Men I Have a 91 xj 2 door.
She's a Heep so cutting isn't that big of a deal.
I have another one that is a slow build, this one is pretty much a learning/ experimenting XJ.
Right now she's at 3" in front, 1.5 in rear.
Front has stock tj coils with low miles stock JK non rubicon shocks w/ BPE's
3" spacer.
Lower adj'ble arms w/ flex joints.

Rear is untouched by me.
Replacement stock springs.
Skyjacker lift shackles, 6".

NO BUMPSTOPS.

 

I had a 88 with no lift & 33s. I trimmed the fenders front and rear & had very little rubbing. Put a 2 inch lift and bumpstops & you'd be fine.

 

I also have an '88 2 door with 33s. My lift is about 4"s all-round with barely trimmed fenders. I can easily go 35s with bumpstops if I wanted but I'd rather stick with 33s imo. A common lcog build usually brings the lift to just 3"s with 33s and bumpstops with no issues. Check out my build to get a good idea for the suspension setup. I would recommend doing some research on suspension and checking out craigslist for parts and coils.

 

How much trimming did you do?

I'm wanting to do something like this with 3 to 3.5" of lift.

 

Thank you for your input.
I will certainly check out your setup.

 

Trim like that & add a cheap 1.5 inch spacer up front & a 1.5 in. rear lift shackle with stops & you will be fine.
If you lift it 3 or 3.5 you'll clear 35s.
Just take your time while trimming. You can trim more off easier than you can add metal back.

 

My 98 2 door was on 33s with 3" of lift.

Lots of pics in my 2 door build thread (in signature)

 

Bumpstopped about an inch away from my relocated flare!

 

Not a 2Dr but 3" with 33x12:50 trimmed and lots of flex.

 

I will probably cut the rear fender to look like Fred/Noazz and 88xj's rear fenders, with a quater fold and just bump stop it before the tire touches the body.
One of the rear quarters is damaged so the fold will hide that.

I'm thinking the front needs alot of cut though.
They are 33x13.50's, 15x10's w/ 4" backspacing.

I'm thinking turning with compression is going to be the biggest issue.

 

I think you'll find the back will be tighter than the front. The front you can basically cut as much as you need. Here's some pics of how I "fine tuned" my front trimming. I removed a coil, jacked the axle to the bump stop and cut the wheel all the way and trimmed/hammered till the wheel could spin. This is 6" on 35s but it's the same idea. And the back Results:

 

That's a good approach to getting the right clearance.
I was planning to do something more complicated.
Will Definately do this.
Thanks.

 

Min has 3.07 gears.
If I were to buy a D30 out of a 95/96 ZJ that had a V8 with 3.73 gears, would it have the correct carrier for me to upgrade to a lower ring and pinion set?

 

I think so.. A new carrier is only like $60 though.

 

Where are you shopping?
$130 is the cheapest I've found and used axle assemblies with 90 day warranty average $150 to $200 in my area.
Some even come with calipers and steering linkage atttatched.