Hellbilly13

After years of buying and building up Camaros and other F-Body cars i decided to take on a totally different project as my next vehicle / toy.. Instead of driving a car that can outrun most traffic jams i decided i wanted something that could drive over one if needed, so i settled on a rather well kept 99 XJ.

Since i have not worked on any jeep before, and have never lifted a vehicle i had to rely on some local talent.. Enter, the guys at Off~Camber 4x4, a small group of off-road enthusiasts here in Jacksonville, Fl.

On to some specs..
1999 4 door XJ 4x4 Classic
4.0 HO Engine
AW4 Trans
NP241 TC
D30 Front and Chrysler 8.25 Rear

Heres a couple pics of it stock..



Ordered some goodies.. Got in a new sound system with 1000 watt amp, single 10, new rear liner and door speakers, new head unit and all the wiring to completely re-wire the sound system. Turned out quite nice, you can hear the black metal screaming out of this thing from a block away..




Also bought a K&N Performance series Air Intake system..



And then... My RC 4.5" Lift Kit came in.



Took the Jeep to a weekend cookout / build party and the real build started..





FRONTS DONE!




Got the alignment, TC Drop and a few other necessities knocked out and then ordered my tires. Tires have been installed, and im going to work on trimming the fenders today (if it ever stops raining) and hope to have this thing ready for Jeeptober Fest this weekend.. Heres a few pics of it in its current condition.

One of the Off~Camber guys had a set of 10x15s that look like (and might be) Cragars, so i traded him my stock wheels and tires for them. Then i bought a set of 33x12.5x15 BFG AT KO's and had them mounted.






Ill be sure to get some good pics of it out at Jeeptober Fest this weekend.. Hope to see some of you out there!

XJ98sport

looking nice and clean!

Hellbilly13

Few things have been done recently, but i have neglected to update my build thread here so i will make one big update with a handful of things i have done, and what my plans for the near future are..
This thing is pretty dirty right now, i just got back from a local obstacle course / mud bog yesterday and only had time to pressure wash all the mud off.. This thing was so covered you could barely tell what color it was.

First up i did a modest trim on the front fenders and lined the rough edges with some trim molding.


Followed by taking off all the bumper caps and painting both bumper skins.. I felt a need to break up all the red the jeep had, and the black contrasts nicely in my opinion.



Went to a friends house to mount some hooks, and ended up building a whole new bumper instead. Its a very simple build, just used a piece of 5" channel, tied it back into the frame and ran some gussets. Fully welded.




I managed to sink my jeep about a month ago, and my passenger opened the door and let a ton of water in.. So after a couple days of driving around in a jeep that smelled like a swamp i decided to rip out the carpet and bed line the floors. The jeep just got back from a local obstacle course and mud bog yesterday, so the bed lined floors came in handy, as you can see..


Also installed my CB inside the overhead console.


And lastly, a couple shots of the flex on a homemade RTI ramp.. aka a stack of tires.






The plans for the near future are pretty simple..
-Need to cut the rear fenders, and cut the fronts higher to accommodate the new tires.

-****** out the D30 / 8.25 axles and replace them with a D44 front / Corp 14 rear that have already been built, running 4.88s and auburn lockers in both.

-Build half doors

After that all money is being saved for the engine swap.. This jeep will be getting a LS motor within the year.

-

papaj

nice rig man! love the flex pics

Hellbilly13

Thanks! Its not bad for a jeep ive had less than 3 months

Hellbilly13

Some major upgrades coming in the next 2 weeks.. Its about to go full width!

Bought a set of axles, going with a D44 front and 14 bolt rear. 4.88s and auburn limited slip lockers front and back. Swapping out the 33's with a set of 35 KM2s and picking up a set of 38 Pitbulls for the serious wheeling trips.
Had the jeep for right at 5 months, by the 6th month this thing will be a beast. Just have to get some time off work to swap the axles and ill be ready to play.

Will post some pics of the swap after it happens.