My name's Jesse and I'm new to the XJ family. I have a really good friend who's in to them and ever since I seen his recent build, I've wanted one. We found one we thought was a good candidate for a project so I bought it. I paid $3k for it. It has a rebuilt motor in it and a new windshield. My son, father (Carl), Dave and I will be doing the work on this.
I and my father know quite a bit about paint and body restoration and Dave know's a lot about lifts and suspension. We're a pretty good team for something like this imo. Anyways, here's "our" build of my XJ. His (Sherman) is the first pic of what made me want one, the rest will be progress on the build. Thanks for reading.
Sherman! Soon after purchase. First day of restore to the body. All doors were removed and what little rust they had has been sandblasted.
The update from today. Dylan (son), Carl (Dad) and I gutted the interior today except the center console. Gotta figure out how to get it out. The seats, carpet and headliner will soon be on their way for cleaning and repair if needed. Here's the progress pics.
Side note: There was a box of engine parts in the hatch. It appears the gentleman that changed the engine prior, also changed the front sway bars, injectors, alternator, power steering pump and thermostat housing. Pretty nice to know.
The update from today. Dylan (son), Carl (Dad) and I gutted the interior today except the center console. Gotta figure out how to get it out.
Easy but awkward. Put the tranny in first and just give the tranny shifter handle a good yank up. Watch out to not punch yourself in the face. LOL.
Now watch out. There is a white plastic ring inside the tranny shifter handle that could snap. 20 year brittle plastic and all but that is unlikely.
Pop the bezels and there is a couple/three screws under each that have to be removed. Remove the bezel light wiring.
Then take out the couple/few screws inside the console box.
Then it is just a matter of maneuvering the console up and out over the E Brake, TC, and the remaining part of the tranny shifter.
I found that removing the radio bezel, grab it from the bottom and give it a good yank (again should be OK but 20 year old plastic and all) and then the bezel that holds the switches sometimes gives you a little more room to maneuver.
You will find a long heating duct under the console. Just comes right out.
While you are there inspect the plastic bracket that secures the console to the floor. Has a habit of being cracked and that is why the consoles in some Jeeps wobble.
They make a nice metal aftermarket one. But they are not cheap.
Today's progress. Removed the interior center console and the carpet. We also removed the bumpers and fenders. Found a nice surprise waiting too. 🤔
Guess we'll be doing a little more work than originally thought. Not too worried about it though. It's almost ready to start the body work now.
The lower rear replacement hinges arrived.
Fender flare mounts removed (why are the bolts so long?!).
Rust in the door jambs almost eliminated.
We found a nice surprise in the passenger rear rocker (gonna cut it out and patch it).
3 small rust patches almost eliminated from the body.
Rear hatch stripped of externally mounted accessories.
I need to get a better sanding grinder for the rust elimination. Will be looking in to what's available.
Latest. We've taken time off lately as the Midwest weather has gotten pretty cold.
Tonight though, we cut out the old panels and are ready to clean up and weld in the patch panels. We plan on doing that this weekend.
This is a little off on the work. I went to my in laws house and "flipped the breaker for the garage". The problem was, I flipped the whole house breaker on everybody... 😯
I went back in after we were finished for the day and my father in-law told me to shut the garage breaker off. He did this without me seeing him do it. 😂😁
Operation rust elimination happened today. Not worried about the underbody rust at this time. That will all be handled when the bottom is gutted and the lift is added.
Dylan and I did some sanding today. I'll likely finish welding tomorrow. I have to get the new hinges on and the rear quarters on too. Dave took them to do a little modification as I have a simple plan for them. It will save me a lot of time on bodywork with what I have planned. They should turn out pretty cool looking too.
I haven't forgotten or abandon this project. It was delayed due to the weather. The virus situation didn't help either. There's actually lots of progress that's been made in the last week. Due to shipping delays, lift parts are slowly coming in but will likely not all be here until June... 🙁
I have made a lot of changes to the lift options though and some of this stuff is on backorder.
The XJ is currently relocated to the shop where it'll be painted. I've been working on it for the last week non stop. It is only my father-in-law and I working on it. The virus situation has made it to where the owner of the shop won't let others besides myself and my father-in-law in to work on it.
I'm going to post pictures of the project after it's painted (next week). I will also post progress pictures of the lift after the lift.
