The title says it all. This started last weekend with a camping/wheeling trip and the fuel pump dying on me on the drive home. After that I decided that the jeep needed some TLC and maybe some new stuff built instead of wasting money on my subie. I knew that I wanted to do my tube fenders while I was spending time on it, I wanted redo my bumper to fit my winch, I wanted to pull the dash to make as sheet metal version and I knew I needed to rebuild my front axle. So I chopped my bumper off and started trimming it to fit the winch plate and that gave me the idea to just start trimming everything. I tried to read up online to get some ideas on what others have done to narrow their xjs but there is very little info on it so I just went for it. I'm taking 5 inches out of each side of the fenders and the fitting the grill/header panel to fit. I'm most likely going to have to run different headlights now because there simply isn't room for the stock ones to fit in place anymore. The snorkel won't fit anymore so I'm going Spectre Cowl Intake I think so that will take care of moving the air box. The battery will have to get moved as well for all of this so I'm working on ways to fit a yellow top under my overflow bottle if at all possible. If that doesn't work then it will go behind my seat most likely.

The bumper started life as a stock CJ7 rear bumper that I got at the junkyard for $25. It happened to be the right width for a stock xj so I welded on a couple mounts and welded it to my front end. When I pulled it off I took 6.5 inches off each side and then cut 22 inches out of the center to fit the winch.



I'm using the pieces cut out of the center as the mounting plates to tie into the unibody.



And here is the start of the narrowing stuff. Just kinda took pictures as I remembered. If you want to know more just ask. I'll be working on the other side after work this week and then I need to get back to working on the bumper before I can start the fenders.

 

do you mean dove nosing? looking decent so far.



might wanna think about tossing that stock tie rod out after you're done spending all this time on aesthetics

 

Looking good! What do you have in mind for lighting? or are you going to continue with just the roof lighting?

 

Narrowing, bobbing, dove nosing. Whichever. Its getting skinnier. All the stock steering nonsense is getting taken care of as well. My schedule is to get this done and back on the road by Feb so its on the to do list.


Thanks. I'm planning on hard wiring some Rugged Ridge offroad slim fogs into the stock harness for headlights and just run those. I'm going to have to chop up the header to make it fit anyway so way not go round lights at the same time. I don't know how I'm going to mount them yet but I will figure it out when I get to that point.

 

damn all the way till february? tight schedule or are you doing other upgrades?

 

Track bar, tube fenders, axle rebuild, new dash, new steering, new suspension bushings, cowl intake, winch bumper, and a slew of other things I can't remember off hand. More of money over time. I still need to put a tranny in one of the subies too and head gasket/timing on the wrx.

 

damn.. lots of work.. Subscribed to see how this turns out.

 

I took some more pictures last night while I was working on the other side.

 

Looks pretty cool. I think if I do that I'll start the dove nose right above the center to of the tire. (Half way down the side of the hood, rather than at theback of the hood.

I'm anxious to see how you finish it up.

 

Most of the pictures I could find online looked like they did it that way. I figured since I'm doing tube fenders anyway and plan on running 39.5s once I get new axles I may as well make the room now and not have to do it again once i have big tires.

Thanks.

 

What's the plan for the battery and airbox ?


Nitro

 

Spectre Cowl intake instead of an air box. Fingers crossed I can fit an optima under the overflow bottle. If not then I will run cables through the firewall and put the battery in the cab.

 

Awesome project... excited to see how everything fits in.. subscribed!

 

Is it the picture or are your ball joints are toast? The rest looks really good though

 

Ball Joints are toast. Hence the axle getting rebuilt before it hits the road again. Basically the whole front end needs work. Too many years of neglect.