SG Mason

Being fairly new to the platform there were a few things that I have found surprising about my XJ.

I am old enough to have learned to drive before FWD took over the every day car market and my first car was a 69 Cutlass with a 455 Rocket Unfortunately not to long after FWD took over and and most of my time behind the wheel had been with FWD Right now I own two vehicles a 1992 Dodge Stealth R/T NA (not turbo, FWD) and a 1998 Cherokee Sport. Yes my choices are older, but I like them.

The first thing that caught me off guard was the actual size of the XJ. When looking at a XJ sitting by itself they don't look all that small, but put them along side a full sized truck and they seem to shrink I first noticed this when I bought mine, it was sitting beside a full size GMC 1500 and it almost looked like it could be parked in the box of the truck then I when I got it home I parked it beside a 2013 Dodge Dart

*not my pictures*





They are really narrow inside. I am not a large person at only 5'8" but I do have wide shoulders for my size, but I felt cramped when i first got in my XJ. Lots of head room, but I found myself either rolling down the window or curling my shoulders till I got use to it. This led me to looking up the specs and sure enough the XJ is suprisingly small with a 101" wheel base and 58" track. Heck the overall length is only about 168". In comparison the 2013 Dart I parked beside has a 106" wheel base, 61.7" track, and overall length of 184". The Dart is Chrysler's current compact car, and our XJs are smaller the good thing is there is a lot of performance in that small package

The next thing that got me about my XJ was the RWD and how easy it was to slid the back end out. I chalk that up to all the time I spent driving FWD cars, poor tires, and snow. Put the XJ in 4-hi in the snow and it is stuck to the road even with the poor performing tires. For the record my tires are not bald, they have lots of tread left, but they are Dayton Timberline HTs and are not snow rated. A wheel and tire upgrade is in the near future, I just have a few more mechanical things to take care of before that. Now on to the good surprises, not that the first bit was bad, just not what I was expecting

Turning radius. I swear the only way to turn these things faster, without using a healthy application of throttle, was if it was a skid steer tracked vehicle My Stealth is low and wide, it handles well, but I can not turn in around on my street without doing a 3 point turn. I went to do a 3 point turn with the XJ and found out that I didn't need to. Sure I put two tires on the shoulder, but if I tried that with the Stealth I would have been in the ditch

Low cost parts. Compared to my Stealth, the XJ parts are dirt cheap. I wont go into details, but the down pipe and resonator pipe for the Stealth cost more than the full exhaust and full brakes for the Jeep

Fun factor. I haven't really taken my XJ offroad yet, I did a dry little rough double track section that a stock base model 2WD truck could drive it with no effort, nothing that required 4WD big tires or a lift. Still I am having a blast just driving around in my XJ. I am having so much fun with it that I don't think the Stealth will get too many miles on it next summer. I think the most use the Stealth will get is when i do the SYE and I am waiting for a proper length drive shaft. That in the long run is a good thing too. I bought the Stealth for $500, it needed some work, but was basically a solid car. The price was so cheap because it had a blown ECU and the previous owners didn't want to put any more money into it so they took my scrap value offer. I have it mechanically sound, but now I need to take care of the 22 years worth of dings and weather damage on the body and interior. There is nothing serious, but it is a black car so every little ding stands out.

BTW I only paid $400 for the XJ

These are my babies

I don't have many pictures of the Stealth I am waiting till it is actually finished


My 98 the day it passed its safety check was deemed road legal


Can't wait till I do the wheel and tire upgrade and can really start trying to find the limits of both me and the XJ. Next week all new u-joints just because I have no idea what the old ones were put through or how many miles they have on themand for the price it is cheap piece of mind.

Brandonrcm

The Xj is looking good man! Looks like you got the driver quarter replaced too now? Loks clean man nice. I love cheap vehicles, I rather pay less and put work in because I know either way i'll be upgrading it or fixing it.

95Cherokee

Ha, I've never heard of anyone having to roll down the window just so their Hulk-like shoulders could fit inside, I'm 6 foot, 200 lbs. and have plenty of room.

SG Mason

Yeah. The seams are rough and can be seen a mile away, but it is a Jeep so it doesn't have to be perfect to look good

I often wonder while driving just how big people fit in these things. The guy I bought it from was over 6' and well built. the only thing I could think of was that he leaned over the console and drove like that

I am far from hulk like, but the Stealth does have more shoulder room and that is what I was use to driving before the XJ. I do worry that I may try sitting on the roof of the Stealth in the spring when I pull it out of storage. Between suspension sag due to age and the lower profile tires I put on it, I would say it is close to 1/2" shorter than stock. My XJ has been raise 3" so the seats will be about the same level as the roof line of the Stealth. Worse yet is I plan on lowering the Stealth another 1.5"-2" when the weather gets nice enough to work on it again.

Stealth
Interior Measurements
FRONT HEAD ROOM 37.1 in.
FRONT HIP ROOM 56.7 in.
FRONT LEG ROOM 44.2 in.
FRONT SHOULDER ROOM 55.9 in.
REAR HIP ROOM 46.9 in.
REAR HEAD ROOM 34.1 in.
REAR LEG ROOM 28.5 in.
REAR SHOULDER ROOM 52.0 in.

Exterior Measurements
WIDTH 6 ft. 0.4 in. (72.4 in.)
HEIGHT 4 ft. 1.1 in. (49.1 in.)
LENGTH 15 ft. 0.5 in. (180.5 in.)
WHEEL BASE 8 ft. 1.2 in. (97.2 in.)

Cherokee
Interior Measurements
FRONT HEAD ROOM 37.8 in.
FRONT HIP ROOM 54.8 in.
FRONT LEG ROOM 41.4 in.
FRONT SHOULDER ROOM 54.7 in.
REAR HIP ROOM 44.3 in.
REAR HEAD ROOM 38.0 in.
REAR LEG ROOM 35.0 in.
REAR SHOULDER ROOM 55.0 in.

Exterior Measurements
WIDTH 5 ft. 9.4 in. (69.4 in.)
HEIGHT 5 ft. 3.9 in. (63.9 in.)
LENGTH 13 ft. 11.5 in. (167.5 in.)
GROUND CLEARANCE 0 ft. 8.1 in. (8.1 in.)
WHEEL BASE 8 ft. 5.4 in. (101.4 in.)

Themrjsmitty

Yeah same here im 6'4" 240 and i have plenty of room

Brandonrcm

I'm 6'2" and 350lb+ and I fit alright in it. Definitely don't have the most room. But It's not terrible compared to a single cab s10 I had before. My first xj I had to move the seatback for my stomache but I've lost a decent bit of weight since then so my last few I haven't had to do anything to seat wise.

Curiusgeorge

I'm 6'2" 230lbs and really haven't had too many problems with space in the xj. On occasion I have been known to bang my head on the rain gutter when getting in, but that's usually due to alcohol. The only complaint I have would be the seat rails need to be a little longer. It would be nice if the seats went back a little farther, the leg space is a little cramped and it's difficult to stretch out. Or maybe it's just me and my size 13 feet.

JeepaholicNinja

I'm voting for a dual build thread!

JeepaholicNinja

And about the size thing...mine on a 3" lift next to a 2wd ram 1500...Trucks are getting bigger though...My dad got a 2014 F150 Crew Cab and when my jeep was stock the truck bed was a few inches shorter than the roofline of my saggy-springed xj!

JeepaholicNinja

And pre-lift next to a ram 3500 cummins crew cab long bed on at least 6" of lift...

JeepaholicNinja

Rooflines lol

SG Mason

If only I could afford to work on both at the same time There are so many performance upgrades I would like to do to the Stealth, but the parts cost almost as much as another car I think the most I will be able to do this summer is body, paint, and interior and that is if I do most of the body work myself. Since my attempt at body work on the Jeep didn't turn out all that great I think I will leave the Stealth to the pros.

Brandonrcm

I tell ya man, bedline the jeeps quarter panels and you won't even notice. When I replaced the quarter on my red jeep (RIP), The body work didnt come out bad, but I herculined it so you wouldnt be able to tell anyway!

XJNVA

XJ's are relatively small (not that that's a bad thing, I like how they can fit down tight trails.)



This was 3+ years ago. At that time I was at 4.5" and 33x11.5's, next to my buddies k20 with undetermined ghetto amount of lift, and 36's I believe (kinda bald.)





This was more recent: XJ at about 4" and 33x12.5's, with my truck in the background with 6" lift (torsion bars cranked down to about 5") and 35x12.5's. When parked directly next to each other, the Cherokee's drip rail is about as tall as the middle of the towing mirror.

SG Mason

I hope no one thinks I am hating on my XJ, I love that thing. They are surprisingly smaller than they look, and going from a low slung wide car to a XJ will make you feel cramped till you get use to it. I have only had it on the road for a few weeks now and I am use to how it fits me now.

I am satisfied with my work on the Jeep, like I said it doesn't need to be good to look good on a Jeep. Those little waves and wrinkles give it character

When I park my XJ beside my brother's F250 work truck my drip rail sits about level with the tops of his mirrors. His work truck is not lifted and seen better days, my XJ has a fresh 3" lift and OEM bumpers so it sits higher than the 3 inches. When I park the XJ beside my Stealth the roof line of the Stealth is below the bottom of the Jeep's window but the Stealth is a foot longer and 3 inches wider adding even more to the illusion.