I beat the **** out of my jeep learning how to wheel and had a great time. but I do have love for XJ's and this one deserves better. it's time for a rebuild

Blue Prius Volume I

Index of links/write-ups:
trimming my fenders
cowl hood
my cowl hood
Dukie456 durango steering/ zj tie rod
SYE install
my D30 spicer 760 ujoint with full circle clip upgrade
cage ideas #1
cut/fold rear quarter panels
how to use seafoam
bored throttle bodies
WJ knuckle swap
BotakBeng's SYE install write-up


Inspirational Build Threads:
X1994J
goneboating06
96_xj
Detour
xclusivexj
liftedjeepxj
n_a_i_w

 

recap

got a jeep for $1000



took it all apart





got a lot of parts and built it

1993 XJ 4.0/ Aw4/ np231/ 121,000 original miles

Engine/Drivetrain:
zj fan clutch, no thermostat, B&M trans cooler, power steering cooler
JB conversions SYE, xj front shafts (front and rear)

Suspension:
4.5" rubicon lift (USA), adj RE short arms, RE track bar, double shear track bar bracket welded on, RE leafs, LII shackle relocation, JKS boomerangs, bilstein shocks, parts mike SS brake lines

Steering:
durango steering box, zj tie rod, goferit knuckle insert, JCR spacer

Axles:
HP30, aussie locker, 4.56's, spicer 760's, full circle clips, ruffstuff cover
ford 8.8, detroit full case locker, chromos, 4.56's, ruffstuff swap kit, ruffstuff cover

Wheels & Tarz:
33x12.5 km1/ 15x8 soft 8's



not long after, flopped it



and kept wheeling

 

although still driveable, having a shattered windshield, ugly body damage, and permanently no doors was getting annoying
step one buy a parts jeep



this one was sitting out front of Ruffstuff. I picked it up for $300 and sold maybe $150 in parts off of it





took it to a friends frame shop and gave it a good pull



commence project

 

so basically the idea here is to make a new section that will fit onto my jeep perfectly, rather than cut a number of small pieces and hope they all mesh toghether enough to fit a door

xj's are held together by a million million spot welds. I've been drilling them back and peeling back big layers of jeep. here is a small example



and here is my new piece all ready to go on. it took about a week to get this all done



and right here is a bolt. we removed that bolt and cut out the section around it. then literally bolted my new section into place



and there it is

 

here are the final stages







cut up the driver side for the 2x6 rocker





and immediately after test fitting I decided I didn't like it. these would look way better if I cut the doors and tucked them even higher. to bad the other side was already pre welded in place. nothing is set in stone. maybe I will keep cutting





hung a door and test fitted a windshield. we're only off by a few centimeters in a few spots. I'm happy with it





and then I came home to these waiting for me on my doorstep. the first thing I noticed is that the middle sections are about half the size and weight as the ruffstuff ones. I think I'll be much happier with these

 

sweet looking good! when i saw the new jeep i just figured youd be swaping everything over to that one. you dont like the 2x6 rockers without the doors cut?

 

not a chance that poor jeep was a mess. It's safe to say I'm in it with this jeep for the long haul now. I love the 2x6 rockers. but by eye, I think they would look even better if I raised them 2.5" up.

stay tuned for a cage and paint in the next few weeks

 

That's really cool that your committed too yours, many folks just say "these XJs are a dime a dozen, just pick up a new one and swap over axles".

I'll be keeping my XJ as long as i possibly can, thats for sure!

 

yep! I made the mess and now I'm cleaning it up. I've burned through enough cherokees (pun). this ones been nothing but good to me it's earned some TLC

 

I see what you did there! Clever, haha!!!

 

CageCageCageCageCageCageCageCageCage!!!! This rigs gunna be epic

 

I have a windshield. fitment isn't to bad the corner is a little off



it's done just needs doors. wheeled her the other night and it held up fine

 

here is the write up I used for welding to a unibody http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/9750902-post14.html

it recommended cleaning the frame by hand with 80 grit (so you don't remove as much material from the already paper thin frame as you would with a grinder). but I found that using this orange clean and strip wheel at a low speed cleaned the frame bare and didn't even shoot sparks. awesome tool cleans damn near any material right off of metal



layed down some galvanizing primer





and since I bounced my frame off the rocks a good couple times, fitment was an issue. after some hammering around I got it close. there were still gaps. it wasn't particularly fun welding these

to anyone considering rock crawling I highly recommend you install at leaset middle frame stiffeners before you anything else



other than that I was much happier with these HDOffroad stiffeners over the ruffstuff ones. these weighed about 10lbs each and were easy to work with. I've still got a couple more welds to make, then clean, then lay down some paint

 

What thickness are they?

Making great progress!

 

thanks. they are 10 gauge