My friend digger21 dubbed this the storm trooper build.

1997 xj country 4.0 aw4

PO had it for 13 years.. it was his first veh, and a CA car.. pretty good shape. purchased 11/2011.




my last 3 jeeps were cut up, and loud. trying to build a mild wheeler/camping rig, that i can take my kids to school in, or as i like to call it, a catalog jeep.

 

first thing's first! i HATE the xj shackle angle, so that is the first thing i changed on this build.

ordered some HDOE relocation brackets, and installed w/some help from HUDFAB.





angle is so much better, and even w/crappy worn out leafs, the ride improved, and i got some height back.

 

drove the jeep like that for a while, then on july 4th (1 day after my bday), digger and dogger from the forum, helped my put my 3" lift i had been piecing together. they didn't know, but it was like their bday present to me

it was hot as heck, but we got the job done, and the xj came out looking and driving great!

RC 3" coils, ironman4x4fab fixed lowers w/flex bushings, OME light duty leafs, shackle relocation brackets, .75" lift shackle, pro comp es3000 shocks. also threw on some moab rubi wheels with 245/75 MTR w/6K that ive been hoarding since Oct .





ended up w/3" in front, and about 3.25" in back. no vibes, and axle is pretty center. don't know how that happened..

 

the wife took over the jeep shortly after.. i only drove it once.

i had been hoarding parts since last year.. i managed to pick up a brand new aussie for an 8.8 i had planned to swap in..



for the front, i had a detroit truetrac and also picked up a spartan.





since we have a few months of inclement weather, and i wanted the xj to be dd'able, i sold the spartan, and kept the TT.

 

so, last week, i took the jeep to get 4:10 gears installed. kinda dumb to go from 3:55 to 4:10 just for 31s, but the main reason was the lockers.

my last xj, i built the 8.8. took me about a month, but now w/2 kids, and summer chores/hobbies, i just didn't have the time.

i got an open 8.8 setup for the xj, and had the front diff re-geared to 4:10s, and had the lockers installed.

i got my power back, and i LOVE having disc brakes back there. ran me about $1050 total installed.

now, with the aussie back there, there is a bunch of banging and clunking, and my wife gave me my jeep back

if i get on the gas on turns, it barks the tires pretty good.

 

chea buddy!, looks good!

 

had a winch for the jeep, but i just didn't want to change it too much from the stock look. even w/the detours setup, it just stuck out too much for my taste, so i sold the winch to pay for part of the lockers..

picked up a procomp chromoly trackbar a few mos ago.. seems nice, but since my axle is center and i'm not going bigger than 3", might sell it.



for sliders, i didnt want to do the typical sliders that go under the body. at only 3", i wanted to keep as much clearance as possible. digger21 gave me some sliders off his old jeep. angle iron that goes from flare to flare. i cleaned them up, and put some herculiner on the inside and painted the outside to match the body.

 

Looking good man.... love the name too....

 

^^ haha! thanks man!

got the sliders mounted today..




they are held on with 12, 1/4" self tappers..


and the test..............









my jack got stuck, so i had to lift it a bit more, had tons of droop in the back. i'm loving those relocation brackets.

 

forgot to mention, when i went to see HUDFAB, he threw on some JKS discos for me, and helped burn in, some zone offroad lca bracket skids..

i didn't do this w/my old xj, and after a year in the rocks, they were fracked!!




i also threw a d30 skid on there.

 

while i was down there, i trimmed my bumper caps. hopefully it's enough to clear. i wanted to keep the jeep as stock looking as possible.

came out pretty clean, i think.

 

Love the name, big star wars fan lol. Also liked how you trimmed the front bumper, I think ill have to try that.

 

took the ST wheelin last night.. did AWESOME.. did most of the trail in 2wd. there is a very rutty climb. my jeep was making lots of rubbing noises, but the flares were still on there, and no sign of damage anywhere.. musta been my fender liners. time to add some bumpstops.

 

Looks damn good, Alex. Let's roast some stiffeners on soon!

 

Thanks Alex! haha.. whenever you are ready, lmk!