Hey guys, so I'm new here so thanks for having me!
For my graduation gift and a little money I had saved up, I got my second Cherokee, a purple 1999 4.0L 2wd Sport four door. My first, a custom 1994 Country, went as a down-payment for my mom's new Camry :'(. Anyways, my PELL refund comes in soon and I'm looking at about 600$ that I can put towards my Jeep to make it pop. I am looking for a mix of performance and cosmetic things, such as a cold air intake or a brush guard or anything. Do you guys have any brand-specific products that you recommend?

http://puu.sh/j1XtD/3bcc161909.jpg (my Jeep)

 

Congrats on your Jeep! It's pretty clean. First you have to ask yourself, What will you be doing with it? Do you plan on converting to 4WD? Rock crawl? Mudder? Pre Runner? Is it only for looks? How much lift are you thinking of going? Will it be your Daily Driver? $600 can go a long ways if you plan it right. You can do a junk yard build which may take some time scouting out the parts. I also have a 2WD that I've been building into my weekend Pre Runner/trail car. If I could do it all over again, I'd buy a decent lift kit first. Rubicon Express has a nice 3.5" lift kit that comes with Coil Springs and Leaf Pack. (Don't go with "Add A Leaf", it will sag in time and the ride is stiff) All the cosmetic stuff can come later. Cold Air intake won't do much for you unless you're ready to drop some coin on other parts like better gears for rear end, exhaust system, larger throttle body, cam etc. Check out this link for a good first lift kit. http://www.4x4groupbuy.com/store/-p-...FdKFfgodLWILag

 

Skip the cold air intake for a cowl intake spectre and thor 4x4 both make a nice one.For 438 plus shipping you can get a 3 inch lift http://www.rustysoffroad.com/jeep-su...-pack-kit.html

 

or give the jeep a 100% tune up and make sure she is dialed in before you start throwing parts at it. lift kit won't do you much good when you're sitting on the side of the road due to some issue you didn't catch when you bought it.

 

Hey Uber. Are the tune ups on these pretty basic? plug, wires, cap? fuel filter?? air filter? Not trying to jack your thread bud. ive been wonering some of the same stuff

 

Thanks for the ideas guys! There is a Jeep-exclusive scrap/junk yard a couple miles from my house, is there anything that I should see if I can find? Anything that an older/newer model might have that would make mine better?

 

ZJ tie-rods, rear discs and Brown Dog engine mounts.

 

X2 on maintenance first.

Change all the fluids out. Tune up the cooling system if it needs it. Make sure the brakes are up to spec and the steering/suspension is tight. Drive it for a bit to figure out what it needs.

Your electrical grounds could probably use refreshing. You could replace them (along with the positive wires) with some thick HD ones that can support a larger alternator.

A rear disc brake swap would be cool.

An aftermarket radio and speakers is always nice.

 

It's great that you have nice convenient access to a scrap yard. However, if you don't want your Jeep to wind up there take whatever time it takes to review the vehicle from stem to stern. This site has tons of information on basic maintenance that you can utilize. All Fluids, Hoses, Belt, Coolers, Electrical, All mechanical's, ie: brakes, u-joints, exhaust system, filters.
A factory Service Manual would be nice also. Once you have really given it the once over and put her on solid ground you'll have a good feel for your Jeep and the confidence to move forward, Then you can begin with the goodies and a wish list. However,you need to know what you have and what you need first.
Craigslist is great for goodies and it sounds like that scrap yard might be fun also.
Pretty much an echo here, but I'm " just sayin"
Best of luck!
JPLUG 2007

 

Do all the basic maintenance things, maybe get tires if yours are getting old. After that save the rest of the money for what it was intended for, SCHOOL.

 

The question still remains: what is OP's end game? A little lift and show or some slow and low baller ****? Be seriously, I'd love to hear whats in store for this jeep. It's really clean and I want it. I get the feeling that it's gonna stay 2wd and have a more aggressive "jeep" look. You can smoke/clear corner/euro the lights, those rims are pretty sweet, but a little more offset to stick the tires out a bit looks good. Bumpers and some trimming/flares always looks good. Obviously a little lift and bigger tires is nice.