So I just created an account so I can make a build thread. I'm not new to the forum however and just about everything I have learned about XJs came from this forum . I'm 16 and get my license in about a month

So this is my first car which makes me very lucky. My dad owns a used parts yard called Patriot Automotive(Camden,nj) which gives me unlimited resources and connections when it comes to car parts. The first time I laid my eyes on a jacked up cherokee I fell in love.

So let's get started, since my dad owns a junkyard, we had our eyes peeled for an xj for a few months hoping someone was selling one for junk or however. And what do ya know one finally showed up. My dad bought the xj for about $400 off a dude that probably figured it was going to be junked, so he took the cash and it was ours

1999 Jeep Cherokee sport









It ran great with 187,000 miles on it. So we did some maintenance and light mechanical work (thermostat,gaskets,distributor cap and wires) the ac compressor was missing so my dad got one fairly easily from another yard. Once that was done the fun stuff began

My uncle owns a powder coating and metal plating business so my dad dropped off wheels to get powder coated (black)

Here they are finished and we picked them up on Easter while we were up in PA with the family

 

Me and my dad were looking around on the internet and sch and we wanted to set the jeep apart from the others. We both like the bedliner ideas so we went with it








The poop tires and wheels u see where just something that was laying around the yard the fit until tires and wheels were ready after we lift it

 

We also ordered a flowmaster super 40 because ours was hanging off and shot, plus it sounds nicer so 2 birds with 1 stone

 

After that we modified the dash to accept the double din we had

First we cut thebezel and filled the gaps on the sides


Then we had to cut the ducts. There a few write ups on the forum that we referred to and i think even a YT video



THen we sealed it up



Heres the mock up of the radio in



Looks great IMO

 

Then my dad found a deal on a pretty sweet stinger type tube bumper and we picked it up (wasnt cheap)



Then our mechanic (ik im lucky right ) bolted the heavy ***** on



Pretty sick but i couldnt wait for the lift which we put on about a week or two later . When it came in we got started .. Turned out all the god damn shock bolts broke which is common so that was a ***** to fix .. Once our we got it all figured out our mechanic fixed er up







Steering stabilizer and sway bars wereshot so out with the old in with the new. I plan on going with with sway bar discos in the future

 

Here she is with the 3 in RC lift on som poopy tires and rims (i couldnt wait to have tires and rims ready)



Looks way better even with crappy tires ..... But then finally





And now the moment weve all been waiting for


Little comarison for you here . I really like how it looks. This brings us up to date at the moment.



More to come and many plans are in my head .. Hope you like it . Feedback would be well appreciated

 

Looks like a good start. If you plan on running a winch to that bumper you'll need to buy some tie-in brackets, but it's definitely neat.

 

Looking good!

 

After purchasing this bumper i have heard that i may not have room for a winch without some modifing because when olympic 4x4 made it, it was supposed to be a wrangler bumper but they found out it fit the cherokee nicely as well.(different mounting brackets) so the wrangler would have more room behind it that the xj doesnt have. I think ill just slap on some d rings for now and wheel with some friends that could pull me out . Thanks for the feedback though!

 

Thanks man appreciate it ! I dig ur jeep as well

 

You could probably cut out some of the front crossmember and fit it, many do for hidden winches. But either for winch or d rings you'll want to buy some tie-ins, don't want to rip the bumper and part of the frame out while on the trail (or anywhere for that matter).

 

I'm liking the double din install...may do it myself. Looks like good progress so far!

 

Yeah i probably will cut the cross member and such at some point. And thanks for the advice on tie ins . Will do!

 

Thanks man! You could do it . Not all that hard to accomplish

 

Heres a nice shot i got today