Hello fellow cherocar owners. I've had an xj for many years now. Currently sittin on 35s and 4.5" of lift. But I've wanted an Mj, so when I found one for cheap I jumped at it. I plan on doing a full conversion. Fenders engine trans interior, the works, and maybe some hydro graffics thrown in for fun.

Feed back and advice is more than welcome I hope you enjoy my build, if you have questions don't hesitate to ask.

Bought a 86 Mj last month for 350$ very minimal rust.



Day I got it home I tore the bed off, PO hacked up fender wells so I'm gonna be building a tubed out flat bed for it



Then I went to the junk yard got me some none dented 97+ fenders and a complete wiring harness.







Then gutted the whole interior.







Now the 86 Mj is the black sheep, the core support is completely different then 87+ xjs and mjs. In order to swap a 4.0L in like I want to you need to modify it. So I went to the junkyard again and the parts I needed out of a 98 xj.



I had to drill out the spot welds on the pieces I got from the jy so that I had just the pieces I needed.

And that brings me to what I did today. Pulled out the old worn out 2.5 and 4 spd trans.







Then I removed all the excess wiring and brackets that I no longer need. Next up was drilling the spot welds for the core supports on the Mj its self. Wasn't hard there was about 15 on each side.







After it was removed I mocked in the new piece. You need to trim the front of the Mj where the battery box and air box go. Only about an 1 1/2 in. I left about a 1/2 lip to bend over to spot weld everything back together








I used the radiator support bracket to ensure everything was lined up correctly. Then I welded it all up. And put some self etching primer on it to protect it til I get another chance to work on it.














Next up on my list it to start the firewall modifications so I can fit the 97+ dash, steering column and pedals in.

 

Hella rad. Awesome job. This is the start

 

Subscribed

 

So I got more done today. Had the shop to myself this afternoon, so I got a bunch done. This is where I started



I then removed the pedal assembly and the master cylinder. Then drilled out the spot weld on the old steering column bracket and dash bracket.



Then moved on to mocking up the new dash. Used some 2x4 to hold it in place while I marked where the new mounts had to go.



On the 97+ dash there is a dimple above the original mount that lines up perfectly with the old dash mount so I drilled out the hole a little bit. Then made the upper dash mounts with some sheet metal, welded em on and drilled some hole then mounted the dash.



Then I removed the dash. I took a wire brush and cleaned up all the surface rust and out some POR on floor.



After that I adjusted the front fenders and cleaned up the shop and took some more pics







That's it for today. I have more planned for tomorrow.

 

subbed, i want an MJ as well and this is exactly what i want to do to it

 

So it hasn't been that bad of a project. Fun actually, just can't wait til I can drive it

 

is it an auto or manual tranny?

 

I am swapping everything from my 98 xj, its got a 4.0 with an ax15 5 spd

 

nice! ive allways wanted a 5 spd

 

Sub'd

 

sub'ed!!
I've wanted to do this with an mj FOREVER!!!! lol

 

Yeah that's the only reason I bought my 98. I sold my first jeep xj which was an 89 auto. But I've always wanted the Mj so I had to get it. Wish I got an 87+ so I didn't have to mod the core support but wasn't to bad.

 

yeah my criteria for my xj was a black 97+ manual, the tranny was the only part i truly wanted but my mom found what she thought was a good deal and we ended up with a 6 owner 99 cherokee with an auto... and we over payed, but i think shes about back to being 100 percent. hope you dont have to many issues with your mj

 

Thanks I hope I don't either, so far so good.

 

Wow! This is awesome! Keep going and don't give up!