Brian Napier, a towboat captain from Battletown, Kentucky, built this wildly unique and very capable machine over the course of 1.5 years. He says, “I chose the 2005 Jeep Liberty because not very many people have built them.” Was it an easy build? He answers, “It has been extremely difficult in case you were wondering.”
Out Of The Ordinary Mods
Brian purchased the Liberty in August of 2024 from a seller on Facebook Marketplace. The $400 Jeep needed a lot of work, but it ran and drove and was the perfect foundation for what he had in mind. He says, “A lot of the modifications I’ve done are definitely out of the ordinary, like the shocks being mounted to the lower links, the fuel tank being relocated to inside, and the air ride and the whole four-link setup in the front (I was told it couldn’t be done). This is definitely a one-of-a-kind Liberty.”
3.7-Liter Power, Doubler T-Case Setup
The Liberty is still powered by its factory 3.7-liter engine. To make room for a new steering box, Brian moved the factory radiator forward one inch. Doing so required significant modifications to the Liberty’s core support. Even with the changes, he managed to retain the rig’s factory A/C system.
Power flows through the Liberty’s original 42RLE four-speed automatic transmission and into a doubler transfer case setup. Brian built the system using two NP231J cases and doubler adapters from Froehlich Suspension Technology. Among other things, he cut a 231J in half to create a crawl box and upgraded the three-gear planetaries in each case to six-gear units.
The Liberty’s factory crossmember supports the front transfer case, while Brian fabricated and installed a custom crossmember with a removable mount for the rear case. The crawl box is shifted using the Liberty’s factory shifter, while a Jeep CJ-5 shifter handles gear selection in the rear case. Homemade driveshafts deliver power to the axles.
Dana 60 Up Front, Ford 10.5 Out Back
The Liberty’s axles are salvage yard finds sourced from a 2004 Ford F-250. Up front is a Dana 60 outfitted with a Barnes 4WD truss kit, Mile Marker manual locking hubs, a USA Standard Gear Spartan Locker differential, and custom double-shear knuckles. Out back sits a 10.5-inch axle equipped with a Yukon Gear & Axle spool and a Barnes 4WD truss kit. Both axles have been regeared to 5.38:1 using Motive Gear components.
Brian ditched the factory rack-and-pinion steering system and replaced it with a custom setup capable of pointing the rig’s meaty tires. The system includes a Jeep JK steering box, a custom steering shaft, and a PSC hydraulic-assist ram. Steering arms are built from 2-inch-diameter, 0.250-inch-wall tubing fitted with Barnes 4WD joints.
Four-Link, Air Bags, And 40s
Under the rig is a custom four-link suspension with air bags. All of the links are built from 2-inch-diameter, 0.250-inch-wall DOM tubing fitted with Barnes 4WD inserts and joints. The floating air bag system uses Airmaxxx bags, while Skyjacker ADX shocks handle damping at each corner, with the lower ends mounted to the lower links. Super Springs International bump stops and RuffStuff Specialties limit straps round out the setup.
Brian designed the suspension to stretch the Liberty’s wheelbase by about 10 inches, and ride height can be adjusted by roughly 6 inches.
The rig rolls on 40×13.50R17 Milestar Patagonia M/T-02 Black Label tires mounted to 9-inch-wide Fuel Anza bead lock wheels.
Functionality Was A Priority
Functionality was clearly a priority for Brian, and that thinking shaped many of the rig’s other modifications. For example, adding a skidplate under the fuel tank would have reduced ground clearance and allowed the axle to contact it at full compression. Instead, he relocated the tank to the cargo area. Above it sits a homemade shelf unit that stores trail gear.
Other upgrades include a modified 2010 Jeep JK-application Poison Spyder front bumper, a 12,000-pound-capacity Badland winch, custom frame rails from the firewall rearward, and custom rock sliders.
The Result Is Worth The Work
The end result of Brian’s work is a rig with serious crawl capability, a stout drivetrain, and excellent approach, departure, and rampover angles. It may not have been an easy build, but the result is worth it.
Photos: Brian Napier
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