XJeremy23
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Hayden, Idaho
Ahh shoot! The fun begins... Somewhat unfortunate circumstances have given me the time and reason to put focus back into building/rebuilding not one but two XJs. My "baby" an '89 Light Blue 2 door Laredo with 4.0L/AX-15/NP231, Dana 44 rear, 4.56 gears w/detroit trutrac, D30 front, 33X9.50 mudterrains, 4.5" lift etc... (10 years of building) Anyway, the 4.0L died on me with 200,000 miles of some use and abuse. Then I bought a '90 White 2 door base model (postal Jeep looking but left hand drive) with 4.0L/AW4/NP231/D30/D35, BASE! but only 93,000 miles on it and in great shape mechanically.
While the '89 sat & I conjured up ideas of building it into a complete trail rig I drove the '90 for about a year & got bored with it stock. I already put money into good 215/75/15 rubber so keeping it mild, in went the 2" BB that was in the garage. Some trail abuse gave me rocker damage so I got inchitis. In went the 4.5" lift on the D30 and D44 axles that were on the '89. Boy, I tell ya that was the quickest & easiest axle upgrade/regear, lift install, and larger tire upgrade ever installed! And boy that AW4 feels great with the 4.56 gearing, limited slip, and 33s. But the intention is to put the axles and lift back on the '89 and put a new engine in it and hack and chop it into a trail rig and keep the '90 stock for a daily driver.
Now I am confused... It almost makes more sense to have the base model Jeep as the trail rig because there is less to damage in wet conditions (found that one out the hard way) and the Laredo the stock, nicer, daily driver. But the '89 Laredo has some minor trail damage and some body and floor rust already and not to mention it sits as a shell on jackstands right now. The '90 Base model now has the lift/axles/tires on it and is a blast to drive. So not really a technical question but more of an opinion... Which one do I build into the trail rig and which one a daily driver??
While the '89 sat & I conjured up ideas of building it into a complete trail rig I drove the '90 for about a year & got bored with it stock. I already put money into good 215/75/15 rubber so keeping it mild, in went the 2" BB that was in the garage. Some trail abuse gave me rocker damage so I got inchitis. In went the 4.5" lift on the D30 and D44 axles that were on the '89. Boy, I tell ya that was the quickest & easiest axle upgrade/regear, lift install, and larger tire upgrade ever installed! And boy that AW4 feels great with the 4.56 gearing, limited slip, and 33s. But the intention is to put the axles and lift back on the '89 and put a new engine in it and hack and chop it into a trail rig and keep the '90 stock for a daily driver.
Now I am confused... It almost makes more sense to have the base model Jeep as the trail rig because there is less to damage in wet conditions (found that one out the hard way) and the Laredo the stock, nicer, daily driver. But the '89 Laredo has some minor trail damage and some body and floor rust already and not to mention it sits as a shell on jackstands right now. The '90 Base model now has the lift/axles/tires on it and is a blast to drive. So not really a technical question but more of an opinion... Which one do I build into the trail rig and which one a daily driver??
