Madge, the magenta mistress
27 Attachment(s)
Bought my Jeep at the end of March, 2012. 1996 two-door, five-speed with 186,000 miles for $1800. She looked like this back then:
Attachment 362618 Attachment 362619 Attachment 362620 Attachment 362621 The name has a story. First, that is the original color. Factory magenta. It was apparently only available in 1996, and as far as I know, I have the only 2 door, 5 speed magenta Cherokee. I have tried to find others, but have failed. That, I think, makes my Cherokee pretty damn cool. Anyway, I chose Madge because the color is magenta, and it seemed right. The "mistress" part came from when a girl I know asked me if my Jeep was my wife and my Jetta would be my girlfriend, or vice versa. I told her this, "Well, my Jetta is definitely my wife. My Jeep, well, she's not even a girlfriend. More of a mistress, really, because I never know if I'm going to make it home that night, where she's going to take me, or even if she'll want to take me anywhere." And, here's the Jetta that is my wife: Attachment 362622 Now, at this point, I had gotten a temporary tag that would have gotten me through until the end of May. I had a few little things that I KNEW would fail inspection, such as battery tie-down and the aftermarket shift knob. I wanted to get these done before getting it inspected. Sometime in April I got some new wheels in and new tires. Annnnnd here they are: Attachment 362623 Attachment 362624 I drove around like this for a bit and planned on getting inspected in May. Well, around May 20th, my throwout bearing literally exploded in the bellhousing. It didn't just lock up or fail, it EXPLODED. Anyway, I parked my Jeep in the garage and started acquiring parts. I got a brand new Luk clutch kit from Pep Boys, got a buddy with an xj to come over and we went to work: Attachment 362625 I have a scar on the back of my hand now, due to the fingers there haha Attachment 362626 And here's the inside of the bellhousing: Attachment 362627 Might be hard to see, but the balls from the throwout bearing are still in the bellhousing: Attachment 362628 Attachment 362629 The whole clutch change was a real pain in the ***.A lot of bolts refused to move, including both of the ones holding the exhaust manifold to the rest of the exhaust (at the flange, but more on that later). So, we cut the bolts at the flange and got the rest out. Everything went back together pretty nicely. Attachment 362630 While it was apart, we decided to pull the carpet (I have plans on bedlining the interior). Here is what we found: Attachment 362631 Attachment 362632 Just to pass inspection, I decided to screw in some sheet metal and silicone around it. I will weld in patches when my welding skills are good enough (hopefully soon). By this time it's about August 1st or so, and and I decided to go get it inspected. FAILED. On the list: 1. exhaust manifold is cracked 2. seats not secured 3. needs new drums out back 4. new pads up front 5. needs a stitch-on steering wheel cover 6. needs a brake pedal pad 7. needs new tie rod end at the pitman arm Anyway, I did all this in a few days and took it back and SUCCESS! I now have a legal Jeep. Here are some pics from those few days: Attachment 362633 Attachment 362634 Here are those damn bolts from before Attachment 362635 There's the intake manifold just hanging out on the floor Attachment 362636 Taking that side of the engine out, essentially Attachment 362637 Attachment 362638 So, now that I can drive, what should I do? Well, I didn't have long to ponder this question, because Madge was now overheating at low speeds and idle. So I flushed the system and changed the thermostat to a fail-safe, and that didn't work at all. Then I changed the fan clutch and water pump. Boom! No more overheating. Pics of that work: Attachment 362639 Out with the old... Attachment 362640 Attachment 362641 Attachment 362642 Attachment 362643 And that's basically how it went. Now that all of that's over, I can make it more of a "build" thread, and not as much of a "repair" thread. Suffice to say the work to play ratio with Madge is terribly skewed at this point. Hitting up a trail this weekend though, I hope, with this fella: Attachment 362644 That's the buddy that helped me out with the clutch. |
My to-do list is endless, but on the short-term I'm looking to get new bumpers with recovery points, armor for the underside, and bedline the interior. I got a brand new diff cover from a guy I work with for 50 bucks, so that's going on relatively soon.
|
hey I remember this jeep. so you finally came up with a name for it eh. nice work so far
|
Originally Posted by Atmos
(Post 1986703)
hey I remember this jeep. so you finally came up with a name for it eh. nice work so far
|
1 Attachment(s)
Went mountain biking today and took the long way home. Found a bunch of dead end roads leading to woods. One road I found went right along side I-95. Found a sweet little trail, but was posted all over with no trespassing signs and such. Since someone saw me come in, I didn't want to risk it.
Attachment 362512 All the driving bled my clutch some more, so I got stuck in reverse at one point. :cursing: That's why I carry around a gallon of brake fluid, though :laughing: |
Nice job. Keep up the good work.
|
I am so IN LOVE with that color....un-freaking real how cool it is. I picture it limited with privacy windows and black d-windows....soo sexy....
|
Originally Posted by 96xjclassic
(Post 1989285)
Nice job. Keep up the good work.
Originally Posted by ColdWarrior
(Post 1989846)
I am so IN LOVE with that color....un-freaking real how cool it is. I picture it limited with privacy windows and black d-windows....soo sexy....
It's very rare considering it's magenta (super rare), two door (slightly rare), and a five speed (rare). Put all three together and it's pretty much the only one, at least that I've located. I wouldn't mind tinting the windows. It would look damn good. Cosmetic enhancements definitely are not on my short list right now, though. I can do all that later on, one's it's back in good shape and running better. |
Very cool build!!
|
Originally Posted by onlyinajeep726
(Post 1990261)
Very cool build!!
Yours is too. I like that it was your first vehicle and you had to learn to love it haha |
Originally Posted by MD XJ
(Post 1990997)
Thanks man!
Yours is too. I like that it was your first vehicle and you had to learn to love it haha I dig the magenta color. I want to paint mine orange or blue, but may be considering magenta now. :thumbsup: Keep up the good work man. |
1 Attachment(s)
|
Originally Posted by BotakBeng
(Post 1991455)
Damn, that's some serious mechanical work.
Keep up the good work! |
Lots of love for purple jeeps although:icon_cool: my 89 isn't a factory color but it is a Chrysler color
|
Got my new diff cover on a few weeks ago and also removed my fender flares. No pics yet, sorry.
Seafoamed her today and didn't get that much smoke (hooray?). I suppose I had a pretty clean intake system. Tonight I'm going to order a locker for my Dana 30 (Probably an Aussie) and a Novak cable shifting kit for my NP231. Might take it a shop to have the floors welded up so I can bedline it soon. I want it sealed well before the winter. :rockon: |
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:28 PM. |
© 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands