aircruiser

so as you all know, my 99 xj is currently down after it was rolled. its now awaiting the summer time when im gonna straighten the roof line and a-pillars, throw in a cage and windshield, half doors, fix the stuff wrong with it mechanically, paint it up, and wheel it. but for now, being a jeep guy and having the bug, i couldnt just get a civic for a DD or i know id end up ricing it. muscle car, bad idea, more power = $$$, well, i came super close to buying a 96 purple zj laredo, 187k, 5.2 (which i really wanted for the power), but i ended up taking one last look at a local car lot that i really like (very friendly, dont force a sale on you like the 96's dealer).

i spotted a white zj in the back of the lot, looked super clean, took a look and man it looked nice! they were asking $3500. 120k miles!! its just a baby!. its a limited, leather, loaded, everything works, no dummy lights on (the 96 had a CEL for both o2s and MAP).

so i drove it, man it rode smooth! then again coming from an xj guy... trans shifted great, has a small clunk but i noticed the sway bar holes are wallowed out..took it to a buddies shop to look it over, RMS leaking, tranny pan leaking, not to bad. steering box needs help..its leaking pretty bad. other than that, its nice. small rust spot on hatch and pass side rocker, and small spot under the hood lip.

anyways, ended up talking salesman down to $2700 and both it! 2 months later, still love it!

stock specs
-1997 grand cherokee limited
-4.0/42re/249/30/35
-bone stock everything

what ive done as of 2/12/11
-31" BFG all terrains
-15x8 Jeep Ravine wheels
-sony head unit, sony 800w amp, kicker 6 1/2s in all 4 doors, 15" kicker CVR sub
-6000k HID headlights
-6000k HID fog lights
-cherrybomb turbo muffler

to come
-2" budge boost
-cb
-cb antenna and mount
-lube lockers and D35 diff skid (got it for free)
-IRO 2.5" exhaust and magnaflow hi-flow cat
-fix leaks
-fix rust
-touch up paint on rock chips
-wheel spacers possibly
-2" receiver hitch
-trailer wiring harness
-tow hooks front
-wax it up and keep it looking good

anyways, this will hold me over until i get the jeep up and going. yes it will get wheeled..the xj wont be done in time for the crawl 4 the cure so the zj is going up. but the plan is to make it what i would have wished i had done to the xj. a capabe wheeler but more geared towards DDing and looking good..aka no trimming

day i brought it home















system











31" all terrains, great tires! i recomend them..way better in snow then the KM2s





6000k HIDs *DISCLAIMER* yes i know you think im an a-hole for doing these but there is little to no glare, never been flashed, they are only 35w so alot less glare than the normal ricer blue ones. these have a great pattern and aimed right, dont blind you at all. take a look at my other night pictures, only a little more glare.



down in the path of the beam







and some pics i took today of the rig so far





not sure why the lights look green in this but its kind of cool
















anyways, thats where shes at right now..nothing to exciting, i just want to keep it clean while letting it stand out a little. seems to be an attention ***** already haha. had one guy asking if it was for sale because he has never seen a zj in such nice shape. i was like lol it looks kind of like **** right now with the hatch rust spot. oh well, hoping to really let its potential out this summer

95zj

Glad to see another ZJ on here.

XxXJ99xX

Looks great man, Im really liking the rims and the BFG's but I wouldve turned the lettering so it was white wall out, but thats just my opnion, Its gonna look sweet with that 2" lift, you should grab a pair of JK rubicon shocks from one of the vendors on the forum here when you do it, might be a bit cheaper. Definetly subbed on this thread as well.

Destination XJ

Looks good, We will be picking up a ZJ before next winter for the wife. She is over her eclipse and so am I! I hate getting in and out of the thing, plus its not 4wd and its only 2 door. bunch of downs and no ups.

biggoofy

OOOO look at those 31s ahahahahha

aircruiser

haha thanks guys and you too goof

yeah i was gonna do white letters out but they have cuts and chunks on the sidewalls white out (got them from a buddy who wheeled at the iron rangle like i do which is lots of sharp rocks). they all hold air just fine so im not to worried. after i burn up this set ill probably get another set of bfgs and ill do white out then. i have been thinking of some coopers too however.

XxXJ99xX

Well if you got them cheap then no complaints, BFG ATR's are awsome tires and coopers are pretty good tires. I've got the All Terrians from them and they're pretty good tires in all conditions. But if I were you id get some STT's. Ive herd nothing but good things about them.

cherokeeaddiction23

looks good man, im looking to get a zj as a dd, i want a v8 though haha i cant help it, i need that roar, but definitely super nice, it looks good, ill probably go the same route as you, keep it nice and comfy

sc0r1a

What brand of H.I.D. lights did you use?

aircruiser

thanks guys they are 6000k DDM tuning 35w HIDs.

and yeah i wanted a V8 super bad which was why i was even considering a grand but i ran across this deal and ended up getting it. no complaints though!

aircruiser

well the buffalo certainly proved itself today. 14" of snow and its going to continue through the night. strange part is it was 52 degrees out and melted snow everywhere 2 days ago.

anyways, it did amazing..way better than the xj ever did in snow. i know that is mainly cause i always ran mud tires on the xj, but for what it is right now, i didnt get stuck once, always had traction and not once did i even feel like i was going to get stuck. im a huge believer in all terrains now.

onto pics, i was the driver for today. mom and dad couldnt make it out of the driveway and neither could the girlfriend so i drove the gf to work and then drove my parents and brother around all day. im not complaining though. got to play in the snow and they filled my tank

quote of the day from my dad "why are you taking the backroads? its twice as long..just take county road 42.." me, "no i like taking the backroads..less retards.." dad, "no its just because they arent plowed, thats why youre taking them.." .. i laugh




























so yeah nothing really to do to it until spring when im planning on doing a cb antenna, fixing some minor rust, fixing up rock chips, new windshield, do the 2" lift and then maybe depending on funds, 17" JK moabs with 1.5" adapters and some 31" all terrains.

alsxj

Looks great man!

00Pajeepcherokee

Nice zj. I love the oldish style zjs. The white looks good. It sucks you wrecked your xj. I know the feeling. I totalled mine this winter. Its now my trail beater. Anyways good luck with this one. Hope your xjs back in commission soon.

Moparboy01

Nice looking ZJ. Have been following the build thread on Jeepforum.

aircruiser

thanks guys and yeah as for the xj, i might just get another and swap parts when i get $$$.. i dont really want to risk it to much with all the unibody damage since it will still be street driven so i dunno