convert 96 to a '00 grille

Hey guys, im new here and lookin for a little help.

I'm gonna be driving a 96 cherokee sport (4.0 H.O.) this winter and I'm lookin for things to personalize it, i want to make it more practical for the -40 C temperatures, and 2' snow drifts that like to infest my commute. I've found some tires, and im looking at some off road bumpers that will probably make up most my investment.
But i would also like to change up the look of my xj with the most bang for my buck, So i was thinking since all xj's have the same frame, the rad support would probably be identical (riht?), and after looking at some pictures i'm really curious to know if the OEM grille/ light assembly of a 97+ xj would bolt right on to the older xj's like mine

Thanks

There are minor difference in the fender and bumpers, but you should be able to swap in the just header panel.

Read this -. http://go.jeep-xj.info/BensXJ.htm

yes you can swap in just header panel but the top corners wont match up. the 91-96 fenders have a sharp corner and the 97-01 has a rounded corner. Search and you will find this out.

wow, that guy did alot of work and it payed off:worship: Thats a really good build but doing a complete body style upgrade isn't quite practical for me right now. I'm definitely gonna find a header panel tho, thanks for the great info guys!
as for those pesky corners, i've got a buddy that won the national grade12 autobody competition, so with a little alcoholic bribary and some tlc i dont see them being too much of a problem :cheers:
Thanks again, I'll let you know how it turns out

Why not just buy some new fenders? At our yard they're $25 a pop. Cheapo's on ebay are around $50. I think re-working the metal itself just wouldn't be worth the time...

agreed... would be much easier and cheaper to install new fenders than make the grill work.

only less than 8cm squared would need modification, and for the price of new fenders, shipping, painting and the extra hassle (i dont even want to know what lies under those panels after 400000km of gravel roads) i think ill give my idea a try

mcdougaldm said:

8cm squared

Click to expand...

Wut?


Crazy Canucks...

i know right, a country that actually uses the international measurement system, we're pretty XXXXed up eh?

http://www.cherokeeforum.com/f46/1991-jeep-cherokee-build-2001-a-49861/

Yeah, you can do it, and you can fudge some things, but if you're looking to fool someone who knows XJs, it's going to take more than 8 sq cm worth of work on the older fenders. If you don't really care, then yeah, you can keep your fenders and just shoot the newer header to match.