This is my first jeep a 90 XJ, bought it febuary 2015.

How I bought it, running like crap and no brakes. $700 well spent.




very shortly after I bought it I decided to fix the brakes. I looked over the front brakes and all looked good.

then I looked at the rear brakes.. found the problem.




That is all the hardware that came off. minus the ebrake rod.

MUCH BETTER



After that it finally stopped like it should.

I dealt with the obligatory CPS failure.

Then the fun began.

RC 4.5 X series.



33x12.50r15 MTR/Kevlar.



A friend had these rims sitting around and I got a great deal on them.

After the lift was on I got the tires mounted and the truck aligned.



Did some trimming and some ghetto flares.



Then I got this little beauty.



I welded it along both sides as well as the normal bolts.



And after that it was winch time

One of these


plus one of these



Equals this



Nice little set up if I do say so myself.

Not worried about the strength, I pulled out a 3/4t 90 suburban loaded up on 35"s burried to the frame. had to strap the rear a tree but I got him out.

I have done alot more little things like fixing most of the running issues, new engine and trans mounts, and a lot of other little things.

And finally this.




Oh and this..

 

Sweet. Looking good. Keep up the good work

 

Thanks, I have alot more little things and a few big things to take care of.

heres a list of my to do's

control arm drop brackets.

shackle relocations with 1" shackles.

new shocks. nothing wrong with these, I just dont like them.

bump stops, front and rear. the shocks I am looking at have built in bumps.

darker tint on the rear doors and side windows.

sleeping platform for the back with storage underneath.

on board air with air tank. thinking a 7 gallon unit where the rear seat would be. powered by A/C compressor.

quick connects front and rear for the winch.

Front locker. probably a truetrack.

new rear axle, thinking 29 spline 8.25 hopefully with factory trak lok. I rebuilt the one in my dana 35 and am quite happy with it.

regear thinking 4.56. maybe 4.10.. I might want to swap to a manual sooner or later. Probably just go 4.56. can never be over geared.

Sound system, marine speakers and slimline all in one sub and amp, also marine.

dual batterys.

cowl intake, never going to sink it deep enough to need a full snorkle.

bumpers, these can wait.

roof basket.


I'm sure there are a few other little things I am forgetting but thats the majority.

also at some point I will need a new engine, this one makes a pretty bad noise when you start it up.

 

I am in the process of building my bumpers. Also I have a 5 gallon viair air tank for sale if you're interested. Sounds like you got your plans already. Keep up the good work and keep posting pics. We like pics on this forum

 

I see you're in Alaska so shipping might be much on the tank

 

Yeah, I'm gettin a 7 gallon tank from work for around $40. it says max psi of 125. which is good because i only plan on 120.

I may just buy a cheap old air compressor and salvage the tank, regulator, and hose connections. time will tell.

 

Here's some more pics..because you know. thousand words and so on.

After i left that mud hole



What it looked like before i wend into the mud



And some scenic pictures from a trip to Homer Alaska last saturday








Saw quite a few of these big *** nopes on the beach he's right in the middle in the shadows.. big freakin wolf? spider.

 

Sweet. I miss mud. I can't wait till monsoon season

 

Well I went full retard.




It got crushed under the valve cover when i had it off to tighten the head bolts.

went out to my truck for lunch and it wouldnt start.

bout a new one and threw it in..... still wouldnt start. thank god i work at a parts store lol.

then i discovered the jeep had gone full retard. literally.
the knock sensor was broken from some tinkering last night.

unpluged it and she fired right up running better than it ever has. plus the horrid noise on start up is gone. I can still hear piston slap or a wrist pin when I rev and let off but oh well. a proper oil change should help that.

 

Today I started on my sleeping platform.

5 8' sticks of 2x4, and 1 stick of 8'x12"x2".



I'm building it in 2 parts, the rear part which will be staying no matter what, and a front section which can be installed with or with out the rear seat still installed and folded down.


I didnt take many pictures in process, but is basically a square with legs.
Ans a 36"x24"x2" slide out shelf for food prep or a work bench.

the drawer slides i bough are rated at 100lbs at full extension.











i used the factory tie downs to secure the front legs so it wont tip out when i slide out the shelf.




Then it started to pour rain. Tomorrow i'll get the ply wood for the top and the front section set up. then the carpet and some paint to make it all look good.

 

turned out pretty good i think. its a little short so i'll have to curl up but thats how i sleep anyways.

 

So looks like my next project will be on board air, I picked up an old 5 gallon sears air compressor for free!

Will be ordering the rest of the little parts I need on friday.

Plan is to use the factory ac compressor, and run lines to the front back and one under the rear seat to attach to the tank.

the tank will be removable without leaving the system inoperable. it wont be as effective without the tank but it will still air up tires. with the tank in place I'll be able to set beads and even run air tools on the trail.


Also decided that at some point in this jeeps future it will be getting a 2.2/2.5 turbo 4cyl from an 80s dodge. turns out that with the bell housing from a 94-95 dakota 4 cyl I can bolt it right to an ax15.
not much power over the 4.0 stock but, its very easy to get 300hp from them. I had an 89 dodge shadow ES running 15psi pushing about 225hp/250ftlbs to the tires. that was just an intercooler slightly larger injectors and stage 3 ecm.

 

Nice Jeep man. That sleeping platform is rad. I plan on turning my XJ into a expedition/camping rig. Best of luck with the rest of the build!

 

thanks bro, the platform is something I've always wanted to do. it was harder than I thought, but still pretty easy. hardest part was trying to get straight cuts with a crappy saw.

it cost just over $100.