped us on a trail in Utah. The thing had pearly paint, a $2,000 boat speaker pod system mounted to the rollbar, and every chrome widget in the J.C. Whitney catalog, but every time the vehicle flexed, the clutch linkage would pull apart and the driver would have to get out and patch it back together. Needless to say, he wasn't making any friends that day. So here are some of the commonly modified categories and whether we think it's better to put your money into 'em or not.
Aesthetics
(Body, Paint, Flash)
Cappa:
I would actually like to have a nice-looking Jeep with a clean paint job. But I also like to have a mechanically sound and capable rig. Problem is I can't afford to maintain both, so typically the body doesn't get the bank account. Besides, the Jeeps I have had the most fun in were full of dents and scratches. Shiny paint jobs and polished billet wingdings make me nervous and less likely to enjoy the Jeep in the terrain I built it for.
Hazel:
For me, I'm fully happy to drive a clapped-out beater. I'm just gonna make damn sure it's as reliable as a ball-peen hammer like my flattie, M-715, Hatari, and any other 4x4 I've built. Fresh paint, chrome, and flash don't get you further into the bush or increase your reliability to any degree, so they're always dead last on my list.
Trasborg:
I am not a fan of big, shiny paint jobs, per se, but I have found over the years of owning way more Jeeps than I should at any given time that the Jeeps that look the best are the ones that I tend to take the best care of. Also, most any Jeep I buy has some kind of rust or other body problem that requires welding in new panels, which I then paint to keep from rusting.
Tires/Wheels
Cappa:
Wheels and tires make the Jeep. You can make a total pile look cool and work well with the right quality tires and wheels. But even the best-built, high-dollar Jeep will look and work like crap with no-name road rangers on white-spokes. In the cheap Jeep builds I've done, it's not unusual for me to spend nearly half the budget on rolling stock. But don't get me wrong here. It's not a license to install 20-inch diamond-encrusted wheels and 50-series mud-terrain tires. I like to have more sidewall for improved traction and ride, so if I can fit 15-inch wheels, I will. Otherwise I'll aim for the smallest diameter wheels that fit the tires I want to run. Your selection has to work and look right on the Jeep in question, and unfortunately I can't explain what looking right is. It's not something you learn. Either you know, or your Jeep looks goofy.
Hazel:
If you're serious about wheeling you need good tires and bead lock wheels. You can never go wrong putting your hard-earned dough into these two areas. Sure, you can make a regular rim work, but to get the most out of any set of tires you've really gotta drop the pressure. And for me that means a good set of bead lock wheels. I like to run most of my rigs down in the low single-digit pressure range. My flattie goes to 2 or 3 psi in the rocks and 1 psi in the sand and it's just right. For heavier rigs, I'll up the pressure a bit to maybe the 5-8 psi range depending on vehicle weight and sidewall height, but without the bead locks I'd spend the whole day resetting blown beads and airing up tires.