kylemason

Okay, new to this forum, but not new to forums in general so I'll try and keep you all entertained.

A little background on me - I have been redoing motorcycles but this is my first car rebuild. I am starting with a black 1996 2 door Cherokee Sport, we will see what I end with. Back in the day I have a blue 4.0L 1994 Wrangler and this reminded me a lot of it so I felt inclined - plus a friend sold it to me for dirt cheap!

I also have a maroon 4.7L 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee. It has '06 Commander rims PC'd black, after market grille, 20% tint around, Ironman tires, used to have a halos in a black housing for headlights but tried removing them at -20 degree and the plastic shattered.. Oh I also upgraded the stereo to a stock Chrysler Town & Country with the navigation screen.






So here is the project, a bone stock 2 door 5 speed manual. A "little" rusty but that's the first item on the long list of things to fix/upgrade.












Drivers side floor pans





Passenger side floor pans

So here is the list:

• dye the interior a dark gray
• repair floor pans
• repair rocker panels
• repair misc exterior rust
• '97+ front fenders, bumpers, front clip
• rhino liner
• tint windows
• bigger tires
• 2-3" lift
• paint exterior gray/charcoal/black

Here is my eBay page for parts I'm interested in buying and here is my Pinerest board for jeep/modifications inspirations.

kylemason

So primarily started this thread to get feedback and ask questions - so those that are reading this, definitely give feedback and feel free to answer questions to the best of your abilities!

Questions:

1. Can I use '97+ bumper caps (plastic corners) on this '96 bumper?
2. What overhead consoles can I wire into the '96 (I haven't looked to see if there is any wiring currently) I know the '97+ models almost all have the wiring preexisting
3. How easy is it to scrapyard find a cruise control and install it onto one without?

kylemason

Found a '97 in a town a couple over that I am going to end up buying and then scrapping after harvesting my parts that I want from it and heading home. IF YOU WANT A SPECIFIC PART FROM THIS RIG >> pm me and I will snag it for you for a fraction of what it is worth if you pay for shipping, as long as I can take it off in a driveway and it will fit in my car on the drive home.

Edit: not going now because it'd be too spendy after gas and the parts and as nice as I'd like.. Keep your eyes out for '97+ all power doors for me if you guys would!

kylemason

Here are the parks I'm looking for from a 97-01 XJ because the online prices are ridiculous and these are often just take offs for builds:

• front fenders
• OEM fender flares
• bumper caps
• rear bumper cap brackets ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/97-01-Jeep-Cherokee-XJ-Rear-Bumper-Quarter-Panel-Endcap-Brackets-L-R-/181766637088?&_trksid=p2056016.m2518.l4276 )

Also, here is the cheapest I could find parts to do the '97+ front panel swap - there are a lot of "bundles" out there but I figured out which is the best deal, I'll be going with the second least expensive one because of the parking lights not being an obnoxious yellow.

As always - feedback welcome.

kylemason

Taking out the interior so that I can dye it a dark grey. Took out all but a few pieces, stupid stripped torx screws. Cleaned all of the pieces really well and will dye them tomorrow.

I removed the badging and tint. I got really hate 19 year old tint...





I also got bored and sprayed a panel on my car with some spray paint I had laying around. This color isn't quite what I want, its too green, I want a more blue/grey.





This is the color that I think I will go with, I like the near pastel-ness of it, while still being grey. (turns out this is an OEM color for a wrangler/cherokee, paint code: PDS)



Anyway, more pictures tomorrow when I dye the interior panels and carpet.

kylemason

So today I went to the auto store and got some Duplicolor Vinyl and Fabric Dye.



Here it is on the left compared to the OEM color (on the right), is a little bit darker which is good. I wasn't fond of the light grey.




OEM is on the right, this picture was taken in the shade





OEM is on the right, this picture was taken in direct sunlight

I also dyed the center console and the carpet, sorry no beforehand picture on the center console.




Left side 1st coat sprayed, right side OEM





Close up of rust stains





Sprayed black





Took a can and a half total to dye 2 coats just the front half





Just set it on there to see what it looked like together

kylemason

Here is what I got done for the day - wish it had been a little more but it is what it is I suppose.




Painted the underlay , kinda like the nice glossy look under the **** looking upper piece.





On the left is the painted rear panel, decided to make it two-tone for a little more detail, the oh **** handles will be black as well





picked up some paint to test out if I like the Anvil EOM Wrangler color mentioned above, keep in mine this was just for color test - don't judge too hard on the quality it is painted - I sanded it the hood for a couple of hours to get as much clear and black as I could, also there is no clear coat on there to buff it to a shine.





Paint while it was wet





Paint after about an hour of drying

Found the '97+ conversion pieces I need on craigslist in my home town, I'll let you know what I get for price on them.

UPDATE: $75 for the fenders, $50 for the front clip (includes everything but the headlights), and $50 for the bumpers: $150 for everything. I'll need a rear passenger side fender flare and bumper cap as that's where the vehicle was t boned, but all in all a fraction the price of any other deals I found.

kylemason

Wasn't sure about the color but I went back to the garage and painted a little more any I'm set now, this is the color.

zrace

My god, that rust is insane.

kylemason

Yeah it is a Minnesota vehicle - that's what they all look like with the salt they smear all over the roads.. by the time she is painted the whole tub will be rust free. Hoping I'll be able to get it as tidy as evguy's build: https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f46/20...blacky-205238/

Very clean and coated for future protection.

The PO had the carpets in and needed wood to hold the driver's seat mounts from falling through the floor pans... said the carpet got a little wet when it rained - I had looked under and knew that it needed a lot of work prior to purchasing it, but I got it for super cheap so I'm not complaining if I need to pay a couple hundred to weld in new pans etc.

kylemason

Kind of bummed the only feedback I've gotten is about the rust and not any progress I've made. Other forums have like buttons. It surprises me that this one does not.

zeecherokeeman

I have same jeep..96, 5 speed, black...check out my pictures

kylemason

Moved the Jeep out of the garage to get it to my welder's to find a dead battery, whoops.. and some of the interior dye didn't adhere like it should have, I think there may have been some cleaning product left on those two panels since I didn't let them dry overnight, I'll respray them soon.

kylemason

Picture of the jeep outside, got the battery all charged up and runs like a champ.


Took the roof rack off and found more rust, no surprise.

kylemason

Finally got the 97+ front clip, fenders, and bumpers. The guy gave me a 97+ center console.