[basso4735]

I'm sitting here, day off from work, rainy outside so I figured I would make a build thread.

Bought this xj for $1900 in November '08. Had a 96 xj since August 06', my first vehicle . Here is how she sat the day I registered her. You can see the 96 in the background.



Whitewalls ftw right? Wrong.

First thing was change the fluids. After that I was back at college so not much really happened due to lack of funds.

I did take off the purple sport decal.

Christmas '08
My dad had mentioned something about buying new rims when we first got it, because they were in pretty shatty condition. One tire had a slow leak because valve stem was rotting away. I said something about soft 8's or the d windows because they were so cheap.

Well on christmas morning I awoke to a set of 15x8 black ravines.

only pic I have that shows them well.



Also had the whitewalls mounted on the inside thank god.

The front bumper endcap was dented, so my dad bought a new one. I didnt ask for it I could have cared less haha. So we put that on and C4x4 tow hooks at the same time.

Also did valve cover gasket since it was leaking.

With Christmas came money, so I moved onto the audio, something I could do fairly easily.

Alpine head unit



Kicker 5.25" speakers(present from my lovely girlfriend) in the front doors and used 6.5" Pioneers in the back.

Finally finished the sub at the beginning of summer too.



It was my first time doing a subwoofer, I built the box myself, turned out pretty good.

Its an old 12" Kicker comp my uncle had laying around, and a kenwood amp I bought.

Summer '09
I bought a pair of Hella 500's for 30 bucks when amazon had them on sale back in january but never installed them. Put those in, i love them. I can actually see at night!



This past weekend I flushed the rad and yesterday put in a new t-stat.

Pic of the old one still in, it started pouring right after I took it out so no pics of the new one. The old one was practically glued in.



Aaaaand took off the door trim. Still need to get the tape off.


Wow that pic looks almost pinkish. Dumb camera .


My future plans? Well as long as everything works out ok....
1. Paint the flares
2. New wheel bearing......great.
3. Get a hitch
4.Most likely a home brew 3" lift
5. 31's

Ill definitely keep this updated though.

-Ben

[1996BlackXJ]

I like the wheels! Your Dad has good taste.

[basso4735]

Originally Posted by 1996BlackXJ

I like the wheels! Your Dad has good taste.

Thanks!

So I decided that I would start calling some junkyards around here for some s10 leafs.

[ajxj9197]

painting the trim is a great idea. took me about 2-3 hours(i took my time) and it looks worlds better. nice wheels also.

[basso4735]

Called around some junkyards today, there arent really any good ones around here. Picked up a set of s10 leafs. Came out of a 97 I believe. Got raped on the price since they had to cut them out, dont even want to say it. It still came out cheaper than an AAL and way cheaper than a full pack.




2.5" width is the correct size right?

These leafs are so much thicker than the stockers haha.

[basso4735]

I know this stuff isnt interesting, but I put in a new radiator today. Took about 2.5 hours, only because its almost 90 out and I had to keep taking breaks.

Ill put up some pics of the old one, it has spots the size of a softball where the fins are completely gone...

[basso4735]

lol @ this.....

[AustinTexasXJ]

your *****ing about 90* weather...
damn your lucky. try being here with it being 106*


nice looking XJ though.

[rjbaranello]

hahaha good lookin' radiator you got there...

[basso4735]

Originally Posted by AustinTexasXJ

your *****ing about 90* weather...
damn your lucky. try being here with it being 106*


nice looking XJ though.

im from new england what do you expect.

you dont deal with the humidity though.

thanks bob!

[slim1000]

haha! Enjoy the 90* weather our forecast calls for 101* plus for the next 10 days with humidity in the 70%. Keep up the good work. Love the rims!

[basso4735]

Thanks. Im about to take the jeep for a highway drive. before, it was almost up to the 3/4 mark on the temp gauge at highway speeds. hope the new rad fixed it.

[basso4735]

Going up to ME for the week tomorrow. Im going to grab some duplicolor bedliner and do the rockers and lower doors to hopefully hide that nice scrape on the pass door.

And for something to do this week. No internet up there

I have kept it all 'JEEP'. It's a mix of CJ running gear with many after market upgrades and a classic 1950 CJ3a body with many little modifications. Some comfort items are; XJ power steering, CJ5 elec.
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[basso4735]

Just got back from vacation in Maine since last friday. It was beautiful, but of course, I made time to work on the jeep!




I I decided to bedline my rockers and spray paint the gray flares. Came out pretty damn well I think. Hides the rock rash I got on my pass. door too which is good.

I used the rustoleum roll on bedliner. I sanded everything down with 100 grit I think it was. Then cleaned it with soap and water and let air dry. Then I applied the stuff.

Ive never seen herculiner in person, but I think this stuff is not as rough. Its pretty smooth.




For the flares I couldnt find any krylon fusion up there, so I used some home decor satin black spray paint for outdoor plastic chairs and stuff. We will see how it holds up.


I got home and my dad's skidsteer trailer was sitting in the driveway so I decided to do a little posing.




And I played around with hdr a little bit.


Now I have an A/C leak, not sure if Im going to do anything about that this summer.

My e-brake has always not stayed up due to being worn out so I started taking the old one out but I needed another person to put a wrench on the bolt so I just have the center console out.

I'm going to be ordering my 3" coils and shocks this week. Coils will be from IRO and I'll probably get some sensa tracs for shocks.