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Yeah, you read that correctly lol so I had a Jeep XJ shell sitting around and decided I wanted to do something with it. I've built a ton of offroad XJ's so I wanted to do something different. I scoured the ol Interwebs and could not find anyone that has ever built a ratrod out of an XJ so here we are lol I chopped the top 4" and narrowed the body 1.5". I'm using a 99 grand cherokee drivetrain, V8 Auto trans All-Time AWD T-case. Building a custom chassis, custom chain control arms and air ride. I will try to keep this thread updated as I make progress but if you are interested you can also follow it of my Facebook or Instagram at Fatboy_Fab_Works. Here are some pictures of the progress so far In the shop getting ready to be cut up Got the floors and firewall cut out of it Time to cut the roof off and cut the rest in half
Last edited by 5pntslw; Nov 12, 2023 at 10:37 AM.
Reason: Fixing title
Starting on the frame Figuring out engine, axle and body placement Starting on the chain control arms Building the upper chain control arm Got them all welded up. Once im ready I will make a connection between where the bag mounts to it and the front bushing It works!
Getting the body position figured out again Figuring out the rear wheel position Man this thing is short Got the rear wheel position figured out and starting on the firewall Setting the rear axle Looking at possible fuel tank and battery locations So cool seeing it come together
Holy hell yeah dude! The world needs more of this. Seeing the shell cut in half leaned against the wall is incredible. Also I laughed at the picture of the shell on the lift with the fender flare and bumper cover still attached.
You planning on keeping it all wheel drive?
What is the purpose of cutting it in half to only remove 1.5" from it?
What's the wheel base going to end up around?
I'll keep a close eye on this. Post up when you can
Last edited by XJlimitedx99; Nov 13, 2023 at 05:16 PM.
Holy hell yeah dude! The world needs more of this. Seeing the shell cut in half leaned against the wall is incredible. Also I laughed at the picture of the shell on the lift with the fender flare and bumper cover still attached.
You planning on keeping it all wheel drive?
What is the purpose of cutting it in half to only remove 1.5" from it?
What's the wheel base going to end up around?
I'll keep a close eye on this. Post up when you can
Haha thanks.
Yeah it is going to stay all wheel drive.
The reason it was narrowed 1.5" is because all the pillars are angled in. So when I chopped the top, I already had to split the roof into 3 sections to extend it, and instead of having to split the roof down the middle to widen it it was alot easier to narrow the body to fit the width of the roof plus it makes the tires stick out even further.
Oh man, the wheelbase is long haha it's 166" center to center of axles. I have two crew cab long bed F350's a 1995 and an 1988 and their wheelbase is 168" to put it in perspective.
The reason it was narrowed 1.5" is because all the pillars are angled in. So when I chopped the top, I already had to split the roof into 3 sections to extend it, and instead of having to split the roof down the middle to widen it it was alot easier to narrow the body to fit the width of the roof plus it makes the tires stick out even further.
Oh man, the wheelbase is long haha it's 166" center to center of axles. I have two crew cab long bed F350's a 1995 and an 1988 and their wheelbase is 168" to put it in perspective.
Ahh that makes sense why you narrowed it. I'm sure you really get to see just how curved these bodies are when you start taking a few inches out.
Rear axle is mounted in now, body is attached to the frame and trans crossmember is mounted. Now I can air up the front suspension and jack up the rear and move it around if need be. Going to do a cantilever rear airbag setup and have the bags and cantilever setup in the interior of the jeep so it can be seen. Keep getting so into building this thing that I keep forgetting to take pictures each night when I'm done. Finally took a few so here you go
Quite the project you got going there. If there is any definition of a "Rat-rod", I think this has gone beyond that in that there is too little of the original. Just my opinion. Although, I will continue to watch this thread for whatever final creation you build.
Getting some more work done. Started on the interior back wall to stabilize the body. Once that was done I put it up on the stands so I do t have to crawl around on the floor the rest of the build lol. Starting on the rear air ride mounts and cantilever arms. Also going to be starting on the firewall today or tomorrow and once it's in place I can get the rest of the interior framed out and start covering it.
Getting the interior framed out. Going to try to get the trans tunnel frammed out tomorrow. Getting excited seeing it come together finally. Got the brake booster and pedal mounted too today.
Jeep Cherokee Rat Rod
