eking81

the title pretty much gives away why im just getting around to starting a build thread. being a new home owner working 50 hours a week and my grandfather having cancer doesnt allow me much time to work on the jeep much.

ill start with what i hope to do and hope i get time to post some pics tomorrow. ive looked over alot of post here and have learned a great deal about the XJ in the 4 months ive been a member here joining right after the purchase of my first jeep.

i bought a 95 XJ sport with the intent of building myself an offroad vehicle i could take almost anywhere. after reading these forums for awhile i got myself a D44 for the rear from another member. now im thinking i might go full size and do a 4 link however my time and wallet are kinda tight at the moment.

ive also looked at the chop top thread and i kinda like the look but never having done a build like this i have second thoughts about cutting into it like that. HOWEVER i found a solution to this problem and i bought a 91 4 door XJ for 550 bucks. runs and drives but the steering linkage was all bent and removed like someone used it as a tow point. i put it on the trailer and got it home friday night. motor isnt a HO like my 95 and it has a different tranfer case i see cause it doesnt have the part time 4x4 like mine. so the motor trans and TC will probably be sold to help fund my build.

tonight i started taking the interior out of the rear of the 91. and hopefully by next week i will have a new grinder and started on the chop to see how i do.

blah blah blah ill try to get pics up tomorrow they will probably speak better then i can lol.

snowboard3r411

eking81

heres the pics

ill start with the 95 planed build





and now the 91 donor for the test chop top and half doors






as you can see i have started removing the rear interior of the 91 and the previous owner already had started on the frontend

not alot of room in the garage at the moment and my trailer is parked outside the door so these are the best pics i can get till i return the trailer to the shop and move the jeeps out

EDIT : and yes i know the date on the pics is wrong i changed the batteries in the camera and didnt change the date back

eking81

got a little more time to work on striping the 91 today hopefully ill be able to start chopping the top and the doors next weekend
got more of the interior out the rear lift gate and rear windows out



and the after math

snowboard3r411

looks like a great start man keep us posted

eking81

well i havnt had much time working 12 hr days with an hour drive each way plus some personal issues to resolve has been taking its toll hince the title lol

however i did get a nice x-mas bonus so with my lack of time and a little extra cash to burn i ordered a few things

http://shop.jeeptubes.com/product.sc...&categoryId=13


http://shop.jeeptubes.com/product.sc...&categoryId=-1


http://shop.jeeptubes.com/product.sc...7&categoryId=9


i took the front bumper off the 95 and started mocking up the mounting plates for the bumper didnt take any pics yet but hope to get some this weekend

for the price i couldnt beat jeepstubes price having someone bend them i might of saved on the shipping and thats about it and since my bender is a POS lol and i dont have much time i figured why not

im still debating on what to do for the rear bumper but i have contacted jeeptubes sales department and they can make a few changes to the rear bumper option for me so i think ill be getting there kit for the rear also leaving me with the fit and weld which fits into my time frame a bit better

projectmayhem

this might turn out nice

eking81

ok well not much time to get to the jeep today but i did get some pics of where i am

front bumper off


started on the mount template


and a peek of the parts ive ordered listed in the post above

front bumper


front tube doors


and the tire carrier hinge kit


now some of you are looking at the mounting bracket and thinking there is alot cut out on it and there is
the reason behind this is i didnt want to incorporate the 3 bolts for the steering box so it is going to be notched around those 3 bolts and the bracket holding the fender
incase i ever do get into a small fender bender or hit something while wheeling i dont want a small bump causeing a issue with the steering

anyway i also went to the local steel supplier yesterday and picked up a 10 foot peice of 1/4 x 5 flat stock that will be used for the mounts

altho being a fabricator/steel supplier i will be ordering direct from now on (even tho i have to place atleast a 20' min order) as i get it for half the price the local supplier is charging

hopefully this week i can get the mounting plates and backing plate for the other side of the unibody made
make the steering box spacer
and get the stock flares off

if i can get those things done next weekend i hope to be fitting the front bumper

enough ramble ramble enjoy the pics

havensov

Looking good! Great job so far.

eking81

just a small update i did start on the front bumper mounts and im hoping to get the steering box out of the 91 tomorrow so i can start on the template for the steering box spacer

i also order this
http://shop.jeeptubes.com/images/125...145734618.jpeg


i did ask for alittle change to be made to my order and have the lower(shorter) tube replaced with an upper tube

i do have to thank Mark over at jeeptubes you cannt ask for better service or quality or parts

eking81

well not much of an update as work has kept me busy. it suck when you leave at 6am and dont get home till almost 8 pm but on the bright side next month is looking a bit slow so maybe ill get something done for once lol

anyway the rear bumper came in with the change in tube i requested and the custom peices i asked for to tie the ends together a bit better

i also have a york compressor on the way from an old AMC couldnt beat the price 58 bucks shipped to the door
ill have to order a new clutch for it as it has the double groove on it and ill need the serpentine clutch to run the stock belt

with parts pouring in i just need more time lol

next will be the lift if i can figure out which direction and how far i want to take it

also still need to find a front D44 from a wagoneer and get the disk brake brackets for the rear D44

more pics as soon as i can get time

eking81

well i finally got time yesterday and today so i started the front bumper
pic arnt great but you get the idea ill get better ones once its welded and cleaned up

eking81

the winch will sit down between the upper tubes and on top of the lower tube
i still need to trim the mounting plate and will run a plate between the upper and lower tubes to help protect the winch and mount the fairlead
its kinda rough but i dont have the tools in my garage i have at the shop
all cuts and copes where done by eyeball and a 4-1/2" cutting wheel
so far i dont think it looks to bad and im happy with it

true95w/t

Looks like a good start to a front bumper. I'll definetly be following this to see the outcome!

eking81

ok well still saving for the winch so i can finish the front bumper up but i started the rear bumper last weekend while i wait as all the parts are here for that

i started bypulling the gas tank (as it has a leak and gas and flame dont mix) then i went to opening up the unibody tubes so that i can slide a mounting tube inside them to help stiffen the rear and also act as a nut strap. the mounting tubes are fab'd but i didnt get any pics of them yet just one of the unibody tubes opened up



i then ran short on time once again and to do fab work in the small space i have open at the moment takes time to set up and put away so instead ive spent about 30 minutes a night taking the interior out today i finished removing the front seat and pulled the carpet out and guess what i found







you have to love chicago winters and all the salt lol
tomorrow ill be picking up some more cutting wheels and a wire wheel for my grinder as bad as it looks id like to replace the entire floor with new pans but i dont have the budget for that so peiceing it together with sheet metal will have to do

it looks like next weekend ill have some free time so i hope to finish the rear bumper however my time table changes alot so we will see