SDKmann

Tomorrow's the start of my build so I guess I'll start documenting it in a thread.

The backstory- I've had a 2001 XJ for about the last 3.5 years and have loved it. It's taken me everywhere I've needed to go, has never left me stranded and can haul all the gear I need it to with ease. This summer though I started looking into replacing it, the plan was never to sell it but to retire it to life as a hunting vehicle when I was through with it. It got to the point recently where the 01 XJ was showing some wear and I wanted a dedicated Jeep for hunting this upcoming Fall. I stumbled upon my newly acquired 2000 XJ Sport a few weeks ago. It had just under 76k miles, was maintained and owned by a hot rod builder and I was able to get it at a steal for $5k.

This is from the day I brought the 2000 home-



The plan- The 2000 XJ is going to be my daily driver and most of the time my gear hauler. I'll probably wheel it a few times to try it out, but the focus of the build will be creating something that can get my bike to the trailhead and camping gear to the site while still being a tame daily driven Jeep. Of course, for the XJ to start looking more like a Jeep and less like a family's grocery getter some things will have to change.

Another shot of the twins-



Tomorrow begins the first round of the build that will likely be the bulk of what goes on the 2000. The parts list for round one is-

Rubicon Express 2" budget boost
15x8 Cragar Soft 8s with blacked out center caps and lugs
30x9.5 General Grabber AT2s
Hella 500FFs




This was the set up I always wanted on the 01 but never did. This was all inspired by a manager at the outdoor store I work at who had an identical 2001 XJ sport with almost the same set up a number of years ago before it was stolen and wrecked. I always thought his XJ looked fantastic and was the reason I ended up with my first one.

I'll update tomorrow with more pictures and plans.

SDKmann

Well of course it couldn't just be a simple instal. Had my mechanic do this one and got a call this evening saying it wouldn't be done until tomorrow night. All the rear shock mounts were trashed, the front brakes were apparently shot and he found a handful of other things that needed to be replaced. On the bright side though I got the master cylinder replaced on the 2001 so now it stops again (which is generally a good thing) and I can use it tomorrow.

stevekam

I'm interested to see how your build turns out.

SDKmann

Dropped by the shop last night to see how things were going, I must have misunderstood my mechanic when he originally called me, I'll be surprised if the XJ is done even by tonight. Not only did the rear shock mounts on the axel snap off but at some point the shocks had been replaced and whoever did it decided to weld the bolts for the upper mounts onto the body instead of just lowering a new bolt down through the hole, and of course all four of those bolts snapped as well.



On the bright side I got a chance to look everything over while it was on the lift and this XJ is far less rusty than I thought. I'd almost use the word pristine. One of my planned stages of the project is rust repair and prevention and it will be far easier than I thought it would be.



I also dropped off a new switch panel complete with the factory fog light switch to wire my Hellas to. While I wait for everything to go on the 2000 I have a few small projects of my own to take care of, I now have a second set of headlight bezels and a grill that need a coat of matte black Krylon Fusion and today I may go around to a few stores and see what options I have for materials to make a rear organization rack.

SDKmann

Got the bezels today to go with the black grill I got. I still need to refinish them but both the bezels and grills are in such similar condition Im halfway tempted to just put them on as is until I can find the time to redo all the black trim together.

stevekam

Any updates ?

SDKmann

Unfortunately my mechanic is having some personal issues and hasn't been able to be in his shop. This Sunday I was told he wouldn't be back in the shop until Thursday. Fortunately I have the other XJ so it's not much of an inconvenience other than my bike rack is on the 2000. I'll update with pics as soon as the instal is complete.

I was able to get some Krylon Fusion Satin on the grill and headlight bezels. Looked great until I misjudged how empty the can was and splattered the grill and one of the bezels in a couple places. Today Im going to grab another can and do one more coat, as well as possibly doing the rear bumper caps on the 2001 since Ill be swapping them over to the 2000 as soon as its back.

SDKmann

Well six and a half weeks later and I finally have the XJ back from the mechanic. The lights weren't installed when I went to pick it up but now that its hunting season I really needed both again. I'll be getting the Hellas installed on the 29th. Anyways, a couple driveway pics.



For whatever reason this pic doesn't do justice to the difference between the 00 with the 2" lift and 30s and the stock 01 with a sagging rear end.



Next steps are as follows in order of how likely they'll be done before it snows-
Recover the headliner
Add a Yakima rack
Repaint the trim with Krylon and swap trip from the 01 where needed
Fix the small issues, various rattles, and the windshield washer nozzles (likely to be fixed sooner rather than later)
And the big one... Swap the passenger doors from the 01 to the 00 and I may remove the door trim

MOBBiN

2 of the best colored Xj's made. Lucky guy. Good build so far.

stevekam

looks great! The black soft 8s really set it off nice.

rayray0918

Looks awesome bro. I have a silver 01 and was looking to do the same setup. What's the backspacing on your wheels and is there any rubbing or vibrations? Thanks.

SDKmann

Thanks, the wheels are 15x8s with 4 3/4" backspacing. No rubbing or vibrations, in fact I think I probably could have done either bigger tires or less backspacing and still would have been fine.

SDKmann

Got a picture of both my off road vehicles the other day. I'm not sure if I'll ever have trail pics of either, never crosses my mind to stop for a picture.



Pretty excited to get the Hellas on this weekend, should look great once they're on.

SDKmann

Fog lights are on. Last night I wasn't 100% sure if I wanted to put them on but I'm happy with the results. Now I just need to get a set of grills for them so they don't get destroyed the first time I pull onto gravel.

rayray0918

Where did you get the black bezels and grill?