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Another Daily Driver XJ Build ('98 Classic)

136K views 253 replies 83 participants last post by  JeepXJOZQLD 
#1 ·
I'm not even sure where to start this thread... I purchased my parents old XJ (I say old... 280,000 miles!) on my last deployment because my WK keeps getting bigger. The XJ had a very hard life before my parents bought it last year. It was in multiple accidents and had been neglected. I've decided to restore it and build my idea of what the XJ should of become in its last years from the factory. So lets start with what was done before I even transferred the title.

Full OME Suspension (MD) and steering stabilizer
Full poly bushings (some still need installed)
5 Ravine 15x8 wheels
5 Wrangler GS-A 30" tires
Differential and Trans fluids
A new re-manufactured NP242
Lots of new body panels from the junkyard

When they picked it up:







The plan:

I've been spoiled driving my fully loaded WK Limited every day, so my goal was to make the Cherokee just as comfortable on road, while retaining its off road capability and increasing performance. However after buying a '15 SRT WK2 I decided that this build would be more offroad centric. And once my Dad decided that he needed a mountain Jeep (He lives in Ouray Colorado nestled in the Rockies) I figured I'd go for broke on this thing. My Dad is going to foot half the bill and I'll pay for the rest with the hopes that I'll get to use this thing when I visit. Modifications thus far (updated: 26 JUN 2019):

Suspension:
Front (4.5" lift):
OME MD springs
ACOS spacers adjusted to +2"
Rustys control arms and track bar
Crown ZJ drag link/tie rod
JKS steering stabilizer
Bilstein 5100's
ADDCO sway bar
Rear (4.5" lift):
OME MD leafs
Bilstein 5100's
ADDCO sway bar
Wheels/Tires:
AEV Savegre 17x8.5 wheels
BFGoodrich 315/70/17 T/A KO2's (245/65/17 spare)
Spidertrax 4.5/5x5 wheel adapters
Brakes:
Wilwood big brake kit w/ early YJ knuckles
Crown rear disc brake conversion
Exterior:
Custom Grabber Orange (Ford paint code: U3) paint
JCR Crusader front bumper
JCR GenI rear bumper
Bushwacker flat flares
5.9L hood vents
Hoodlift hood struts
Lights:
Rigid Industries 3x3 SAE fog lights
Truck Lite LED headlights
JW Speaker TS4000 driving lights (they are NOT JK headlights despite what everyone thinks)
Depo smoked parking lights
New reproduction tail lights and marker lights
Armor/Rack:
JCR fuel tank skid plate
JCR roof rack
Interior:
04 TJ steering wheel
Black carpet
Electronics/Stereo:
New (used) Infinity amp
Quadratec Kicker speakers x4
Kicker sub in a Select Increments box (color matched)
Performance:
K&N FIPK
Ebay exhaust header + factory B pipe and new cat

How it sat before I started the tear down:









What remains of the gash that ran down the entire side... This will be fun to fix!



Parts have been arriving daily!



I'm ready to make a mess of the garage:



Just out of curiosity I put the new(er) amp in to see if that was the problem with the stereo not working... It fixed it!



Pulled the carpet... no rust in the usual spots!



But due to some faulty body work on both rear quarters (obviously had been in a rear impact sometime in its life) they are both rusting through at the bottoms:



Ready for a good pressure washing and then I can get started on the bodywork.



Last nights update (yeah, I realize that I didn't post it until today) was brought to you by Blue Moon

 
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#32 ·
Not much new (other than the fact that I'm finally home). I purchased a proper welder! Welding with gas is soooo nice.



Spot welding like a pro (or trying to at least):



Have I mentioned I hate body work:



I've been ordering parts like crazy... probably getting a little ahead of myself! I guess the extended idle switch is discontinued so I'll probably put another light switch in there:



And just ordered a JRC standard rear bumper :D
 
#33 ·
My boss just picked up that welder for his house. He's teaching me the bodywork craft on my MJ, and I got to play with it while fixing my doors. We were playing with the auto feed setting, and trying to figure out if we liked it enough or if going the standard set route would be better. Nice little unit. If you were looking for a taller cart, he picked up the Harbor Freight one for $39 and it fits the welder like a glove.

Rob
 
#34 ·
My boss just picked up that welder for his house. He's teaching me the bodywork craft on my MJ, and I got to play with it while fixing my doors. We were playing with the auto feed setting, and trying to figure out if we liked it enough or if going the standard set route would be better. Nice little unit. If you were looking for a taller cart, he picked up the Harbor Freight one for $39 and it fits the welder like a glove.

Rob
Yeah, I'm pretty interested to try the autoset. Currently I'm running .023 wire though and there is no autoset for it. I do love the fact that with the simple adapter change I can go from 110 to 220. I might have to get a taller cart, this one is pretty low (and was way too expensive).

btw, I love your factory diesel MJ build!
 
#35 ·
USN_BlackWK said:
Yeah, I'm pretty interested to try the autoset. Currently I'm running .023 wire though and there is no autoset for it. I do love the fact that with the simple adapter change I can go from 110 to 220. I might have to get a taller cart, this one is pretty low (and was way too expensive).
This is the exact cart he has. You can't beat the price.

http://www.harborfreight.com/welding-cart-90305.html

He likes it. The only drawback is that it fits so good, that you have to lift the welder up a tad when you want to open the door. You can see it in the background of this pic:



USN_BlackWK said:
btw, I love your factory diesel MJ build!
Thanks! I love your build here! It's an inspiration. I just picked up a '97 XJ, and want to add steering wheel controls myself, but will be keeping the stock CD/Cassette. Hopefully, I can make something work. Might just put some switches in the console where my hand rests once I figure it out. I don't mind the steering wheel all that much.

Rob
 
#36 ·
Decided to replace the drivers side rocker instead of just patching the bad areas... 100 holes later:



Replacement mocked up:



Burning it in (29 welds done... 71 to go!):



New hood! It doesn't quite fit though, hoping new hinges fix that:



Darn good deals right before Christmas... This and the gas tank skid :)

 
#38 ·
Killer work man ... this is going to be a niccccccccccceeeee jeep : )

with all that work you did to the rear quarter panels, you should open up the rear wheel wells... huge advantage late for flex, running larger tires, and you could put a little stretch in there. Nows the time while your working and before you paint. I think later down the road you will be really happy you did.

Also ... How hard was it to get the outer door skin off? Did you just use the grinder to the edges until the skin separated from the door?
 
#42 ·
Thanks! Yeah, unfortunately this project has been dragging on pretty good due to work and spending most of the time on my WK. And now nothing will get done in the next 6 months due to deployment. As soon as I get home I plan on finishing it up though! Its getting close to being ready for paint. Well since I dont have any pictures of the progress with me here... I'll just whore the WK out. Here is is right after repainting the bumper and cleaning it up:



The bumper right after paint... Just practice before spraying the XJ ;)





with all that work you did to the rear quarter panels, you should open up the rear wheel wells... huge advantage late for flex, running larger tires, and you could put a little stretch in there. Nows the time while your working and before you paint. I think later down the road you will be really happy you did.

Also ... How hard was it to get the outer door skin off? Did you just use the grinder to the edges until the skin separated from the door?
I'm contemplating opening up the wheel wells... But for now I'm definitely just putting the stock flares back on.

Yeah, the door skin just came off with the grinder and a little bit of prying.
 
#44 ·
Finally got everything on the front end aligned... the frame is pushed towards the passenger side about 1/4" so I had to redrill all the mounting holes for both fenders. Its pretty close (or at least close enough) now:



All new hardware (hood hinges, latches, strikers, radiator and gromets, ect):



Installed Hoodlift struts. I cut the fenders instead of installing over them for a more professional fit:



For the hood side mounts there is a dip on the drivers side that needed to be fixed. I welded in a plate:





For the hood latch armature I welded in 2 nuts instead of the factory rivets since the aftermarket hood had some large holes there so the rivets wouldn't work:



Test fitting the 5.9L vents:



Holes drilled:



All done!



I even got the factory drip trays to bolt up with some trimming:





Getting closer to paint! The build is going pretty slow with my constant state of being deployed (another one coming very very soon). But I'm hoping to have some paint on it before I leave. I think I've decided on a color too! :D
 
#248 ·
5.9 vents



Military kid back here in Seattle thinking of that song, " I've been everywhere man" , as I've gone through your thread. Haven't even got to the blue thread and I read it's been sold.
Doing research on hood venting for my '99 xj and curious if those 5.9 vents supply enough slow trail ride heat vent to keep things cool? I'm guessing the Moab trip was a good marker. Mine runs best at 210, yet eastern Wa gets kinda hot when I go there and Seattle rains to dam much to plop giant holes in the hood like a lot of hood vents require.
Did you get them new or went to a yard. If new.... got a link?
Gonna start reading the blue thread now.
Keep wrenching & trekking and thanks for the good read! Maybe see you out on the trails.
 
#50 ·
I changed my mind on the setup and have decided to just keep the stock head unit.

Another great build. Just to let you know. I did an 04 TJ steering wheel in my 98 with no issues. Bolts right on and air bag plug is the same. But i did not have any controls on mine for anything. So if you can figure out the steering wheel controls youll be all set. Keep the updates coming! I live seeing an xj live to see another 100k miles!
Thats great to know, thanks!

This is a hellova build man, how do you like you're new Miller? Running a .023 for the body im guessing?
Yup! Though I used the .023 to weld some 3/16" the other day with no issues.

UPDATE: I haven't posted in this thread for over a year... time for an update! I've been overseas followed by spending some quality time getting the WK ready for some trails so this project hasn't made much progress. So today I got to it! I acquired a '14 SRT for daily driving duties so the XJ is now going to be a mountain Jeep for my father in Colorado (my parents live in Ouray... so they are in need of something that can get anywhere). He's going to help foot the bill so there should be some good mods to come. Today I just started small with the install (well really just test fit and trim) of some flat flare bushwackers.



I'm going to throw my WK's tire/wheel setup on the XJ (the WK is going to 37's :D ).



Looks great with the new style JCR bumper!



How the tires should look with 1.5" spidertrax adapters:

 
#47 ·
Another great build. Just to let you know. I did an 04 TJ steering wheel in my 98 with no issues. Bolts right on and air bag plug is the same. But i did not have any controls on mine for anything. So if you can figure out the steering wheel controls youll be all set. Keep the updates coming! I live seeing an xj live to see another 100k miles!
 
#51 ·
Bought all the paint over the weekend. almost $1k in paint and supplies! The sanding will never end...



Its hard to tell but the roof is pretty wavy. Instead of spending months to correct this I'm going leave it. The roof rack will hide it!



Trimmed my JCR bumper to match the bushwackers:



More bodywork:



Fixing some rot in the right rocker:



The bushwackers really open up the wheel wells. 30's look tiny:



Good thing the 34's are going to fix that:



Hopefully it'll be ready for paint by the weekend!
 
#59 ·
I had to spend a week away from the project to pick up a bird in TX so the progress has been slow. A quick pick on the way home. That's Mt. St. Helens on the left and Mt. Rainier on the right:





The collection is getting out of hand!

I hope it's painted :D
Its getting there... Painting through the night tonight.

What kinda wheeling is on whidbey island? I was just there two weeks ago it was nice.
I've never wheeled on the island. Mostly I drive over to Manastache ridge or out towards eastern WA.

Masking:





My ingenious idea of how to mask the hatch struts:



The next step was to turn my garage into a paint booth. I set up a/c filters at the door on one end and fans + filters on the other:







Primed:



I'm painting the door jambs and underhood (not the engine bay... I'll leave that black):





First coat of color! It looks more yellow without clear.



Well, back to the garage!
 
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