Cherokee family,

My wife and I have been on the hunt for a very specific Jeep; 1988 Cherokee Limited, white with silver trim. Why this particular jeep? It's the same specs as my wife's first car many moons ago. Well, we searched for months and finally came across the "perfect" XJ on eBay. We placed the winning bid, flew from Maryland to Oklahoma to pick it up, then drove it back... camping along the way. That's what jeeps are for, right?

Just getting the jeep home was an amazing adventure, but now we've got some work to do!
- We bought the jeep and noticed cracking in the tire sidewalls, immediately replaced those before we got on the road. Went with 235/75/r15's... I know, too small for most. But they're great for long drives and will accommodate mild off-road exploring.
-The transmission was slipping on the road trip home so we just had that rebuilt.
-The suspension is shot (frowning leaf springs) so we're going to re-do the whole setup. Looking for a mild lift... considering OME 2.5" kit from DPG, also works well with the 235/75's
-The PO chopped up the exhaust, removed the cat and welded in some awful-sounding muffler, gonna rebuild that
- PO replaced the sealed-beam lights with eBay-special non-DOT-approved LED's that 1. look hideous and 2. blind oncoming traffic... gonna replace with an H4 conversion
- PO added equally awful driving lights to the bumper, we're going to add classic amber fog lights
- AC condenser needs replacing
- Brakes are squishy
- Steering is comically (uncomfortably) loose
- Rear power windows will slowly go down but reeeeally don't want to go back up without a lot of manual assistance
- Power locks don't work
- Manual door mirrors don't want to adjust or stay in place

So yeah, there's a few things to address. But it's 33 years old, rust free, and provides a project for me, my wife, and my father-in-law to work on together. We couldn't be happier

This is our "fun" vehicle, not a daily-driver. Our primary use is road trips, camping, and light off-roading. Our ultimate goal is to tastefully build the Cherokee using top-quality parts that add to its capability while respecting its heritage. Keeping it mostly stock but with a few upgrades to the lighting and suspension.
Anyway, I've never owned a jeep and never participated on a forum before. Excited to do both now and I'll update the group as we build it out!

Cheers!

-Eric


Finally in Richmond

Camping in MO

 

Always one of my favorites also.

I have a website dedicated to that era of Jeeps. www.cruiser54.com. Check it out.

 

I just browsed through your website and can already tell that I'm going to be a frequent visitor. You've got a TON of great information on there! Thanks for the resource!

-Eric

 

Eric, enjoy the site. Tips 1 through 5 should be done first chance you get. Any questions, post em up.

 

Tips 1-5 will be some of the first projects we tackle, just started with #1. On your recommendation, plus some additional reading and research, I've placed an order for the jeepcables.com Big 7 cable kit.

 

Nice!