1x1_Speed_Craig
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Grand Rapids, MI
Some of you may have been following Mira's 2-door XJ build over the last few years. We're still plugging away on it, and at age 14, she's not far from taking driver's training. I have also been plenty busy working on building my Jeep FC170 "Patina Rod", which will be based on a 2008 Ford F350 dually chassis.
But this thread is all about my younger daughter, Maeve (just shy of 12 years old). Maeve has been helping some with her sister's XJ work. Like her sister, she will be paying for half of her own Jeep build, and doing much of the work herself. Because of our limited budget, we will continue to get creative with getting the parts we need in order to keep costs down.
The starting point...
This $500 2000 Cherokee (XJ) 2-door Sport 2WD was a great find, thanks to a buddy who connected me with the seller. This 1-owner, female-driven Jeep has higher miles (220K), but runs & drives great, and even has the original window sticker & all paperwork. It was originally purchased in Texas, but has spent most of its life in Michigan. How is it so clean? The woman's significant other worked at a car wash/detailing center, and it shows. The brakes, rear wheel cylinders & shocks were recently replaced, too.
Minor issues we'll have to address:
I'll have to explain what this crazy cassette player is all about. (It'll get swapped out for a different stereo eventually.)
The "unveiling" to Maeve. She LOVES the color, and got to drive it around the property just before these pics were taken.
Completely unprepared for it timing- (and money-)wise, last week I learned that my former boss' 1996 XJ had just burned a couple days prior while it was parked (electrical fire, I presume). He asked if I wanted to by it as-is (crispy & inexpensive), and I did. It has nice BFG KM2 LT235/75R15 tires (29") on black steel wheels, and a mild Rusty's lift. The lift will end up on Maeve's Jeep. We'll likely "juggle" parts a bit, and these wheels/tires will end up on her sister Mira's XJ, and the aluminum Ravines/31" KM2s on Mira's will end up on Maeve's, mainly for aesthetics with the black wheels and exterior colors of the girls' respective Jeeps.
More to come. We've only had Maeve's blue XJ for a few weeks, and the green parts XJ for a few days.
Craig & Maeve
But this thread is all about my younger daughter, Maeve (just shy of 12 years old). Maeve has been helping some with her sister's XJ work. Like her sister, she will be paying for half of her own Jeep build, and doing much of the work herself. Because of our limited budget, we will continue to get creative with getting the parts we need in order to keep costs down.
The starting point...
This $500 2000 Cherokee (XJ) 2-door Sport 2WD was a great find, thanks to a buddy who connected me with the seller. This 1-owner, female-driven Jeep has higher miles (220K), but runs & drives great, and even has the original window sticker & all paperwork. It was originally purchased in Texas, but has spent most of its life in Michigan. How is it so clean? The woman's significant other worked at a car wash/detailing center, and it shows. The brakes, rear wheel cylinders & shocks were recently replaced, too.
Minor issues we'll have to address:
- Power steering pump is weak (already traded some Jeep FC170 parts for a replacement P/S pump)
- Driver door hinges are worn, and need repair/replacement (I already have some donor hinges from a low-mileage '99 XJ)
- Rockers need some minor work. They may get a stock-style repair, or we may replace them with the common 2" x 6" steel for built-in rocker guards.
- Minor rust repair
- Windshield is cracked.
I'll have to explain what this crazy cassette player is all about. (It'll get swapped out for a different stereo eventually.)
The "unveiling" to Maeve. She LOVES the color, and got to drive it around the property just before these pics were taken.
Completely unprepared for it timing- (and money-)wise, last week I learned that my former boss' 1996 XJ had just burned a couple days prior while it was parked (electrical fire, I presume). He asked if I wanted to by it as-is (crispy & inexpensive), and I did. It has nice BFG KM2 LT235/75R15 tires (29") on black steel wheels, and a mild Rusty's lift. The lift will end up on Maeve's Jeep. We'll likely "juggle" parts a bit, and these wheels/tires will end up on her sister Mira's XJ, and the aluminum Ravines/31" KM2s on Mira's will end up on Maeve's, mainly for aesthetics with the black wheels and exterior colors of the girls' respective Jeeps.
More to come. We've only had Maeve's blue XJ for a few weeks, and the green parts XJ for a few days.
Craig & Maeve
