Had this XJ for a little over a year now, had it out for a few wheelin' trips, nothing wild yet, but I've had a blast with it.
This is what I started out with, a basic '88 XJ 4 door, wanted the 4 door for the family friendliness if it.

The first mods were a 3" RC lift with coils, lower control arms, and a rear add a leaf, 15x8 wheels with 31x10.50x15, and removing the front sway bar.

After taking it out to some local trails I found some more issues I needed to work on. When the suspension flexed the tires were hitting the fenders hard, now, no longer the case. Also, the week leading up to my trip the area had over 5 inches of rain, so I found water that was very deep and I nearly stalled out on several occasions, the snorkel should fix that issue. A fancy ARB snorkel isn't in my budget, so this is the eBay Chinese knock off special. Hopefully in a couple weeks I'll get a chance to test out the latest round of mods.

 

good start

 

Looks good. How do you like the RC lift? Is the ride ok? I will be ordering this same lift in a few weeks.

 

creativity is key in low budget. could have made a 3 in lift for next to nothing then got that fancy arb snorkle. bastard pack and cheap coils or basterd packs and spacers up front =) looks great so far so glad im finaly in the market for another.

 

I'm happy with the way the RC lift works, I've got trail miles on it, almost no road miles on as this isn't my DD(a Cherokee just isn't going to pull a trailer as good as my 3/4 ton Suburban). I had considered a coil spacer and bastard pack, but felt that if I was going to spend money that a lift kit was money better spent over an name brand snorkel. I even considered going the PVC home built snorkel route, but knew I wasn't going to be totally happy with the end product. The next step is bumpers and a winch. I have steel that I dug out of the scrap pile that will make a great bumper and an old Super Winch my dad gave me that is in need of a rebuild.

 

Also after bumpers and a winch is rock sliders. That same scrap pile also yielded some nice tubing.

I'm glad to see a site of like minded people, I'm sick of sites that just say throw money at a project, I don't have too much money to throw.

 

A few more shots of my Jeep, after a day of wheeling.



Note to self: when going out in the Jeep after 5 inches of rain in a short period of time, take it to the car wash to clean, don't try to do it by hand.

 

Figured I'd give a quick up date, very happy with the extra clearance the cut fenders gave me, found a set of mud tires on Craigslist, much happier with how they perform on the trail, for the most part, just got back from a trip to Little Sahara in Oklahoma, should've put the all terrains back on for sand. Also happy with the snorkel, haven't nearly killed the engine when going through water since.