My 2001 Jeep Xj Build- Rattletrap

[srmitchell]

Originally Posted by Irwinator

I have just read every post here and I am in love with your XJ. Did you start off knowing what you were doing or did you have a ton of help? I am in college but have a decent job and I really want to turn my dd xj in an offroad hybrid. Any tips on what to start off with?

I'd start with a stock basic xj. 99-01. I love my 01, the interior and exterior is awesome. Drivetrain issues are easy to fix.

You'll go anywhere with 4 inches of lift, 31's, and a rear locker. That's what I did.

[srmitchell]

Here's some garbage pics of yesterday.



I used some awesome weld through primer. Bling.

But, we had to use a stick welder cause the wirefeed had a bad tip. Im going back next week to get all the plugs welded, but I already noticed an improvement.

[hotrod_hooligan]

You won't be disappointed with the results, I love mine.

[srmitchell]

Yeah. They already seem great, and they're only barely welded on.

Today- I did the cut n fold on the rear bumper cap area. It was hanging out of the cap, so i cut it out. No pics with the cap yet. I also painted the area, and painted the cross member.

i decided to also fix the rear bumper bolts. I drilled them out, put bigger bolts through, and put lock nuts on the back. Much stronger, and not stripped.

And some pics of the stiffeners. Bling weld through primer.

[srmitchell]

Update- Drove it today, and with the stiffy's and new hardware on the bumper, my jeep is silent. It creaks a bit when flexed, but It'll go away. (When finished.)

Next will be long arms, cause I still get thrown around on washboard.

[MXBoy11]

Originally Posted by srmitchell

Update- Drove it today, and with the stiffy's and new hardware on the bumper, my jeep is silent. It creaks a bit when flexed, but It'll go away. (When finished.)

Next will be long arms, cause I still get thrown around on washboard.

AWESOME! What LA setup are you going with? I am really fond of the TnT kit. My buddy (WrEcKLeSsXJ on NAXJA) has them and they are the sit!

[The_Bandit]

I want that bumper sticker hahaha.

Nice build

[srmitchell]

Haha, thanks. You can get the sicker on ebay.

Im thinking about the rough country long arm upgrade. It looks really beefy, and it's only 600.

But I plan on swapping my HPdana 30 first. I just have no motivation to swap, cause I won't actually notice any difference. haha

[Gman_VIMB]

Originally Posted by srmitchell

Im thinking about the rough country long arm upgrade. It looks really beefy, and it's only 600.

Dont forget, JF members receive a 10% discount! Good call on the RC stuff, ordered a set of ADJ LCA's and they are very stout. Excellent bang for the buck.

Nice XJ man!

[hotrod_hooligan]

Originally Posted by srmitchell

Haha, thanks. You can get the sicker on ebay.

Im thinking about the rough country long arm upgrade. It looks really beefy, and it's only 600.

keep in mind, the RC LA cross member sandwiches the unibody rails, might cause problems having the frame stiffeners.

[srmitchell]

Yeah, I know. Im going to talk to them when the time comes. Id love to get that kit though. Short arms equal fail.

[srmitchell]

Finished the stiffeners. Cost me 75. The guy is awesome. He did all the welding, and helped me grind, cut, and clean everything. He's really cool. It was about 7 hours of work.
We also tacked the sliders on. The pics are still in the gold bling primer. haha.

Went from

To

And to this.

[MXBoy11]

Looks AWESOME. Let us know how you like em




Sweet Bling BTW

[srmitchell]

Haha. I should leave it. It feels soooooo much stiffer than with out the stiffys at all, and also a huge improvement from when they were just tacked. I feel better by tacking the sliders on, the self tappers are a little worn, so they aren't as tight asthey could be. But the pinch seam mount sucked right back where it should be, even though the sliders stick furthur out.

I really notice the short arms too, the rough country kit is up in the next few months.

Im trying to make this the ultimate dd/weekend warrior. I have some local wheeling, but most of it is 2-7 hours away. haha

[NATEHALSXJ]

Nice srmitchel looks good. I plan on adding stiffeners as well but gotta get some more money first lol