vulcan96

First off.. Not new to JEEP but new to XJ's....
This will be a progressive thread as I build, fab, and modify from start to never finished....

The rig is a 96' with 138000 on the ODO. And it is not just a project or DD but somewhere in between.
List of plans at this point, Finished, and Planned.

Finished:
I am going to coin this a Prerunner Chop
Lots of fender trimmin and cut and fold
Rubicon Express 3.5", CavFab Alpha 3 Link
Uni Stiffeners front to rear IRO fronts, JCR mid, Custom rear.
CAVFAB OTK steering, and track bar.
TeraFlex SYE
Adam's Drive LInes
15 x 8 x 3.75 bs black d window's wrapped in 35 12.50/ R15 Cooper Discoverer STT Pro MT's X 5
Artec front dana 30 truss, and c gussets
Custom fabed flares
Custom fabed armor
Custom fabed bumpers
Custom fabed sliders
Custom fabed tire carrier
Custom fabed removable mud flap hangers
Custom fabed door hinge stiffeners
Red / Black bed liner on entire rig
Modified 2000 XJ headliner recovered with custom covered sun visors
2000 XJ interior lights
2000 XJ center console
Custom Tablet gauge cluster
Custom switch panels in the dash
Repurposed 92 XJ fuse and relay box
Banks MONSTER cat back
Smittybuilt winch with syn line, and wireless remote
Smittybuilt thimble
Poison spider fairlead, and D30 diff cover
Novak transfer case shift cable
JCR steering gear spacer plate
I know I am forgetting a bunch as well ......

Planned
4:11 gear ratio
Eaton E-lockers front and rear
Chromolly axle shafts front and rear
Supercharger
Banks header
Custom roof rack
Custom Surecan mount in the rear
Custom bike, and board mounts
Teraflex 2low shift plate
New trans
New motor
Corabeau heated seats
RuffTuff tactical seat covers


Here is how I found it.

vulcan96

Here Is the rig sorta cleaned up.

vulcan96

And the first phaze...Install the roof back in the rig.
I have never cared for sun/moon roofs, and Im not about to start now.





I built a thin flat bar frame to go underneath, as to give me something as a backer. This is a huge panel to keep from warping.




And the finished for now roof, I will get to filler when the rest of the body work is done.




And that is where it is at for now. Alot more to come.

OmgNoWai

I dig it. I appreciate people who can weld their own stuff as I have no fabricating skills of my own.

XJIrish4x4

Me like it you going to keep it with no back on it?

vulcan96

Get yourself a cheap harbor freight setup and practice, watch youtube. You will figure it out enough for most home projects. I recommend you go mig and get some gas though, as flux core wire is harder to work with.

Thanks,
And yes I will be grafting in the D pillar/ rear section from another XJ, so I can use the upper half of the hatch modded to still open.
It is going to be alot of bodywork, and fiberglass to make it all look factory, but that is the plan.

vulcan96

Update time...
Here is my parts rig.



And some pics of where I cut the rear section off at.
However if I do this again, I would cut another inch off of the jeep to be modded, and add another inch to the rear section of the rear piece being added. As the curvature on the inside does not line up for a good clean weld on the underside. I am going to have to make some tie in pieces now.

vulcan96

I removed the wiring and washer hose from inside the jeep and pulled it out with the hatch so everything is still intact and usable with the hatch door.
I also removed the mounts for the rear shoulder belts, too weld them into the other rig.




However to change where I cut the body sections, I would have had to drill new holes for this, but the way it worked out perfectly for this part, as the holes are already there. You just have to drill a new pin hole in the top flange for the little bracket on the shoulder harness to go into.

vulcan96

Here is where I finished off for the weekend. JUST SO ANYONE KNOWS... THE BODY AT THE REAR IS NARROWER THAN WHERE IT IS INSTALLED NOW, IT IS ALSO SHORTER IN HEIGHT.... I had to section it as well to get the window body line to line up, I had not planned on doing so and it added alot of work and time. But I think when it is all finished it will be worth the extra effort.

vulcan96

Well here is an update...
I went to order my lift yesterday and after I got it all in my cart and went to check out...it was over $200 to ship it, that is crazy.. so I called Rusty's and asked if they would match the free shipping that alot of other vendors at the moment are offering, and was told no.
So the way I think is well I am not going to throw money away to shipping when I can get more product with that $$$.

So I ended up getting a Rubicon Express lift instead shipped for free for slightly more money, I figured this is a way better option anyway as general sensus is RE are one of the best for the money. I cant wait. However I will be finishing the body work before it goes in the air as I am not very tall...

XJIrish4x4

Keep up the progress and I think you made a better choice with RE. What I have read up before I purchased all my lift parts RE type is that they provide high quality products and not much of any complaints. Although I heard with 3.5" coils those are much less flex than the 4.5" which seem to settle more. Not really sure what all that added up to be because I have not installed mine. I have 4.5" kit all around going into my XJ in a few weeks. Mine is currently sitting on a Rancho setup from original owner running 32x11.50x15 so its pretty nice now I just want to swap it over for peace of mind. I would have probably held off on lift if I would have seen XJ in person before I bought it. That way I could focus more on much needed parts list instead of fun stuff

vulcan96

Not much of an update... I did not work on my jeep this weekend, but I did get some goodies.

vulcan96

Here is my weekend project. I had to finish up the GAMING chairs I made for my boys.

vulcan96

Well I have been busy for the last few weeks and unable to get to work on the weekends to get much done.
I was able to get in today and get to the point of getting the half door on so I can start building the rear wall.

First off are some shots of how the door will be, It is as short as possible with still enough room to mod the latch to work as factory, and add enough material to stiffen it back up, and have room for the bulb seal to fit.

TrailerTrash

I don't know how I missed the start to this thread. I love it so far man keep up the good work can't wait for more