Jeep Cherokee Forum - Photojared's before and after build

Hey everyone,

I've been here for a while but I figured I would post up my build now.

It all started about 2 years ago when my Honda started giving me trouble. It was broken into once, attempted stolen once, and stolen once more all in about 3 months time. The last time they broke the windshield, messed up the clutch, and just pissed me off in general. I had the car since 2004, but it was time to let go.

I tracked it a lot. Drag racing, auto-x, road racing. Added a 100 shot of nitrous to a basically stock motor. It got down to 13.5 @ 105 in the quarter.

In its prime:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...5_edited-2.jpg

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After a couple of months of not having a car, my fiancé and we purchased this:

93 Cherokee Sport 4x4 with 225,000. $1700. Ran pristine, no frame damage or rust, and no leaks.

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We are big hikers and love to outdoors in general, we have 2 dogs which led us to the decision to a SUV. The Cherokee was perfect for us.

We wheeled it. I was quite pleased how capable these are in stock form.

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Drove this for about a 18 months only replacing the cooling system. Still ran perfect.

It all started in January when I was headed home from work. I was rear ended by a guy not paying attention. He was traveling at around 20-30 mph when the impact happened. I was fine, he was fine. The jeep was in stellar condition for what had happened, and his car was not so lucky.

Pretty much just dented the back bumper, front bumper (I was pushed into another vehicle), and bent the exhaust.

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I wales away from this accident with $1700 in my pocket. What to do? UPGRADE!

Here's what I ordered.

Treadwright guard dog 31x10.5
Nates 4x4 rear bumper
Rigidfab FbLtd
RE 3.5" lift with full packs
Doestch DT8000 shocks
RC track bar
RC steering damper

With the tires and 15x8 canyons

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Here's the start of the parts pile:
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I'm glad I didn't start installing because this is where it starts....3 weeks later?

Sideswiped
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Their insurance deemed it a total loss: we received $2400 for it.

So I pulled some money and we decided to upgrade. Something newer with less miles. In the mean time, the parts pile:

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Locally we found this:
'99 XJ Sport with 125k. $3600
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Runs great, I was a little concerned that when in 4x4 the gearbox/transfer case was grinding a little. I figured a week after I purchased it was because there were 3 different size tires......yes 3!

This is the final pile before installing
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The bumpers were professionally bedlined:
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I had to order another tire because one was destroyed, installed those and both bumpers.

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Then the lift
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Forgot about the lights
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And this is pretty much how it sits. I've been unemployed for 4 months, so there hasn't been any progress since. I haven't even tested the lift yet because we've been scraping by. I just accepted a position making a decent wage so things should start to pick up soon.

I just wanted to share our story and let everyone have a look at the Jeep. I know its pretty plain and a very standard build, but enjoy. I'll post up some impressions of all the products when I have a moment to.

Cheers