ffeng31

I tell you what , just working on my daughters 96 Citron Pearl has given me the fever... After weeks of searching Craigslist and any used car lot I passed, I picked this little lady up for a song and a dance. Had to trailer it home as it was 2 1/2 hours away and I was by myself when I went to look at it.
Bone stock , 140,000 miles , one owner , and just a few things that needed to be addressed . Needless to say I lucked out.

Things I was told by the seller that needed fixing:
Master Cylinder
Tail Pipe
Drivers window

Things I have discovered needing repaired or should be replaced:
Battery
Plugs
All hoses
thermostat and housing ( replaced temp sensor while I was there )
New Radiator needed and clogged heater core
Rear wiper inoperable *
Tag Light inoperable *
Hatch open indicator *
Left front speaker *

* all due to broken /aged wiring. Had to do the whole hatch rewire where it goes from body through rubber sleeve to hatch.

I've gotten everything fixed and have come up with a starting point for my build . My intent is to do an overland style vehicle. I've ordered a 3 inch lift kit with new rear springs , Upper and lower control arms, adj track bar, steering stabilizer , removable sway bar links , stainless extended brake lines , transfer case drop to include linkage, and new wheels and 30x9.5x15 MT tires.

Heres what she looked like when I brought her home and one photo after replacing wheels and tires with an old set I had in garage. Rubber was dry rotted on stock aluminums.. Will post pics after the lift..

XJIrish4x4

Its just awesome to see people share common interests as their kids. Then to bring these XJs back to life.

What was your tow vehicle surprised at its ability to tow as I find that those U haul trailers can be heavy on their own.

XJ looks very clean and I like the color.

ffeng31

Well I would have taken my 05 Ram to haul it back had I known I was going to buy it right then. The price was too good to pass up so I rushed over to the Uhaul dealer and got the full car hauler. Not having a feel for the full condition of the Jeep I thought it safer than a tow dolly for the 2 1/2 hour trip. My Santa Fe has a 5000 lb towing capacity so I was under its max but the tongue weight was on the high end. I took it easy and made it home just fine. The daughter and I have always been tight . Shes truly a Daddy's girl. We started out with collecting and shooting firearms , had a boat and fished the intercoastal for a while , the FFA brought Goats into our lives ( we still have 41 on our little farm ) , and when her Grandfather passed she inherited his Jeep. ( Forgot to mention Soccer.....) She's a great kid that isnt afraid to get her hands dirty at both work and play.

XJIrish4x4

That's awesome to here, my girls and my son all share some common interests with mine so it makes things fun! They want to learn and I'm also willing to teach them. They are fully aware of guns as well and the are all avid fishing enthusiests. In fact they ask me all the time when are we going fishing Dad! My son is just now getting his hands dirty and helping out with the XJ which is cool and I think he is more excited about getting it off road than I am at times. That's how it should be

Kevin Miller

I love hearing that your a Jeepin family too! It's fun, isn't it? I'm just starting to build an XJ to chase my son around in his, plus my wife has one too.

ffeng31

After hiding in the garage for over a week, here she is. This was my first time taking on a project like this. It was alot of work for one person . Many rusty bolts , some that broke , some that needed to be cut and ground out as they stuck in place. But all in all I am very pleased. Wanted to be done a bit sooner so I could make it to The Jeep Ranch this weekend but alas it was not to be. Next Month...

This is the list of upgrades so far:
Rough Country 3" series II lift with Full leaf replacement and upper and lower control arms
Rough Country adjustable track bar
Rough Country HD steering stabilizer(damper)
Rubicon Express sway bar disconnects
Skyjacker transfer case drop kit
Novak Conversions transfer case shifter cable
Crown performance extended brake lines
Iron Rock Off Road from shackle mount
Tactik 15x8 D wheels with 4.0 in backspacing
Federal Couragia MT 30x9.5x15 tires
New HD steering linkage and tie rod ends

Here are a few pics.. The Last one is a shot of my Daughters Citron Pearl 96 , my 2001 Forest Green Pearl, and my buddy's 95 Hunter Green Metallic.

XJIrish4x4

Looks really good!!! That's a lot of work and quality parts installed.

Looks like you got the tallest one out there.

Slackdaddy

What color is the "Lighter Green" XJ ??

ffeng31

Citron Pearl.. Factory color from only 95 and 96 as far as I can tell. That's my daughters , its a 96.

Ozalid

Addicting it is...You start by doing a little clean up, tune up. You start cruising the gallery pics.... Next thing I know, my wife is asking," is there really that much to do on the Jeep ?" Its probably better she doesn't know the full extent of what I want to do. !!!

Kevin Miller

lol, I told mine from the beginning. She said "what are your plans for it?, and my response was "everything". So far so good. I already knew it was going to be an addiction.

ffeng31

Here are few more pics .

Tbone289

What d-ring/shackle mounts are you using for your front recovery points?

ffeng31

Its from Iron Rock Offroad . High quality and very solid. Here's a link.. https://www.ironrockoffroad.com/prod...tow-mount.html

Morat

That's a fine looking collection!
I wish I could lend you mine for a couple of months