Asking $4000 for it. I inquired about some more pictures before I made the 2 1/2 hour drive down to look at it. Guy didn’t seem too cooperative in furnishing them. So I decided to move on. I also forwarded the pics to a auto body guy and was told I should pass as the rust is probably coming down through the floor pans and what I’m seeing is just the tip of the iceberg in comparison to what’s under the carpet. Unless I want to cut and weld in new floors.

Going to look at a very nice 00’ XJ with only 130,000 on it. As much as I wanted to stick with the pre 0331 heads, I couldn’t resist driving the 2 1/2 hours to check it out.

Looking at it later this week if they don’t sell it before I’m able to get there.

Maybe I’ll try and knock off a few hundred and just do a headswap during the manifold replace (cause you know that manifold is cracked). I just know I’ll have the 0331 nagging in the back of my mind. Bonus would be the heads already been replaced... deal breaker would be the heads already cracked.

Just picked up my dream XJ. 276 miles later through a snow storm and it’s home. This was the XJ with the rust holes through the floor. Decided to go with my gut and pick it up, or at least check it out because it met all my criteria. I’m super stoked so here comes the wall of text with lots of pics.

The criteira:
- 1999 XJ no 0331 head, check
- Sub 130,000 miles, check
- little to no body rust/rot, mostly check

Bonus:
- Gunmetal pearl, my favorite XJ color.
- Tow hitch
​​​​​​- Some kinda thing on the roof
- 128,000 miles! Engine is smooth as glass
- Thick maintenance log since the year 2000, when the XJ only had 4,000 miles on it.
- First vehicle I’ve ever owned with working A/C!

My peeves:
- Front steering is funky. Not sure what’s going on maybe someone can help me out.
- Tires are loud. Louder than my 98 with studded snows.
- Air vents only blow from the top and bottom. Not the front.

It was clear when looking at it the rust was coming from the inside and down, not the outside in. Most likely due to wet shoes and no floor mats. The exterior is SPOTLESS. Rare for a New England XJ. The floor pans will have to be replaced which isn’t a big deal as everything is getting pulled out washed/shampood and reinstalled. I’ll get to finally justify buying a mig welder.

Theres a weird black box with a wire running out of the center council. Don’t know what it is. Looks like a speaker or something.

It definitely sits higher than my 98. It has new crown springs which I think are the HD springs with the 1” lift. Not sure where the shocks are from. Well I know where they’re from but didn’t know Quadratic made shocks. Also never heard about these tires but they are loud. The wheels look stock, but they’re not. So I don’t know where those came from either. There’s a full sized spare in the back.

The steering is sloppy. More so than my 98. Cruises fine at 70mph. No death wobble. However when traveling over wavy uneven roads, the front axle doesn’t seem like it wants to stay center. It floats around from left to right. Also the steering wheel isn’t aligned with the front tires. Not sure if these are related. Maybe needs a new gearbox or alignment?

Regardless it’s a very clean unmolested XJ with an extensive service record. A very good baseline for a nice DD rig. Probably won’t be lifting it any higher than it already is.

Listed for $4,000. Picked it up for $3,400.

Thanks guys. She was babied it seems. Pulled the CarFax last night. Same owner from 2000 to late 2018.

Looks like she was sold at auction after some damage was reported to the front then a rebuilt title issued. I couldn’t find any issues with it. Been commuting with it the past two days because the ride is a huge improvement over my tired 98. It’s really stiff though. Maybe I’m just not used to having functional suspension or maybe need to fix my shackle angle? Also having heat is nice. I really should park it until spring when I can start churching her up.

Hooked the scanner up to it after all this driving. Has a pending evap small leak, found the evap hose running near the battery to the front split. You can actually see it broke in two in one of the pics above. Not sure if that’s THE issue, but so far it’s what I’ve found. Not worried about it currently.

Really looking forward to getting the welder this spring and get her really mint with a new floor pan.