Introduction:

Hey everyone, introducing Clifford, my (not so) big red Jeep. The plan is for Cliff to just keep on growing through the years, in various stages.

As this is my first build thread on Cherokee Forum, I'll probably be making edits to the layout. Any and all suggestions on how to better organize the information and thread are greatly appreciated. I hope you all enjoy the updates as they come!

Short term plans involve completely refreshing and "perfecting" this little ruby in the rough. Long term dreams include (but are not limited to) an LS swap, tons, etc. Like the dog, Clifford won't stop growing.

Pictured below after I bought it, cleaned it up, and did some essential maintenance before I brought it from Maryland to Florida:

 

The Back Story:

Clifford is my second XJ. My first vehicle was a patriot blue XJ, on a modest 3" RC lift and 31" tires. I really beat the heck out of that rig from 16 years old to 22. It forever solidified the Jeep Cherokee as an all time favorite, and clearly carved out a special place in my heart.

Fast forward a few years of regret from selling my trusty steed, and I found myself living in Florida, in the market for a project beach cruiser. As months went by, my dad called me up and said one of his neighbors in Maryland was looking into selling his beloved Cherokee, but specifically wanted it to go to a new home and an owner that would love and care for it. Enter Clifford.

I hopped on the phone with the PO and he gave me the rundown:
His father bought the car new in 99. Gave it to him as a college vehicle. It went with him when he joined the military. It was still his daily when he got married, had his first kid, bought his first house. Over the years he tastefully modified it and had ALL of the paperwork for the suspension work, the wheels and tires, the bumpers, the crate engine (got a reman @ roughly 156k, at 190k now). He even gave me the original window sticker that he still had all these years later. Once he had kids, he got a safer and more reasonable car, but it meant the Jeep got a little love in upgrades, and no use. For the last few years of ownership, it hardly moved.

I asked what he wanted for it, and it turned out to be well within my budget, and we made a gentlemen's agreement that I would buy it sight unseen and hand him cash the next time I visited Maryland.

Two weeks later, I showed up at his door with a bank envelope, and took Clifford back to my parents garage to prepare for the trip to Florida.

Pictured below 30 seconds after shaking hands and receiving keys:

 

First Days:

The Good: It started, shifted, stopped.

The Bad: It was in need of a week or two of work.

The Ugly: I had 3 days.

Small Issues that NEEDED to be fixed before the trek to florida:

1. Hood wouldn't latch
   1. PB Blaster, WD40, Brakleen, problem solved
2. Ran great and like crap simultaneously, needed a tuneup and everything gone through. It would run hard and then not hold rpm, sputter, stall, start back up and be fine. CELs galore (no idea what codes anymore).
   1. Battery
   2. Ignition tune up - spark plugs, wires, rotor, and distributor cap
   3. Fluid check and change
   4. Syphoned out all of the old fuel, gave her a fresh tank and a can of sea foam
   5. New power steering lines (leaking at the fittings)
   6. Sensors. So. Many. Sensors.
      1. MAP, TPS, O2's
   7. Lubricating and freeing up all parts that move. Lack of use does a number in terms of corrosion and binding.
3. Exhaust Leak, called the shop that welded one up for me in high school and he ran fresh pipes from the cat back with the same "rock crawler" mini muffler I had back then (it sounds great).
4. Shorty Antenna (old one didn't even work)
5. A DEEP clean
6. I'm missing little things, but we all know how this goes with these projects.

Pictured below working on Clifford in my parents garage in Maryland:


By the time the weekend was over Clifford was looking, running, and driving 10x better, but I wasn't sure I had the kind of faith to make it to Florida without an issue that would delay me from getting back to work. Then, an idea was born: the Autotrain. Clifford turned heads waiting to be loaded up, and the guy unloading it even had a little fun on the skinny pedal (I blame the exhaust) when we got to Florida.

The rest would have to wait until the journey was complete.

 

Restoration Continued:

Once I got to Florida, I began to get through the long to-do list that I had created. Sadly, I don't have pictures of everything I've done. Moving forward, I'll be sure to document the processes much better.

1. Headliner -- I found a fabric supplier in Sarasota, FL that specialized in boat and vehicle upholstery materials. I went in person and found a match material for the factory headliner. I can probably look the place up and find them again if anyone is interested. I think I remember the total being somewhere just over $100. Advice for DIY headliner: take your time, clean and prep the surface well, and use extra glue. It was my first time doing one, and it took me a couple of hours but there are only 2 spots behind the overhead speaker bar with imperfections, its otherwise a great finished product and wasn't very challenging, just time consuming.
2. Brakes -- Front calipers, pads, and rotors. Rear I rebuilt the drums. Its again, not a very difficult task. First timers, just study youtube and then pick a video to follow along as you work through it. The drums can be intimidating your first time but I promise, they're really not all that hard.
3. Cooling system -- Flushed out the system, replaced the thermostat, thermostat housing, and coolant temp sensor while I was at it. Coolant looked terrible coming out so I flushed until it ran clean, buttoned everything up, and she ran clean.
4. Stereo -- Nothing crazy, just a new single din head unit and new speakers all around.
5. Headlights -- LED headlights from Amazon. I'm extremely happy with them, plug and play, no flashing flickering or blinker issues, and they really light up the night.

Pictured below is the new headliner and the new headlights (somehow didn't take, or lost, pictures from the cooling system refresh and brake overhaul:

 

Current Project: Suspension HELP PLASE

I'm trying to fix the "carolina squat" issue I have in the rear. I have a complete parts list from the PO for all of the parts installed...but somehow theres no mention of the rear leaf pack. Given the rest of the below parts list, I want to assume that its part of the Rubicon Express 3.5" Super-Flex kit, but all thats mentioned for the rear is a 1" block and it does ride low in the rear...but its also a 5 leaf pack and from what I remember the factory packs came as 4 leaf? No single leaf looks newer or older than the rest. I need to take some measurements to figure out how much lift I'm really lacking in the rear. What measurements would you suggest?

Rough measurements (didnt remove wheels so not 100% accurate...I'll double check when theres time) from center of hub to bottom of stock fender flares:
Front: 22"
Rear: 20-20.5"

Options in my head so far are:

1. Rear shackle and/or shackle relocation kit
2. New leaf pack (I'd rather this than add a leaf), but this could result in the same issue if it really is the RE rear 3.5 on there currently.
3. Taller block?

Lift: Rubicon Express 3.5" Super-Flex front and unconfirmed rear
Tires: Firestone Destination M/T 32x11.50r15
Rubicon Express SYE and Driveshaft are installed. Haven't looked for a stamp, but thats what the part numbers on the work order state.

Has anyone had this issue? Any advice on which option to go with to fix it? I was under the impression that the RE kits tend to sit extra high.

Below is the list on the work order from the previous owner and the shop that installed the kit (Installed March 2019 with 179k miles, current odometer at 190k), and a picture of how it sits:

 

Can you share better pictures of the rear setup? You should just assume you'll be buying a new set of leaf springs...

 

Factory ride height is as follows measuring from top of axle tube to bottom of uniframe directly above:
Front 6.75"
Rear 6"