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88 XJ "lil TANK"

Old Sep 27, 2011 | 01:06 AM
  #1  
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Default 88 XJ "lil TANK"

New to the forum and i wanted to introduce jeep builders to my bella XJ haha
Big plans in the future for as many of us have and one day hope 2 accomplish
Got my 88 for 500 bucks in pretty good shape considering. ive already started messing with its only been 2 weeks since i got it.....not playing games with this tank of mine. i didnt really take before pics or process pics my mistake just excited to get throught i forgot 2 doc but heres what it looks like as of now....cut fenders, cut front bumber, rattle canned front trim....more 2 come 4 sure....il keep the thread followers if any posted every step from now on.....



heres some pics from Sunday out on the hills
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Old Sep 27, 2011 | 01:07 AM
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88 XJ "lil TANK"-image-2103578522.jpg
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Old Sep 27, 2011 | 01:09 AM
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88 XJ "lil TANK"-image-726096938.jpg



88 XJ "lil TANK"-image-3873864656.jpg



88 XJ "lil TANK"-image-1437201593.jpg
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Old Sep 27, 2011 | 01:21 AM
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Those are some clean cut fenders!
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Old Sep 27, 2011 | 02:31 AM
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really like the way the bumper caps were fitted to the shortened bumper.
great paint too.
welcome to the forum!
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Old Sep 27, 2011 | 10:53 PM
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Originally Posted by That Jeep Guy XJMJ
Those are some clean cut fenders!
Thanks im glad its not just me who thinks so lol they were a pain in the *** to cut and looked a bit mangled when i was done but i bought some black trim to finish them off.
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Old Sep 27, 2011 | 10:56 PM
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Originally Posted by LeRoy90laredo
really like the way the bumper caps were fitted to the shortened bumper.
great paint too.
welcome to the forum!
They fit well with a little adjustment always wanted to do the shortened bumper it gives it a mean look i think.
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Old Sep 28, 2011 | 03:32 PM
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Originally Posted by rey7

They fit well with a little adjustment always wanted to do the shortened bumper it gives it a mean look i think.
It really does. I've seen a lot of wrangler bumpers that show more tire, and its an aggressive appeal.
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Old Apr 9, 2012 | 09:20 PM
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Its been a while since ive showed any progress on my xj. NOW im off my a@# and trying to do as much as i can, when i have the time away from school and work. Also when i got the cash haha im a broke college student now. my tank looks a little different from my last post photos. not exactly like a tank just yet but its getting there with a little elbow grease. i encourage the feedback! let me know what you think!
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Old Apr 9, 2012 | 09:36 PM
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looks good, keep em comin
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Old Apr 9, 2012 | 10:03 PM
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Sorry guys had to upload from my phone, the photos are to big on the pc right now. It got different paint, but I still have a tan coat to throw on the top half. And some rhino too! Threw on a 3" spacer lift which should hold me over till I get the skyjacker/roughcountry lift I want. If only I had more cash. Im hooked on my build there's always more and more I wanna do.

88 XJ "lil TANK"-forumrunner_20120409_195608.jpg



88 XJ "lil TANK"-forumrunner_20120409_195626.jpg

Last edited by rey7; Apr 25, 2012 at 07:41 PM.
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Old Apr 9, 2012 | 10:16 PM
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Some more photos...
88 XJ "lil TANK"-forumrunner_20120409_201243.jpg



88 XJ "lil TANK"-forumrunner_20120409_201303.jpg



88 XJ "lil TANK"-forumrunner_20120409_201341.jpg
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Old Apr 25, 2012 | 07:10 PM
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My swaybar links came today!! Making them quick discos. Now just the wait for shocks from skyjacker and I can get to work.

88 XJ "lil TANK"-forumrunner_20120425_170556.jpg
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Old Apr 26, 2012 | 09:08 PM
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Started to fab some swaybar link brackets for quick disconnects. Plasma cutting is serious buisness!

Grinding this one clean to then drill the holes.

88 XJ "lil TANK"-forumrunner_20120426_185850.jpg

Didn't get to finish, so tomorrow ill take pics as I go...thanks for checking out my thread.

I need all the feedback, advice I can get!
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Old Apr 29, 2012 | 02:43 PM
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EDIT: The process photos didnt load..uploaded them after this post.

So had to start over on my swaybar link brackets, and this is what I started with.

A toyota block spacer.


Used a angle grinder to cut out the pieces I needed from the block spacer.(using grinder because its sunday and the plasma cutter ran out of O²)


This is the first chunk I grinded out.



Now, the block spacer has 2 diff. Sized squares on each side. I used the small squares so the link would fit inside it as tight as possible.

Like so...


I flipped the block to cut out the small square on the other side.


Heres the two bracket cut outs.


Then I drilled the holes for the link bolt that hooks up with the swaybar. And the holes for the clevis pins to hold the actual link.
Drilled a pilot hole first with a small titanium bit forgot what size, after I bored out the hole with a 1/2 titanium drill bit.
The result.....
The final product on the left side...
88 XJ "lil TANK"-forumrunner_20120429_122926.jpg

And on the right side.

88 XJ "lil TANK"-forumrunner_20120429_123005.jpg

They look pretty beefy right!?
I don't have a lot of money so I save where I can. All I spent was $20 on the two links.(grand cherokee rear swaybar links) awesome length if you wanna lift your rig and have swaybar connected for safe onroad driving. Im at 3-4" lift and when I get a proper 6.5 lift I can still use these same links. I did spend $15 on hardware. So total just $35 for a beefy quick disco setup. Cheapest quick discos I found online were $70 so saved my self a little more than half tank of gas! Lol

What do you guys think?

Last edited by rey7; Apr 29, 2012 at 03:15 PM.
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