black_771

This will be my build thread for my 1996 Cherokee 4-door. I have already done quite a bit of work to it, but thats just getting it back into "good shape" and reliable.

I bought it about 18 months ago with a 3" Skyjacker lift with static LCAs and an AAL. It also has ProComp MX6 shocks which I love, but I think one needs to be replaced. It looked good on initial inspection so I bought it and trailered it back 200 miles to my house. Almost immediately, I started finding areas that I needed to fix right away. The list is below...

• Laid in a couple small patches to possibly delay a full floor pan replacement for a couple more years. It wasn't as bad as the pics I've seen on here, but it needed to be fixed. I have a welder, but no experience welding sheet metal so I just used pop rivets and tons of seam sealer.
• POR15'd all the other surface rust which was no small task. Looks pretty good though!
• Replaced all the external bulbs. The only bulbs that worked were the headlights and the brake lights.
• Replaced the coffee stained carpet with vinyl flooring (pain in the ****!)
• In the process of replacing every screw I undo with new screws. I'm well over 50% on breaking screws and bolts, so I'm just replacing all of them. You can see the new screws in the grill. They are silver but Lowes doesn't sell bulk screws in black,...that I could find. Nothing in self-tapping for sure.
• Removed the annoying car alarm. I hated it as much as my neighbors did. May have been needed in its previous life in Downtown St Louis, but not in it current life on the Northside of Evansville. LOL!
• Removed the thumping system,...for now. I didnt like the way it was wired but, but now that I see how the XJ is laid out, I can understand why it was done that way.

Things I have on tap are...

• I bought Ecco wheels to replace the cheapies, but I like the BS of the CHEAPIES and I'm pretty sure the Eccos don't have as much. Plus they are Gold. YUCK! I'd have to repaint them.
• I bought a JCR Stage 3 front bumper and a Stage 2 rear. I just need to figure out how I want to finish them, PC, Paint, bedlined, etc.
• I have a full spring pack for the rear to replace the sagging AAL.
• Need to drain and refill the brake fluid, trans fluid, coolant, and both axles
• Replace the headliner. Thinking about camo because my kids love it, but not sure I like it so much yet.
• Finish trimming the fenders
• Maybe paint it,...probably some sort of military theme. Thought about Desert Tan, but no sold on it yet. I do like the black too but the clear coat looks bad.
• I have a locker and new gears, which were for a TJ I no longer own, but after the initial excitement of deciding to put them in my XJ, I found out they won't work. Boo. No sure what to do with those just yet.
• I'm not sure what to do with the ProComp shocks. They are awesome,... but expensive, and I think one needs replaced. They have a LLT warranty but I think I need a receipt to get the them replaced under warranty. I'm debating what I should do. Any ideas?
• Oh and get it muddy...

As you can see, I have a lot to do! It will be my winter driver for now, but once the salt is off the road, I'll start tearing into it again. Here is the pic from today. Hopefully I can keep this updated.

projectmayhem

i need pics but i like the black