Howdy, Cherokee fans!

My name is Kevin and I just recently bought my first Jeep. A 1988 XJ Cherokee Laredo, 4.0 4wd.

I want to thank you all in advance for having shared your wisdom and experience in all things Cherokee because I am gonna be looking through here a lot trying to work things out with this beater of a Jeep that I have bought. It runs strong, the transmission works well, and the suspension is decent (though stock) so I think I have a decent platform to work with...but it does have a list of issues that I need to work out before I can boast about how awesome it is.

Despite it's beater status, I am excited about it because it has all the right things to drive around in the woods and trails of Arizona...something this city-slicker has long wanted to do!

Cheers!

 

Welcome! You have any pics of your XJ?

 

Not yet, Green, but hopefully soon! It is not much to look at, it is gray and the paint has oxidized and the passenger door is welded shut...and just today I got pulled over for not having working brake lights (and a suspended license, the reason of which I have no frickin idea) and the cops impounded it.... When I get it back, I am gonna sand it down and primer it black...or maybe olive drab... The whole point of it is to be offroad-worthy and road-worthy, which it will hopefully be soon, with the advice and wisdom of the folks here and my wrenching skills!

I will post pics as soon as I get it back! (farkin pigs screwin' up the natural order of things!)

 

Once upon a time, it probably looked a bit like this...

(...but now it is just in need of a whole lot of Love and vision.)

It runs strong and shifts smoothly, so the cosmetics mean very little because I just want it to go where I want it to go....which it seems apt to do!

I think I might lift it a couple inches, the whole budget thing....but not sucky, hopefully...

Cheers!

 

Welcome

 

So, after a very not fun legal battle to get my new-to-me Jeep back out of impound, I have discovered that it is a bit more of a 'project' Jeep than I had expected. Lots of little crappy issues to deal with; brake lights, trim issues, un-welding a door and replacing it, cracked windshield, plus more...

The engine runs strong and smooth and the auto trans is doing well...and there is not much bad rust on the body. Good points.

The suspension is decent, but the steering needs new knuckles and tie rods and some adjustment of the steering box. Pain in the ***, a bit expensive, but tolerable. At least when it is all taken care of, it will drive nicely...hopefully. The brakes need work too.

Basically, tons of little stuff to deal with...and probably lots of bandaids will be needed.

Here is what it looks like now...

 

nice jeep! I bought an 89 xj from prescott az a few months back threw a lift an some 33s and painted the bottom with bed liner(:

 

Welcome from tucson

 

Cheers, Jakeshredder and 93XJ! It is a a beater right now, but I am excited about the potential! Comparing prices of replacement parts versus a Toyota MR2 (which was my last project car) the Jeep is dirt cheap for parts!

It has 31" tires and is demanding a bit of lift, which the thread about budget options for parts is gonna be invaluable, so I should be romping around the Arizona dirt in no time! 3" should probably be just fine with some chevy s10 parts and whatnot....

Cheers to the Arizona-ites for knowing the wazzup up about the awesome offroad that AZ offers!

 

Welcome to Cherokee Forum man! There are some great trails down there in AZ.

 

I dig those new school XJ rims. Looks like it will be a rad Jeep, best of luck with the build!

 

Thanks for joining, it's great to have you here.

 

Thanks Ian, Green and Tony! I am thinking that I might paint the body olive drab or maybe flat black...and the rims will likely become flat black too. If I do O.D., I might put a black star and Jeep logo on the front door and maybe some d3wdsp34k call letters... Gotta get it safe and roadworthy first though...

Cheers!

 

olive drab with flat black for the trim pieces would look pretty awesome

 

Welcome to cf