That is pretty cool! I'd like one for the mud hole when my buddies are swamping their buggies. I'd probably get more comments than the guys rocking the 54" tires.
Nice! Sounds like your boat may have a hard time keeping up with your new acquisition. I need to change my running gear fluids as well. I'm going to wait for the spring weather to do mine. Welcome to NPORA.
The flares on the facelift Pathy actually hang down an inch lower than the sheet metal. I am planning on painting them and reinstalling them this spring.
The pre facelift Pathy lacks the fender "wrap around" plastic flares. I gained an extra "visual" inch of lift by removing my flares. I didn't remove mine for this fact. I removed them because my tires were rubbing the paint off of them at full flex (rear only). I am certain that this is what you have noticed on everyone's pics.
As much as I'd like to chime in and poke at you about the wheel, I almost did the same thing after working on the Mrs' Prelude. I still hate the fact that you have to remove the wheel to get to the timing belt on a transverse engine. I wanted to fire it up before bolting the final bits on incase I had a problem with the timing. I caught myself getting ready to back out when the thought crossed my mind that I hadn't fully torqued the lug nuts.
I purchased a 77' CJ5 from a friend last summer. I have spent a lot of time on it getting it ready for the wheeling/camping season this year. I can not get over how easy and cheap it is to find parts for this thing. It amazes me how addicting owning a Jeep can be. However, I do feel like I have the "Honda" of the off-road.
I had the bottom end of the engine rebuilt on my Miata shortly after I bought it. Someone chime in if I'm wrong but, if I remember correctly, the rods and crankshaft are balanced.