Farhan Al Bastaki, Project 3AJAJ’s creator, picked up a completely standard Jeep Wrangler Unlimited back in August and took it straight to RAMY Automotive to begin work on a complete upgrade of the car. Born and raised in the UAE, Farhan knew what he wanted to change on the vehicle so with the help of RAMY’s part specialists Marwan Semaan and Dean Le Roux, he quickly decided on how he was going to improve the Jeep.

The biggest change is undoubtable that Action Truck pickup conversion which takes the 4 door Wrangler’s extended wheelbase and throws out the rear seats to make way for a pickup bed. It completely transforms the entire side profile of the car with the external roll cage and that prerunner-esque spare tyre mounted in the bed.

Jeeps are not new for Farhan, having previously owned a 2 door Wrangler, so he had a fairly good grasp on what he wanted to modify. Next up, therefore, was suspension. Farhan chose the TITAN Performance Suspension Stage 3+ which includes a 3″ lift kit hooked up to adjustable shocks, hydraulic bumpstops and a steering stabilizer for the ultimate absorption when pounding the sand dunes. The updated suspension is linked to Artec reinforced axles, a necessity to ensure the massive 35″ KUMHO tires are properly supported. All that extra height would make getting in and out quite a challenge, so a set of AOR powerboards have been included which automatically deploy when the door is opened and retract again when it is closed.

Bigger tires and suspension often lead to a marginal loss of usable power and RAMY knew the perfect remedy for Project 3AJAJ. It starts when a Sprintex supercharger is bolted on, this alone produces a whopping 100 horsepower, but the addition of a custom unlocked PCM from Diablo and an axle back exhaust breath new fire into the 3.6L V6. All this extra grunt is routed through a Spec clutch and AOR 4.10 gear ratios so that the truck really takes off when you put your foot down. Diff locks? Yes, it’s got them, a Yukon air locker in each axle and Farhan is really going to notice them if he ever needs to get out of a cross axle situation.

Apart from the pickup conversion, the outside of Farhan’s truck is protected by front and rear bumpers, the former receiving a Warn Zeon Platinum winch (which can be controlled via a wireless remote!). Staying up front, the standard halogen headlights have been done away with in favour of a set of LED’s from AOR to really shine into the night. Another unique detail that caught my eye are the fenders, bumpers and power boards which have all been finished in a Linex style coating that protects as well as it looks.

One of my favourite features on Farhan’s Jeep Wrangler Pickup is the pneumatic system for tires. It incorporates a 4 gallon Extreme Outback air tank hooked up to a Wild Boar air pump which is capable of deflating all 4 tires to a digitally set pressure in a matter of minutes. That lets those big tires increase their contact patch twofold and, when desert playtime is over, can inflate them all back to the road pressure. If that’s not enough, RAMY has included an ExtremeAire portable compressor for good measure.

This type of project is unusual and there are only a handful of similarly modified Jeeps in the region so I was interested to find out from Farhan what his motive was. “I used to have a full size pickup and a two door Jeep, so I decided to combine them and have a Jeep pickup!” Some may wonder why a full size pickup does not perform so well in the desert and Farhan was quick to point out “those pickups are too big and cumbersome for the dunes” so he is certain that his Jeep pickup will give him the best of both worlds. He also added “everything is more fun in a Jeep!” and I completely agree with him, it really is ‘a Jeep thing’.

Project 3AJAJ is the second pickup conversion RAMY Automotive have completed, following an equally as awesome ‘Project Excalibur’ last year. It was their vast experience of similarly ambitious projects that attracted Farhan to Ramy Automotive, “it gives me the confidence that they are going to complete the conversion properly, without cutting corners” he added.

Words: Griff Gough-Walters
Photos: Iztok Franko