clintladd56

I recently purchased a 87 Cherokee 4dr with the 2.8l v6. I plan on making a mild off road rig out of it, but I have never really messed with building jeeps. If anyone has any ideas on places where to buy parts for a reasonable price or throw some ideas on what to do, it would be appreciated.

xjmuddigger

a good idea would be putting a v6 camaro motor in there to replace the lil crappy v6 in it now,axles out of a 4cyl xj,they'll have 4.10 gears,locker in the rear,but it all just depends on what you want to do with it

clintladd56

I personaly haven't made it home to check out my new ride, but it has the 3spd automatic and my buddy said when he was driving it home for me that 65mph was about all it really had for a good highway speed. I for right now I want to keep it road worthy, but step up to beable to stuff some 33" tires on it. I would also like to make it water accessible too

xjmuddigger

then i would trim fenders,3" lift,33's and atleast re-gear to 4.10's and a DIY snorkel if you dont want to pay $400 for a aftermarket one

clintladd56

Are there any good companies that are good to go with as far as keeping to a low budget for lift components?

xjmuddigger

wow u got a rare xj,the cherokee chief is a rare and very nice xj,but you cand do 3"blocks in the rear,and 3" spacers ontop of the front springs,but thats the cheapest way,or shackles and spacers,but trimmin fenders a inch or so will help a small lift seem bigger,and theres no real cheap lift that r complete,if u DIY it will save alot of money

clintladd56

I havent even got to get close enough to it to even hear it run yet. I'm a truck driver and The boss lady at home found it in craigslist for $700 so I told her to go look at it and if it didn't need a whole lot of work to be road worthy. I'm more into straight axel Toyota trucks, but I guess I can throw the car seat in the back and make it a family thing. If I can avoid doing blocks and spacers and find some good used equipment I've got friends that have the equipment to fab most of what I want to do. I'm from just south of St Louis and almost everyone I know here use cj's, so I'm not real sure what I can come across used that I can use...

goldenlandscaping

well first off welcome to cf want to start by trlling you that the search feature is your friend...
On another note here is a really good thread about all the stuff you can use to lift it you probably did not think of https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/bud...herokee-58797/
also that is a nice chief you got i would also consider doing a 4.0 HO swap then you will have the torque and power to not have to regear unless you really wanted too

clintladd56

1. What makes the chief rare?
2. Is the 4.0 pretty much a straight swap?
That link had a lot of useful stuff in it. Im considering putting a 4.3l chevy with a chevy tranny, possibly a 350 to keep it chevy powered. I'm kinda keeping my options open on what I do for now. I have a Toyota buggy behind the house that I may consider stealing the axels from under it and possibly taking the fuel cell off of it.

goldenlandscaping

yep 4.0 is a straight swap the chief is rare cause only like a few thousand were made and a 350 will be a tight fit

clintladd56

The 350 is a thought for when I decide to make it strictly a off road toy. When I get to that point of life I'm not leaving a whole lot stock, maybe just the steering wheel

goldenlandscaping

when you get to where you wanna do that i will trade you my two door for that chief lets put it this way there are almost none left in the southern states thats pretty much how rare they are

clintladd56

Other than not a whole lot being made, what makes the chief so special other than the name

xjmuddigger

the 4.0 wont be a straight swap with that v6,its more trouble to do that,get a camaro v6 motor from a 96ish or a 350,to make it a easier fit

xjmuddigger

its better parts and more option on them