Oh_SweetXJ

My name is Owen Sweet, I drive and wheel a 2001 Cherokee and have decided I'm going to go back and make a build thread on how my jeep came to be. Keep in mind this entire build has been on a high school students budget. I have less than 3k into my build.

When I first got my license I had a lot of interest in jeeps. I have trails in my backyard and wanted a fun vehicle that I could learn from. I had some money in the bank and one day this jeep caught my eye.



The asking price was $1600. I ended up paying $1300. The jeep was overall solid rust and rot wise other than the exhaust and drivers floor pan. The jeep was also equipped with an abs Dana 30 low pinion in the front and an absDana 35 in the rear both issues that would need to be addressed. Positives however would be the jeep came with a Rage roof rack and custom off-road bumpers front and rear.

Oh_SweetXJ

The first thing I did to my jeep was patch the floor. I cut out all the rust in order to weld in some sheet metal I had lying around at home. Living in New England I really have to stay on top of rust.
Here it is with the rust cut out.

Oh_SweetXJ

I then welded in a patch from the inside out. I made sure to put a thick coat of primer and paint to keep out any moisture. This is the final product befor I painted it.

Oh_SweetXJ

While patching the floors I decided to ditch my carpet. I do notice a big difference in noise without the carpet but I'm the type of person who drives all windows open year round so noise doesn't effect me. It also makes everything so much easier to just be able to hose out the interior.

Oh_SweetXJ

After patching the floor my jeep was about 100%. Now it was time to look into a lift kit. I wanted to go anywhere from 3in to 5.5in. I was looking at rough country because of the affordability. However I ended up running across a deal. For $500 I scored a 97 xj with a blown motor.

Oh_SweetXJ

This Red jeep was beat up pretty bad but it came with a list of extras. The jeep includes:
-RE 4.5in Coils
-RE 4.5in Leafs
-RE adjustable upper control arms
-RE adjustable lower control arms
-RE shocks and steering
-15x8 3.75 backspaced steel wheels
-4 32x11.5 r15 bfg a/t's 3/4 tread
-4 33x12.5 r15 bfg a/t's bald
-4 35x14.5 r15 gumbo Monster Mudders

Oh_SweetXJ

Before tearing the red jeep down I took it for a few joyrides.

Oh_SweetXJ

Oh_SweetXJ

Oh_SweetXJ

Here's a pic of the blue jeep and red jeep the day before I tore the red jeep down.

Oh_SweetXJ

I took the red jeep down to a shop I can work at and pulled the axles suspension and steering in as few pieces as possible. Everything came out pretty easily other than the upper control arms

Oh_SweetXJ

Oh_SweetXJ

Oh_SweetXJ

Here are the axles and suspension before I prepped them for the blue jeep. A high pinion Dana 30 and a Chrysler 8.25

Oh_SweetXJ