Project - TANK XJ
 

It's finally time to start my own project Jeep! A few months back, I bought a low mileage, good condition, 1991 Jeep Cherokee XJ.
It has 114k original miles and overall it's in good shape. There is no rust at all, so it's going to be a good base for the build.

This is a quick plan for the build:
- new paint job
- transmission swap (AX15 to AW4)
- axle swap (3/4 ton dana 44 and dana 60)
- new motor
- rear coil conversion
- long arms (3link on the front, 4 link on the rear)
- 37" tires
- a lot of Goliath Off Road armor
- and much more...

Here are some pictures, showing how the jeep looked like when I parked it in the shop. ( it was yesterday :laughing: )

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Today I started disassembly. Didn't do much, because it's Sunday and I wasn't in the shop for a long time. I managed to take the bumpers, plastic fender flares and some of the rubber trim on the passenger side.


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Whats you plan for it?

I put the short list on the beginning, but basically
- new paint job (JK tank green)
- axle swap (3/4 ton)
- new motor
- 37" tires
- 3 / 4 link
- rear coil conversion
- armor (bumpers, roof rack, rock sliders, etc.)
- and some other stuff as well

Man, couldn't you have picked a less awesome original one to tear apart? To me, a low mileage, rust free, stick shift 4x4 Laredo should be left mostly alone.

But, you're not me and are entitled to your freedom of choice just as I am entitled to my opinions lol. Sounds like a nice plan built on a solid foundation. Definitely following. I just wish you would have picked up some highschool kid's already modded but rust-free automatic to build on haha.

You said "a lot of Goliath Off Road armor" but their website has basically nothing on it for armor. What do they offer that I can't see?

We have a lot of armor for XJ. Mostly bumpers though. But also skid plates, rock sliders, roof racks, etc.
Most of our stuff is for WJ though.
On project TANK there is gonna be a lot of different stuff that we don't offer yet, such as rear quarter armor, hood louvers, and a few other little things.
We also have more stuff listed on eBay, than we have on the website.
In 2019 we are gonna release a LOT of new stuff for XJ, WJ, and wranglers as well.

What is so awesome about stick shift 4x4 laredo in particular? It's not even a limited, let alone the wagoneer or Briarwood...
Also, I'm not gonna build a ****box out of it.
The problem about "high school kid's already modded" Cherokees is that they usually... almost always are ****boxes with god know what inside. That's why I would rather buy a clean, unmolested base to build.

I went yesterday and picked up a donor for the TANK. It's a 1995 Jeep Cherokee XJ sport. It's rusty or actually was because the previous owner cut out the whole floor, rockers and a part of the rear quarter panels. So technically there is no rust anymore lol. But what's more important, is that it only has 160k miles on it and everything I need for the TANK.
I bought this jeep for $350. Not a bad deal, considering the fact that there are some parts I can easily sell and make some money.



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Looking forward to seeing what comes!

Today was a busy day at the shop, and I didn't work as much on the TANK as I would like to...

We are a little behind with the steerings, so that was the main thing today for me.



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We also just finished one of the few other projects we have on the way, the "Scout" XJ. We took it outside for a little stretch :icon_biggrin:



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But back to the TANK.
We had very little time together today, but I managed to have something done. I finished taking the rubber trim off and then I had a hard time with the leftover glue... https://www.jeepforum.com/ubb/thumbdown.gif I used the glue remover from 3M (the rubber wheel, that you put on the drill) and somehow removed all of it. Took a little bit of time though...




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Hell, these pictures are huge lol :oops:

you should find someone on here to take that ax15 swap off your hands hate to see it go to waste most people I kno go the other way for their swap , ive been gathering parts for years now to do mine

I was thinking the same thing, but something tells me they have a plan for it.

I know people do it. I personally prefer an automatic transmission in the jeep that will actually go off-road.
I don't know what is so special about that AX15... I have three XJs with the same transmission in the shop, and there are another at least three of them on the junkyard I went last week and a bunch of them on craigslist too. This is not a Holy Grail.

Interested in the fabrication of the 4 link in the rear.

Are you going to install frame stiffeners also? Purchase, or fabricate them?

Maybe in your area it isn't, but down here in Central FL I can't find a manual XJ in a group of 20. There are maybe three for sale in a 200 mile radius out of the other 50 or so I've seen

I'm going to install the frame stiffeners from front to back. I will buy the frame stiffeners, just because they are not very expensive and it's just cheaper to buy than trying to fabricate them. The stiffeners that you can buy are usually a good fit and are ready to go.

About the 4 link on the back. The whole belly portion (front cross member, belly skid plate and rear cross member I'm gonna buy from Clayton Off Road. We, at Goliath Off Road, don't have our own suspension system yet, so it will be much easier to just buy one for now. when it comes to long arms / links itself, I'm going to fabricate them myself.

Well, we are basically neighbors lol
Goliath Off Road is located in Lake country, Florida.

Anyway, I had a hard time finding a donor that was not a manual. You just have to look harder. They are everywhere.

Hot damn, you're like two hours away from me! I'd disagree honestly, cause I'm looking every day. Now granted I'm looking for a 97-99 specifically so that limits things.

I'm in Dunedin, west side of Tampa Bay

Oh, that's why probably. Most of them are pre '97...

So, disassembly continues. I spent whole Sunday doing that, and the jeep is pretty much stripped. I still have some little pieces left, like door handles and carpet inside, but other than that, I should be ready to prep it for paint pretty soon.
The jeep is almost rust free and I still managed to break two bolts. One from the rear bumper and one from the roof rails... I will deal with it later.
And of course, came out that the jeep is not 100% rust free. More like 95% lol
During disassembly, I found two tiny rust spots. One in the trunk, near the gas filler neck and one on the driver side floor. Both holes are the size of a golf ball. Nothing serious. The rest of the jeep is absolutely perfect.



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Coming along nicely for sure

So far is going apart nicely haha :laughing:

So not much progress today... Today was a 'There is a lot of work in the shop, that needs to be done quickly' kind of day.

However, I still managed to do something. Finished disassembling the interior. Took the carpet out, the rest of the plastics, center console and a few other pieces as well.
That being said, the interior disassembly is done.



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Of course had a few surprises on the way, such as soaked with water carpet or stripped seat belt bolt. I welded the nut to the stripped bolt and got it out with no problem.
The thing that worries me is the soaked carpet. It's only on the driver side, between the pedals and the seat. I'm assuming that the door is not sealed properly or the windshield seal is not holding good anymore.

I also have a dilemma... So the factory seats from the XJ are in very good shape, nothing wrong with them. But... I also have a pair of MasterCraft suspension seats that I bought for another project an never used them. They are brand new. What do you guys think? Leave the factory seats or upgrade to the MasterCraft ones?



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Quick question on wiring in the cab. I see you have all the carpet pulled so it should be an easy one for you.

I know there is a small bundle that goes from the rear seat to the e-brake/shifter. Is this the only wiring that is on the floor? I ask because we're making a 100% off road rig and I would like to plan ahead on how to hide them. I'm definitely not afraid to reroute them if that is needed.

THANKS!!

Yes, that's the only wiring on my floor. I have a short wire bundle going across the floor where the driver seat goes. You might not have it in yours. I know that floor shape and wiring differ from year to year, they are not all the same.

Awesome! I was hoping it would jut be a small amount.

Thanks!

I got the drivetrain out today. I must say that I was surprised how everything went smoothly :thumbup1:
I only had a little fight with the last bolt... of course lol
The passenger side motor mount bolt was stuck to the inside of the rubber in the motor mount. Got it out finally.
Other than that, I didn't break anything so pretty happy :blush:



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Off topic. I sold my ZJ yesterday. Now I need to hurry up and get this one done lol



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Also, I got the new Walker Evans wheels from my buddy. They will fit perfectly on the TANK.



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No Joke I've been eyeballing that ZJ for a while now, seemed like one of the better built ones in the area. Glad you got it sold!

Yeah, I'm happy that I sold it finally. Apparently, ZJ is not really high demand lol :laughing:
The pictures on the ad didn't do the justice... It looked 100 times better in person. The guy who bought it knew he is buying this one after like 2 minutes of looking. It was in very good shape in and out.
Actually, I own and owned a lot of jeeps and I must say, you can't really buy them in this shape anymore. This ZJ was super, and I mean super clean. It was serviced from top to bottom. Not a single leak underneath, nothing. Everything works and not a single light on the dash. Rare piece lol :laughing:
It was kinda sad to see it go...

so, not much progress today, as I had to leave the shop early today.
I just disconnected the transmission from the engine, and transfer case from the transmission. Also stripped the engine from all the components like an alternator, intake, all the brackets, etc. I will need all that for the new engine, I'm picking up Monday from Titan Engines in Ocala, FL.
I also need to take out the whole drivetrain from the red donor jeep that I have. Oh how I hate doing this... lol

I'm getting ready to start prepping the jeep for paint as well. Since apparently there isn't any place near me where I could rent the spray booth, I will have to improvise and do it in the shop. I'm just hoping that my homemade spray booth is going to be good enough.
I will also need to figure something out about the heat. It's kind of cold outside and in the shop, and that's not good for painting the car...

Sorry for the big pictures... :oops:
Today was a productive day! Weekends are for project cars haha
I decided that I am going to do all the cutting that needs to be done, before the new paint.
I would not like to cut on my new paint job.
My plan was to do the hood vents, front fenders, rear cut and fold and both holes in the floor. Of course, I only got the hood, front fenders and one rust hole done... I'm going to do the rest tomorrow ;)

So first, I started with my hood vents. I decided that I don't want any eBay metal hood louvers, or anything of that sort. I knew that I had some ZJ 5.9 hood vents somewhere from my previous Jeep ZJ build. So, I found them and did some measurements.


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When I got everything situated, I started drilling the holes. I got them pretty straight somehow lol
Then I cut the openings for the air, so the vents will be actually functional.



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I tried the vents, and they fit perfect. Nice and snug.
I must say, they will look mean with the jeep all assembled :thumbup:



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As I mentioned above, I also cut the front fenders today.
I had to cut them, to fit a high clearance bumper, that will go on the jeep, once it's done.
I don't like to just simply cut the straight line and leave it like that.
Instead, I did some more cutting and I folded the rest of the fender, so it created nice, crisp edge, instead of the sharp end.
I didn't finish it yet, just because the fender is kind of flexy right now. I will tack weld the "ears" to the fender when I get the fender flares installed. I don't want to have the gap between the flare and fender, because I welded the ears too early.



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Now to the rusty hole...
So as you probably already know, I had two rusty holes in my floor.
I only had time to do one of them today.
First I cut everything, with rust, away with the grinder, then traced it to the big sheet of metal that I got when I purchased the red donor jeep. The previous owner bought it to fix the floors and never used it, so he gave it to me. Score lol
* Knife to show the size of the hole.



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Since the floor in this place is a little bit angled up, I had to match the shape of the patch to the shape of the floor. That wasn't too bad. Then I started welding. It actually went pretty good. Welds are not pretty on the thin sheet metal though...
After the welds cooled down, I seam sealed the heck out of it, and now should be good haha.
I will seam seal the bottom part of the patch as well, but first I want to weld the frame stiffeners.

Finished patch:



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This was probably one of my favorite things done to my '00. I stole the idea from somebody else that did it to their Jeep. I was not having any heat soak issues but just liked the look so much I had to do it. My '00 had surface rust issues on the hood and roof. Had my body guy take care of it and seemed that if it were going to happen then this would be the time to do it.
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Yeah, I think that looks pretty good too.
Not a fan of fabricated hood louvers.

I haven't posted in a few days... We have quite a busy time at the shop right now.
At least, I got something done during this time.

So the Jeep is pretty much stripped, and ready to start the prep work for the paint. I actually found the guy who worked at the hot rod shop as a professional painter, and he will paint the jeep for me. One thing less to do for me. Just have to tow the jeep two hours one way.



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I also have a little bit of small work to do, before the paint job, such as cutting the fender for my new Napier fender flares, and cut and fold on the rear quarter panel. Already started on the cut and fold, but talked today with my buddy who did this a long time ago, and I'm actually going to cut all the metal that was supposed to be "folded" away and just weld new sheet metal to the bottom. It looks way cleaner and smoother than regular cut and fold.


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Picked up the new heart for the TANK yesterday from Titan Engines in Ocala, FL. Now I have completely rebuild engine with the warranty. Pretty stoked about that. Also, it already came painted, so I will just throw the accessories and put it back in.



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I haven't been posting here for a long time... I was busy with school and all that. I did some stuff to the TANK but not much.

I finished the rear "cut and fold", which was more like "cut everything away and replace it with the new sheet metal". It came out really clean. Much cleaner than normal cut and fold.
The passenger side was very easy. Just cut everything away and replaced it with the rectangular shaped patch. I welded it from the outside and some on the inside as well.
The driver side, however, was a pain in a butt...
There is a filler neck cover that is on the way and sticks out lower than everything else...
I had to grind it flush with the rest of the stuff. Then I made a very big patch, which took me a one whole day to make it perfect. I got it and it fits snug in there. Welded everything from the outside and inside.
After everything cooled down I hit both patches with a brush on seam sealer, to prevent any rust or leaks. It looks good. I'm happy with the result.




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I also hammered the front pinch seam. I'm trying to make as much room, for them big tires, as possible without cutting the jeep in half lol
Well... there is nothing really to explain here. Just cut, hammer down and seam sealer on top, to keep it nice. Did both sides the same way.
in the front fender wells, there is a part that sticks out a lot. It's the place where the factory air box was placed. I cut the triangle in it and replaced it with the sheet metal. I don't expect the tire to go higher than that, so no need to cut anything more than that. Welded everything nicely and seam sealed. It should do the trick.



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My Napier V2 pocket fender flares came in.
I had to do all the cutting and welding on the body before the new paint, so I jumped on it and installed all four. Well, just cut the fenders and drilled the holes lol
I think they will look sick when the jeep is done and assembled.
Also, the quality of these flares is awesome. Super stout and strong. Very happy with the purchase. And the shipping was very fast too.

* This kit is made to fit "only" 97 and up models. For some reason, Napier has the cut and fold version only for 97+ Cherokees. Well, I made them fit and they look good, so...



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