In my never ending quest to find the best XJ
I have yet again started asking myself a new question and in all my research I have not found an answer.
I have the tools and friends with the know how to rebuild an engine in our garage. So now my question, would it be better to buy an xj for a couple thousand that has a decent motor or should I buy one for 400-500 that still has a quality body and rebuild the motor myself?

 

I've built a lot of engines, for cars, boats, and airplanes. Sometimes it costs less to buy an automotive crate engine than it does to buy parts and have machine shop work done on the old engine, like cleaning, boring, valve work, grinding the crankshaft undersize etc, and other associated machine work on the block & head.

The machine shop costs seem to vary quite a bit around the country, so some figures for all the parts you need, plus the machine shop costs which they have flat rates for, will tell you a basic total rebuild cost.

Of course a "rebuild" doesn't mean new rings, bearings, and a valve grind, which may even be all you would need to do, to get a bit more life out of an old engine...

 

Depends what you mean by "better", Cap'n.


If you mean, "cheaper", that's hard to say. If you mean, "more reliable", I'd say go with the solid body and rebuild the engine. If you mean, "get me a good running vehicle quickly", then maybe buy a runner and fix it as you go.


Here's the way I look at it - if I hit the lottery tomorrow, I'd be down at my local Jeep dealer the next day talking to a salesman. I'd tell him to find me an absolutely cherry XJ with NO rust and NO body damage, and I don't care if the engine is blown or the trans is shot.

It's easy to rebuild an engine or trans and get BRAND NEW (or better) condition. It's almost impossible to repair body damage and rust to BRAND NEW condition.

And as for crate engines, that's a crap shoot. Jasper, for example, has been known to send out engines with mismatched bores/pistons, mismatched journals, etc. They reuse a lot of parts, and you don't know what you're getting. I'd rather do it myself and know it's done right.

One last piece of advice. Don't stress too much about getting the "best" Cherokee. Get one, and have fun. Life is short.

There's my two cents.

 

Agreed. I just helped one of my buddies install a motor that he rebuilt. I don't recall the exact numbers, but I believe he spent more than what a remanufactured long block costs. I remember him saying next time he will go that route. I can't even give you a number for how many hours he had into it by the time we were done.

 

If you can find a good XJ with (no rust or major body damage) and lower mileage under 200k and in good running order I would buy it. My second choice is a low mileage one with a blown engine/trans. The preferred yrs. would be a 97-99 with the 99 the best one.

If rebuilding the engine take it to a builder that builds a lot of high dollar engines,(I use a race engine builder who does everything in house). Then you can pick what ever quality of parts you wish, the same goes with the machine work as to what all is done. Doing it this way you can build a better engine that is a much better one than stock. This is what I'm doing with mine mostly stock parts with all race prep/balance & machine work to block and head. Is this the cheapest NO but you will only do it once.

 

You don't mention where you are. That will affect your options and your cost dramatically. I'm not an expert, just bought my first XJ in the summer, a 96 with 170k, no rust, no wrecks, and in good running condition. I bought for $1800 and now have about $2500 in it, a very good deal.

Here in Georgia, there are plenty of Cherokees for sale. A nice low miles example can be easily had for $3000. I would suggest spending a bit more initally to get a good runner. You can then enjoy driving and learning about it before having to park it for an engine rebuild.

 

This is a good point. I'm in Iowa, so long winters with quite a bit of snow. The Cherokee that he bought for $1800 could go for as much as $3-4000 here. Low mileage, rust free Jeeps are hard to come by where I'm at.

 

I currently live on McGuire AFB in New Jersey but my parents live in Pompano, Florida (Near Miami). So i have options to buy one from either location. I am leaning more toward South Florida due to most jeeps down here have nearly zero rust.

I mean "better" as in I tend to beat the **** out of my play vehicles and I don't want to have to worry in the long run about breaking something caused by a PO if i can prevent it to start with. If that makes sense.