Jeep Cherokee Forum - 96 college DD build

well after lurking for a few years on this website and jeepforum.com I figure I might as well start up a build thread.

about me
My name is Tyler and I am a college student in Michigan, and I am going for my mechanical engineering degree. I have one more year left at school then the real fun begins on my build:thumbup:. right now I have very limited resources for fab work without a garage but I do whatever I can. I love to tinker and mess around to see what is possible for my xj.

about my jeep
I got my jeep 4 years ago as a high school graduation gift from my parents because my old ford ranger was not going to survive much longer and I had a long trip to school (500 mi). when I got the jeep it was bone stock. now I definitely couldn't let her sit like that, so she got a 3 inch rusty's aal kit. sorry I don't have many pictures of the early modifications. after a few trips back and forth to school the jeep needed new tires so I started searching craigslist and found tires that were slightly bigger than stock on 16" rims. other than maintenance that is how she sat for quite some time (sway bars connected, used as dd and very very light trails):sleep1:. during this time the floor boards got really bad and I decided to buy new ones and install them myself. last year or so I started getting the itch to do some more aggressive trails and work began on the jeep to make it better for trailing. first thing that happened was cutting the front fenders, cutting and folding the rears. then I decided I needed a bit more tire clearance so I ordered rusty's 4.5" coil springs, 1.5" extended shackles. while I was doing the lift and had driveshafts out I also decided to do an ax-15 swap, which went surprisingly better than I thought it would. I built a new center console to give myself more interior space (and my dad got himself a new mig spool gun he was giddy to test out). then I managed to find wheels and tires on craigslist to utilize my newly acquired tire clearance. so I got my 32x11.5 mickey thompson baja a/t's. this leaves my baby as she sits today.

in the works

frame stiffners
durango steering box
wiring harness upgrades
headlight upgrades
new bumpers (front and rear)
motor mounts
1 ton steering
possible locker

a looooong way down the road

full exo cage
stroker
axle upgrades (hpd44, and 9bolt) with 4:10 gearing
axle trusses

pictures!!!
few weeks after I got her, up at silver lake.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/118293305@N05/12679333405/

how she sits now
http://www.flickr.com/photos/118293305@N05/12679853754/

center console
http://www.flickr.com/photos/118293305@N05/12679856364/

I will upload more pictures later today I have class now.