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$300 '92 Beater Build

283K views 2K replies 172 participants last post by  koolaid5 
#1 ·
If you have just stumbled onto this build thread for the first time....

STOP!!!!
I am in the process of creating a table of contents or similar to post up, so that no one will have to suffer through reading 100+ pages. Instead you will be able to just hit up the highlights.

Stay tuned.....

Actually, I just created a new consolidated thread. I will still put up the table of contents in this one, but check this out. I will be updating the new thread from now on with my progress and using this original, ridiculously long, thread for comments and chit chat.

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f177/300-beater-build-condensed-version-1470100/

Ok, I sarted posting about my new acquisition in the thread I had previously started "Cherokee won't go over 10mph".

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f11/92-cherokee-wont-go-over-10mph-865770/index2.html#post8011648

Figured I'd start a new thread now that I actually purchased it yesterday, it's now sitting in my driveway, and now it's time to get to work :thumbsup:

Here are some of my posts from the other thread.....

WOW!!! THAT was an experience

My first thought was ..... eh..... $300 no matter what condition it's in I'll pick it up and if it's in too bad of condition I can at least sell a few things to break even or even go ahead a few $$'s

When I got to this ladies TRAILER she had it running hhhhmmm... wonder why? Maybe because the starter is SHOT and you have to attempt to start the f'er 25 times before it finally catches and fires up? Yeah....probably. So, I knew it was in bad shape, but check out this list...

Driver's side door top hinge needs rewelded. It's still attached to the door and needs tacked back on to the body, so anytime you open the door you have to hold it up and then get the f'er to close

It has a sun roof but it leaks It leaked so long that it jacked up the headliner, so someone just yanked it all down... for the most part anyway...still has some crap hanging down

The passanger side mirror got knocked off. That's an easy fix though. It's just the rear clip that broke. I'm just going to jb weld that bastard in place for now.

She SAYS that the heat and A/C works, but the blower doesn't turn on.

No rearview mirror

a bunch of other little things inside.... and it SMELLS. If I get this running right the next thing I'm doing is stripping the seats out and attempting to salvage the carpet, but possibly just ripping it all out and spraying U-POL Raptor bedliner like I just did with my TJ. I actually considered just yanking the front doors off since they're jacked up anyway and going that route

ok....now to the engine/exhaust. She said that the pipe connecting to the CAT was disconnected... YEAH, because the F'N muffler is missing

While I drove it around town to get the title notarized it had pretty good pick up and although stupid loud it drove alright. Shocks could use replaced in the next year, tires as well, but overall not too bad for $300.

THEN.....THEN.... I get it on the highway. The first 15 minutes it acted fine, but then I just started losing pwr. It just had no "oomph" I could go about 45mph and that was it. At first I was trying to force it to shift and go faster, but it didn't seem to matter what gear I was in. It still wouldn't get up and go. So, to avoid pushing it too hard and causing it more problems I laid off it a bit. Sat in the right lane at 40-45 with my flashers on. What could be causing this... here are my thoughts

F'N exhaust
TPS
Clogged/Crappy fuel filter

Oh, and checked the air filter and it looks pretty new

IDEAS...THOUGHTS.... COMMENTS....LAUGHTER Let me have it
 
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#2 ·
I picked up a new starter for it last night that will get replaced first. I'm removing the driver's side door, so I don't have to keep holding it up to get in and out. Well, either that or swinging by somewhere to get the hinge tacked on real quick. My original plan was to JB Weld that biznatch on and call it a day :) Not sure it would be strong enough though and should probably do it right. I need to get a welder and learn how to weld. What a better opportunity to do so than this beater, right? Ok, so that's starter, door, and then the exhaust needs sorted out. I'm trying to decide if I should just pick up a CAT and cat back exhaust off of ebay and install myself or go to a muffler shop and see what they can do for me for dirt cheap.....

Starter comes first though, because that **** is EMBARRASSING :) 25 tries per start....hahahaha
 
#3 ·
At least you're not alone, last week picked up a $600 96 XJ for my gf, no floors, no rockers, beat to hell. Next day saw a 95 for $1200 in WAY better shape, bought the 95, sold the 96. 5 minutes after we bought it, drove across the street to fill it up to get it home, wondered why I smelled gas...hole in the tank (near the top luckily). This one the hood doesn't open (broken cable), front u-joints are shot, and tons of other little things.

Trust me man, right now I feel your pain! lol
 
#4 ·
hahahahaha.... I feel the love :)

I have one that I WANTED to pick up for $900 that is in WAY better shape inside and out cosmetically, but isn't running. From the sound of it all he needs is a CPS (I think that's what it is....some sensor...) or a fuel pump. I won't have the cash to get that one until I either sell some more motorcycle parts or get my TJ sold. Hopefully the TJ is gone this week. Well....hopefully....but really sad about that as well :(
 
#5 ·
Took some pics real quick earlier today to show the condition of it when I brought it home yesterday. That's the step I usually forget. I USUALLY dive right into it and forget the before pics.

Anyway, real quick today I pulled down the rest of the headliner. They had just pulled some of the cloth down. I removed the rest of it and also all the insulation that was ****ty. Then I removed the sunroof. I wasn't sure what I was doing at the time. I wasn't sure if it was all one piece, but found out quickly when I removed the last screw :) I'm contemplating just rigging up the sunroof to be a moonroof now. I think that would be the easiest thing to do to fix it, get the headliner area looking clean, and taking care of the roof leak.

Pics to follow tonight.
 
#6 ·
#7 ·
i feel y our pain man, i bought a lifted 96 XJ for $800 with 31" tires, love the truck but the rockers are rusted out no headliner and the worst part its over heating like you wouldnt belive- should bout the one for $1300

in theory with the exhaust you can get clamps and over the cours eof about 6-12 months they will fuse together caus eof the heat, when that happens you can take the clamps off...
 
#8 ·
Yeah, The guys from Summit just emailed me and told me it comes with clamps. Even if it does fuse together there really isn't a need to ever remove the clamps, right? Not that I can think of anyway. SO, I am going to swing by a muffler shop to get a quote. If it's close to the price of the stuff from Summit I may just have them do it. If it's going to be like $100 more or so I'm going to order the stuff in the links I posted above and do it myself.

NOW....do I get someone to weld the door hinges back on for me, attempt to JB weld them myself for a temp fix and see if it can hold that much weight.....OR just take them off and ride open :) If that's the case I will be removing the carpet and spraying the bucket with U-POL Raptor like I did with my TJ

Pics are coming later tonight....be patient :)
 
#9 · (Edited)
Ok....I have a ton of pictures from earlier.

Here is the Jeep before I did anything to it....

Rear with great stickers :nono:



Both sides. Notice the big dents in the doors. That's from having to throw your hip into getting the door closed :laugh:





Leaky Sunroof with silicon around it and freakin aluminum tape :confused:



Rotten Headliner partially removed by PO



I was told that the exhaust just came undone.... not that it was GONE :thumbsup:



and after sitting all night this is all that had leaked onto the driveway. I didn't check the oil level yet though. Maybe that's all that is left in there TO leak out :rofl:



*edit*
ah crap....forgot I had my photobucket set to upload pics so small. I'll change it and repost these bigger. You need to see the bullet holes on the RHS to get the full effect :)

I'll post a few of what I did today. Not much, but a start.
 
#10 ·
I would remove the front fenders, then drive it to a welding shop and have the door hinges welded back on. Removing the fenders will give good access to the hinges and allow proper alignment of the doors before welding. That is how I did mine and it worked great. I welded all the way around the hinge too. The factory just puts a short bead on top and bottom of the hinge.
 
#14 · (Edited)
OK, and here is what I did to it today.....

I ripped down all of the headliner and removed the sunroof assy. Just doing that and not having rotten insulation hanging down already made a HUGE difference. In my mind anyway :) Now I just need to get that sunroof hole plugged somehow. That....install the new starter, exhaust, and door hinges are top on the list. Then we'll move to more cosmetic enhancements when I know it's actually going to be driveable.











AND I removed all the stickers, but didn't take any pics after that.
 
#17 ·
I know how to fill the sunroof hole, its easy and probably mostly free. You already have the parts lol.
Here it is:
Put the sunroof back in!
Just seal it properly. and I guess if you don't like it hanging down, then you could take it apart and just install the glass back in, so it doesn't open like a moon roof.
 
#19 ·
I guess if you don't like it hanging down, then you could take it apart and just install the glass back in, so it doesn't open like a moon roof.
I believe that I said I was leaning towards doing just that :rolleyes: All this sunroof was doing was tilt. I'm not sure if it was supposed to slide or not.... it wasn't though. Either way... I know I wouldn't use the sunroof anyway, so why put it back in? I'd rather have the roof look cleaner. Moon roof it is :thumbsup:
 
#21 ·
i was in the same dilema as you man, just go to the junkyard and find a pop up thats what i did after 3 hours of walking around i found the perfect one and i bought a new headliner and it worked out great, will have some pics for you tomorrow but doing a pop up is awesome. and trust me some light coming thru is awesome.
 
#22 · (Edited)
Yeah, but my sunroof works :confused: Just not sure I want it. Well, it pops up.....I didn't see how it slides back and didn't bother messing with it to try. I think I'm just going to slap the glass in there as a "moonroof" I don't know yet though. That's just cosmetics and getting it running right is first priority.
 
#23 · (Edited)
OK....we're cookin with Crisco now :cheers:

I swung by a local muffler shop real quick today to get him to check out my exhaust and maybe get a quote.

As soon as I pulled it in he said "Well, you CAT is ****. You're going to need a new one of those. I can have you out of here with everything done for $275"

To which I replied....."huh" and he scratched his head and immediatley said "Make that $250 and we'll get 'er taken care of."

ME: Well, when can you get it done
MUFFLER DUDE: When do you WANT it done
ME: Uh, now is good
MUFFLER DUDE: Alright pull 'er on in

an hour and a half later and not only did they toss a new muccler and CAT on there for me, but the guys were awesome and welded my door hinge up for FREE! :D They definitely scored a repeat customer today. I even asked them if they did that sort of a thing up front and they told me no. I stepped out of the shop to call my wife and 2 min later when I walked back in they had brought it down off the lift, jacked the door up, and were tacking it in place :thumbsup:

So....here are the pics.

Might not be purty, but it isn't falling off anymore :laugh:


Hanging there all by itself....aaaahhh....they grow up so fast


and the new pipeage...






Best part about all of this other than the fact that I was out of there in an hour and a half for a grand total of $250 when I thought I was just going to get an overpriced quote..........is the fact that my busted up CAT is what was causing the restriction and now it has GOBS of power and is running like a beast :2thumbsup: Well, as much as a '92 XJ can anyway.

Next on the list is the starter. After that is done we'll move on to cosmetics. Total Cost so far with the HEEP, Pipeage, and starter = $580
 
#24 ·
I was going to tell you that your Cat might be your power issue.
Also, many times a good muffler shop can hook you up cheaper than you can get the parts.
I was looking for a muffler for my pickup one time and seems it was going to cost me $100 to get from the parts store but the muffler guy installed a new one for like $50 or $75 or something. it was unreal. now this was 20 yrs ago but I expect it is the same for easy work for them.
 
#25 ·
I know I was amazed. I priced all the parts for like $250 shipped to my house and I walk out of there a little over an hour after I stop by and paid $250 for the whole shebang AND my door welded. I stopped by another shop yesterday to see about the door being welded and he gave me a ballpark of $75 just for THAT. I'm feeling pretty good about my $300 beater buy right about now :) I just got done hitting it up with the vacuum for about half an hour too. Now off to pay the Muffler guy ( I didn't have my checkbook and he just said... "eh, I trust ya. Come back after lunch and pay me"....what a good guy) and hit up Walmart for some cleaner to try and clean the stinkin foosty carpeting/seats.
 
#26 ·
Ok....add another problem to the list :) When I turned the lights on tonight the f'n buzzer (like the seat belt warning buzzer) goes off CONSTANTLY. That along with the Speedo not working and the blower not working.... ugh... sorting the electrial crap out is going to be some fun :(

Does anyone have a color wiring diagram to help me out?
 
#28 ·
Ok....add another problem to the list :) When I turned the lights on tonight the f'n buzzer (like the seat belt warning buzzer) goes off CONSTANTLY. That along with the Speedo not working and the blower not working.... ugh... sorting the electrial crap out is going to be some fun :(

Does anyone have a color wiring diagram to help me out?
Jeep Cherokee 1991 -1993 Printer Friendly Wiring Chart

here you go :thumbsup:

Brizzle
 
#34 ·
Hey, sorry thats all I had on file, If you can get a Haynes manual from the parts store it has a wiring digram in the back for cherokee's It not the best but it will give you a pretty good idea . Or Google it and you can prob. find one .


Brizzle
 
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