My son's XJ build up.

[FrankZ]

My wife and I found a 91 Briarwood on Craigslist for $450 and decided it was a great platform for our son. We gave him the heep for Christmas in 2007. The motor was shot and the radiator had blown apart. The good news was that it had only 129k on the odometer and had been towed behind an RV. It still had the tow bar mounts on it.

Since it's a Briarwood it's got power everything and since it's a 91 it also had the P.O.S. Bendix ABS system as well.

Stage one was to get the thing running. I was able to locate a 96 motor that had a mere 65k on it for a whopping $75! Once we got it home we learned that the motor had been left in the outdoors without the manifolds in place. Needless to say we had to rebuild it. new rings, bearings, gaskets, etc. Nothing special really, just a fresh motor. I had a spare 2 row radiator so once the motor was done we put it back together and it fired up on the first try....always a good sign. Total cost for the motor rebuild was under $300, including the motor.

So we drove it for about six months and decided that it was time to loose non-functioning ABS. Off to the junkyard and retrieve a dual-diaphram booster, master cylinder, and proportioning valve from a 98 ZJ. I had to relocate the pin in the brake pedal but other than that it was a simple upgrade that made a dramatic improvement in the braking power. Junkyard parts set me back about $30.

While surfing a local forum I found a Chrysler 8.25" with 29 spline shafts for dist cheap. Once It was dropped off at my place I saw that the previous owner had really hacked up the tubes removing the spring perches. He ended up just giving us the axle for free to get rid of it.

A little wheeling and dealing garnered a set of 4.5" RE leafs ($0), 3.5" coils ($80), coil spacers ($0), PowerTrax No-Slip locker and Yukon Alloy Shafts ($200 for), ZJ Disc Brakes from the JY ($40).

I also came across a screaming deal on craigslist for 5 wheels and tires for $400. The tires had les than 2k worth of wear and 1 had never been on the ground. So after selling the wheels we ended up with 5 32x11.5.15's for $250.

Time to Lift it!!
Here's what we started with.




My son Daniel working on the new axle and disc brakes.






Up on jack stands and tearing off parts with help from great friends.

[FrankZ]

Rear Axle in place with new wheels and tires.


We opted to build a set of longarms land new crossmember like mine. Daniel decided that red was the color he wanted.



Daniel took care of prepping the front axle for the new trackbar bracket.


Fabbing up parts requires grinding, cutting, and drilling....






Stock steering linkage is just to darn weak, so we built or own 1 Ton system using Chevy TRE's.


A new frame side trackbar mount was also needed.

[FrankZ]

We relocated the rear shock mounts for added clearance. Drilling the mounts wth a 3" hole saw to match the axle tubes.


Daniel working on trimming the fenders.




We scored a full set of TJ flares for nothing. Gonna get the rears trimmed and installed in the next few days.


Finally out of the garage!




So that's where we're at right now. In the next week or so we'll be swapping in a newer NP242 that's already setup with an SYE and a fresh rear drive shaft. I should also point out that I regeared both axles to 4.10's.

Whatchathink?

[DEPartsnPieces]

Wow. Wish my Dad was like this!

Conversely, I hope my kids take an interest in cars and we can do stuff like this in the future.

Looks like this truck is going to be fun, hope you and your son enjoy it!

[89SAFARIXJ]

man that steering is so cool as well as the long arms. those things look beefy. i like it!

-Sean

[scoot08]

wow you have like hardly any money into it... wish i could find deals like that....i dont really like the tj flares with the wood grain but other than that i love the jeep

[kboyts]

damn wish my dad had been like that too. Hell I just wish I could score half the parts for my jeep for free too LOL

[HavenSOV]

Agreed, I hope that my kids keep with like to help me and eventualy do a build like this. With my luck I'll end up doing it to a barbie pink JK...

Kudo's for finding something great to so with your son. Families that wheel together, have great stories to tell the grand kids!

[Vassago]

can you be my dad? haha. i was loving every part of this until i saw the tj flares.

[FrankZ]

Originally Posted by BMXxXJ

i was loving every part of this until i saw the tj flares.

Cheaper and more flexible than Bushwackers, Rusty's are junk. The look isn't for everyone but we like 'em though.

[beneharris]

looking good! its gonna look better once the back flares get on everyone!

[XJH-007]

Bringing back the Wood Walls and Chrome.

Looks good man! Great Job!

[paroxysym]

plenty of room in those flares now for some 35s lol. needs to paint the whole thing to match the red

[kboyts]

I cant wait for my son to get old enough to be in the garage with me. Its definetly a nice family experience and helps keep the kids busy so they stay out of trouble.

[EricsXJ]

Very nice Frank! My son turns 14 this month, so he's not too far from doing something similar, I hope!