Project high mile Steel Blue 2001 XJ
 

Last weekend I went and looked at this Steel Blue Pearl 2001 XJ Cherokee. I actually found it on Craigslist and his ad linked to CherokeeForums:
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f70/20...-miles-246620/
So we made the deal and he was even nice enough to drop the Jeep off at my house yesterday. Waynerd is a stand up guy!

Moving along, here is the 2001 in my driveway with my (daughter's) 1999:
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It's in really nice condition especially considering it has just a tad over 220k miles on the clock!

First order of business today was to clean up the engine with some Gunk and a pressure washer:
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Engine bay before:
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After:
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Then moved it in the garage for a new VC gasket (Felpro):
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After that, hosed if off, dried it and snapped one last pic:
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Needs some work to be road legal (ie pass Mass state inspection). I already ordered a new master cylinder and will be ordering new suspension bits over the coming days.

Hahaha. I think several folks in your first build called it, that you got “the bug”, and would end up buying your own after your daughter got her license. Looking forward to following this build too.

Well, I wasn't specifically looking for another one, but I'm always looking through CL, eBay, etc. This one is in such nice condition for the mileage and I couldn't resist.

Today I ordered new HD rear leaf springs, bushings, front control arms, rear shackles, and front spring spacers. Going for an upcountry look.

Master cylinder should be here for the weekend so I can start working on the brakes.

Yesss. Same year and color as me =] Subbing

I like what you've done to your XJ - very nice!

Got some packages this week including: New rear springs, front control arms, bushings, and master cylinder. Wrench turning starts this weekend!

I'm looking forward to seeing the upcountry lift installed! I'm going for the same thing (but have to get a shop to install it for me). Should look great on your project!

Ok, so I finally got some vehicles moved around so I could get the 2001 XJ into the garage. First off, I got the brakes squared away. I got the new master cylinder bench bled and then installed, followed by bleeding the brakes at all 4 corners to ensure fresh fluid is throughout the system. Brakes feel nice and solid:
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Next up is rot repair. The pass side has some cancer. Here is the before pic (yes, I knew what I was getting into when I bought it, no big deal):
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So I removed the fender flare and bumper end cover to get a full look at what I'm up against:
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And what's left from these areas, LOL:
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So I'll begin metal work later this week and weekend.

Glad to see someone put care back into their Jeep! Good work so far.

On the rocker, poke around to see if it's weak towards the front. If you're lucky, maybe what you see is the worst of it. While it's opened up, stick a vacuum hose in there and suck out any debris that might be up by the front. When you're done, get some waste oil in the rockers. Same with the rear quarters.

My wife's last Jeep we took up to 300k mi ...maybe even more (odometer stopped working. It finally rusted apart pretty much. So these jeeps can keep right on plugging along if you keep them up.

Thanks - I cut the rocker open tonight and went back until I found solid metal. These rockers always rust from the inside out....

Cancer surgery commences:
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And how cool is the previous owner, he had a parts XJ that he chopped up to make my repairs easier:
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Ahh a fellow western mass human, awesome. Subbed as I have a 2k that needs some rocker love and i need as much help as i can get...lol

Welcome to my thread - maybe we can meet up sometime in the future.

Good a good bit done today. First off, cleaned out the rocker panel as best as I could and coated the inside areas with POR-15:
Attachment 406055

Then started fitting new metal in the door jamb area:
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No in-progress pics, but here is where I left off for today:
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I still need to burn in the red piece tomorrow:
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And I prepared this area for metal work:
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Sounds like a plan. great job so far!

Form follow function on the lower rear quarter panel. A combination of welding and steel rivets do the trick:
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And I also got the section behind the rear door burned in tonight. I'll be the first to admit that I'm a better grinder than I am a welder....
Attachment 406054