My red XJ
 

Hey guys, I have been lurking on here for quite some time soaking everything in. I picked up a 96 Classic 4x4 back in October, 4.0, AW4, NP231, C8.25, 182k miles. My original plans were just to clean it up and flip it, but the more the wife and I looked at it, the more potential we saw for a pretty neat toy and a reliable 3rd vehicle.

I had not intended to post a build thread since most of what I have done is not super inventive or original, and is really basic compared to a lot of the rigs on here. But, here goes...

This is what I started with:

Looks like a great start!

Filthy inside, no heat or air, tires dry rotted and every hinge and mechanism dry as a bone and bound up from sitting up for over a year. So I started with a good cleaning. The inside actually came out pretty nice after some minor repairs like reattaching the console lid and rearview mirror, and going nuts with the Simple Green and carpet machine. Then came the PB Blaster on all the locks and latches and the bound up hood release.

After that was done it was time to get the heat and air going. The PO had said that the blower motor was dead... He had a brand new one in the backseat when I bought the rig so I just assumed he had diagnosed it correctly and I installed it. Still nothing, so I checked the switch. Toasted.
A JY switch got me one speed... So on to the resistor. A JY resistor got me all the speeds, hot heat and cold air.

At this point I took a look at the body. Fairly clean other then a few uglies.
A little elbow grease and some more JY parts got most of that straightened out. So it was time for lift and tires.

The lift is a Rough Country Series II 3" AAL with the LCA's and Nitro 9000 shocks. I also got a RC steering stabilizer and a new track bar. Tires are Maxxis Buckshot Mudders in 31x10.50x15. At this point we had our first little excursion, and the rig performed great:

We did have quite a bit of temp creep while on the trail and at one point we flat out overheated. So.... Time for a fan clutch.

Bumpers were next... Rough Country for the front, with the D ring mounts and lightbar along with a Smittybilt XRC8.

The bumper required some trimming to the fenders and removal of the lower valance. Real nice tie in brackets and quality hardware.

KC's for the lightbar... Wired the switch in the blank panel above the cigarette lighter.

Warrior Products for the rear... This one requires that you open up the channels in the unibody in order to tie the mounting brackets into the frame. You can also see the 3" stainless tip for the Flowmaster 50 in the pics. The FM is installed in the factory location, right behind the brand new cat courtesy of Chrysler and the 96 XJ cat recall that had not yet been performed on this rig.

Damn that thing looks good!:thumbup1:

For audio I went with some decent but budget minded Kenwood stuff. I also got rid of the funky headliner off the soundbar and bedlined it.

I've also done a few other things to the rig here and there that are not documented in the previous posts. I've got a list of everything that I will post below along with a few more pics. I'm looking forward to hearing any comments or suggestions, this thing had been an absolute blast so far and a lot of fun to work on. <br />
<br />
JEEP PROJECT<br />
<br />
SUSPENSION:<br />
Rough Country 3&quot; Series II lift, coils, AAL, LCA's, sway bar drop brackets, RC 9000 Nitro shocks, RC heavy duty steering stabilizer, Rubicon Express track bar<br />
<br />
TIRES:<br />
Maxxis Buckshot Mudders 31x10.50x15LT, 2&quot; billet wheel spacers<br />
<br />
BUMPERS:<br />
Rough Country front winch bumper w/ light bar, D-ring mounts, Rampage 3/4&quot; shackles w/ Daystar isolators<br />
<br />
Warrior Products rear bumper with D-ring mounts, Smittybilt 3/4&quot; shackles w/ Daystar isolators<br />
<br />
RECOVERY:<br />
Smittybilt XRC8 8000 lb winch w/ Rugged Ridge isolator and Smittybilt grab handle, Winch Ready cover<br />
<br />
Teraflex tree saver strap 3&quot;x7'<br />
Smart Strap recovery strap 2&quot;x20'<br />
Haulmaster choker chain 20'x5/16&quot;<br />
Smittybilt snatch block<br />
Warrior Products 7/8&quot; shackles<br />
48&quot; Hi Lift Jack, handle isolator and off road base, River Raider XJ Mount<br />
<br />
ARMOR:<br />
Rusty's engine/transmission skid<br />
Rusty's transfer case skid<br />
Rusty's front and rear diff guards<br />
Mopar gas tank skid<br />
<br />
LIGHTING:<br />
Sylvania Silverstar headlights<br />
KC Daylighters 100w halogen longrange offroad lights<br />
<br />
AUDIO:<br />
Kenwood KDC-248u detachable face CD/MP3 headunit w/ remote<br />
<br />
Kenwood KFC-1362s 5 1/4&quot; 3 way speakers in front doors and sound bar<br />
<br />
EXHAUST:<br />
Flowmaster 50 series muffler<br />
New Mopar catalytic converter and oxygen sensor<br />
3&quot; polished stainless tip<br />
<br />
OTHER WORK AND UPGRADES:<br />
All new fluids - front and rear difs, transfer case, transmission, engine oil and filter<br />
<br />
Repaired center console lid<br />
Replaced rear view mirror<br />
Replaced battery tie down <br />
<br />
K&amp;N drop in filter<br />
New Duralast Gold 800cca Battery<br />
Champion copper plugs<br />
<br />
Front brakes - New rotors and pads, new left caliper and brake line<br />
<br />
Rear brakes - New wheel cylinders and shoes, new hardware kit, drums resurfaced<br />
<br />
New high pressure power steering line<br />
New cooling fan clutch<br />
New blower motor, resistor, and switch<br />
Replaced fan shroud<br />
New electric aux fan<br />
<br />
Rear wiper base replaced and washer line repaired<br />
<br />
New Bosch wipers front and rear<br />
AMI 6&quot; Stubby billet antenna<br />
Soundbar stripped and bedlined<br />
New center console panel and cupholders<br />
Husky rear cargo liner<br />
Jeep seatbelt shoulder pads<br />
Strongarm hatch struts<br />
AVS Ventvisors<br />
Rear window rack with shovel and axe<br />
<br />
Installed spare tire foot and hardware, full size spare and cover<br />
<br />
Complete recovery/repair/emergency kit, Fire extinguisher and Maglite mounted in rear

is the fire extinguisher mounted there? or just resting?

It is mounted there. It is a Kidde 3lb. ABC extinguisher. If you look closely you can see the black collar up by the neck and the black strap around the body. The mount is secured with 1/8" toggle bolts through the panel.

Thanks man!

Sorry, weird double post from my phone