I had to get rid of the Land Cruiser when my garage situation changed and the garage got bigger but the ceiling got lower.
I know next to nothing about the Cherokee XJ except that it would fit in the garage and be fun to own. I just started looking earnestly about a week ago and grabbed this 1998 Sport in Gunmetal Pearl with Selec-trac. It was long term owned by a gentleman who passed away long ago. His wife recently moved out of their home and sold off a lot of the stuff collected over the years. A couple of guys who buy estates purchased the three 1960's muscle cars and the XJ stored in their garage. The new owners spent quite a bit of money getting the car mechanically ready for the road at a well respected mechanic and I saw it right when they put it up for sale and grabbed it.
74k miles, very small amount of surface rust mostly on the pumpkin and drive shaft. Carpets need cleaning and body needs a good detailing but no dents, and no rust (other than on the side steps which are coming off ASAP). Ran it 120 miles home without a problem, even through some crazy Manhattan traffic.
Tires have to go, I'll sand down some of the rust and I'll try to clean up the black plastics with some 303 Aerospace Cleaner/Protectant.
Most preliminary work has been done, but can anyone suggest a good thread or website so I can continue baselining the vehicle? I plan on keeping it close to stock.
Looking forward to spending some money with site vendors and learning a lot.

As they say, pictures or it didn't happen, so here they are (after driving 3 1/2 hours through the rain):

 

Welcome.
Nicely optioned and thinking a little bit of a more sought after color.
Curious as what you mean by "Baselining" though?

 

Thanks Ralph.
By baselining I mean getting the fluids,filters, brakes, etc to factory spec before making any modifications. Just a term from my Land Cruiser days.

 

Got it.
I don't recall seeing a website or anything for that but...
XJ's just takes basic stuff.
I use Napa green anti-freeze but always good to know what is in there before you go adding stuff.
Not trying to start an oil thread but I use Napa convention 5W-30 in the colder months and 10W-30 in the warmer.
But I retired out of a Napa and it is rebranded Valvoline so....
Gear oil whatever is cheap. I don't recall seeing a Factory Limited Slip in your build sheet so if that is the case no additive needed.
Dot 3 on the brake fluid.
DexIII/Mercon for the tranny and transfer case.
I use real power steering fluid but plenty of guys just run the tranny fluid in there too. LOL.
Google search will show actual capacities but at my Napa we can just look that up in the computer for you so.....

 

Thanks Ralph, nice list of products and weights to start with.

 

Welcome.

 

Thanks.
I put her up on jack stands and drained the AT,TC and differentials. Took off the rusted out side steps. Installed new ARB diff covers because I couldn't believe there was no drain on the OE covers - these come with some ridiculously strong neodymium magnets to catch metal particles. There is some minor surface rust that annoys me so I'll take care of that next.
Had to leave town for a couple weeks but waiting at home are:
- A new headlight harness
- A new remote fob
- A trailer hitch with wiring
Going to measure out the fender heights to see if it is at stock height, if not I'll install new leafs and coils to get it up to stock + 1 inch or so.
Obviously the tires need to go but still deciding if I will go with one year round set or one A/T set and one set of snow tires.