I bought an all-stock '01 Cherokee Limited back in 2006 with around 60,000 miles on it right after I graduated high school. I had been saving for a bit prior to buy a Cherokee throughout high school. As soon as I got it, I named it the Chief, after the late 80's trim model which the awesome paint job.

Kept it pretty much stock through college (the life of a poor college student). Graduated in May 2010 (Go Terps!), got the job, etc. and started to finally work on my XJ.

Step one: Lift. I didn't want to do anything too crazy, at least at first... So I decided on a 3" Rough Country lift, with add-a-leafs in the back, and Nitro 9000 shocks. I purchased it in November 2010, and finally got around to putting it on a month later, thanks to help from a buddy in New York.

Step two: Tires. Drove around on the old, nearly bald Michelins until I couldn't take it any more. Threw on a set of 31x9.5" BFG A/T KO's. Couldn't be happier with them, although at times, I feel like I should have gone with the 10.5". 9.5s are good in the snow though, I didn't want to go too wide and have traction problems.

So That's where I stand now. I ordered a Surco Safari roof rack a few days ago, so that's "Step three". Future plans include a brush/grill guard (anyone have any models they're happy with?), some auxiliary lighting (to be mounted on said roofrack and/or grill guard), and the list goes on...

Feel free to post comments or suggestions.

More to come...

 

Thats a NICE lookin jeep! keep everyone updated. Oh and mine is the CHIEF! haha And its got some cancer.

 

Oh man, I'm jealous. Keep it runnin!

 

that would look awesome if you did a chief style paint job on it (i've been wanting to do that to my '96....but once again poor college student)

do it the inverse of 88 Chief's.....leave it black with the graphics in white or gunmetal grey!

 

That would be sick

 

This is my " Chief " lol

 

haha I dig it man!

 

AANNNNNNNd this is my Chief!!!!


Nice Jeep though!! I can't wait to see how your build ends up.

 

Found some photos from several years back when everything was stock. The jug of coolant in my trunk still resides in the same place (I can always use a fluid top-off in the summer).

I'm happy to say that the owner of the grandmother blue Honda accord finally traded it in for a jeep wrangler this past fall. And the Vdub owner is still a vdub owner...

 

What kind of lift/tires do you have?

 

its the Zone Off road 3" lift kit with 1 1/2" spacers. An overall of a lil bit more than 4" lift total. The tires are 31x10.5x15. check out my build thread for all my details.

 

Here's my real Chief!


I need to update my pictures... it looks a little better now.

 

Oh man, you got my favorite paint job too. Nice. Yeah update your pictures I'd like to see what you're wheelin with now

 

This weekend I took a trip up to Deep Creek Lake with a few buddies. We rented a huge log cabin on some pretty nice property. Anyways, the trails I knew of out there are closed for the winter, so I had to settle for some XJ glamor shots on the hill next to the house. Somehow my friend's YJ made it into the frames...

 

This weekend: "Project Safari Rack"

Ordered a Surco safari basket last weekend and it arrived Friday while I was in Deep Creek.

Well, I got back this afternoon and immediately began work. The assembly went smoothly. The instructions were a little vague but it's simple enough that this is a non-issue. And I got a little help from my pup. The mounting onto my factory rails took some finessing to ensure everything was centered.

My goal is to move my spare up here. The issue is I have to keep my height to under 6'-8" so I can fit in my parking garage for work downtown (this is still my DD). It's going to be a tight fit but I think its possible.

I think it turned out well.