finally picked her up

well i finally had a chance to pick up my XJ... feels real good to have another project to work on... i got a couple more pics for you guys.... im not too sure if the body will work as a serious off-road vehicle since its been modified to run the jeep speed events...

im considering just cutting everything off and getting it down to just the caje and frame.. then just adding some sheet metal around the cage...

what do you guys think?









-Raul

I think you've got one hell of a project ahead of you.

man that would make one hell of a fun weekend toy. all you need is suspension and drivetrain. i say fix it up dont strip it! it would be even more bonus if you got it back to being street legal. looks like a good start and i would have picked it up too if i had the dough. that cage looks crazy strong! not really what you want for a rock crawler tho. that cage is set up to take high speed impacts. way overkill for crawling.

GrimmJeeper said:

man that would make one hell of a fun weekend toy. all you need is suspension and drivetrain. i say fix it up dont strip it! it would be even more bonus if you got it back to being street legal. looks like a good start and i would have picked it up too if i had the dough. that cage looks crazy strong! not really what you want for a rock crawler tho. that cage is set up to take high speed impacts. way overkill for crawling.

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thanks bud... this cage is def crazy strong... he picked it up with a fork lift from the rear where the spare tires go and was able to lift the whole thing up in the air and it didnt even bend at all....

i got it for under 500 bucks i know their is way more time and money just in the cage than what i paid for it..... right now its a green sticker vehicle so in order to get it back street legal is gonna take a lot of money.. plus its only a 2 seater i was hoping to be able to make a 4 seater off-road rig but i would have to start cutting a lot of tubing to get 2 more seats in the rear...

oh and i picked up a transfer case from a f-350 that im gonna put in their too... that should be beefy enough to handle what im planing on putting in

nice! well sounds like you know what you're getting into, keep us updated on the build and take lots of pics! let us know when you need help.

:cheers:

GrimmJeeper said:

nice! well sounds like you know what you're getting into, keep us updated on the build and take lots of pics! let us know when you need help.

:cheers:

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thanks bud... yes i def know how much time and $$$ its gonna take... its gonna be a slow build right now because of funds.. but slowly it will get their... ill be working on my brothers CJ as well... were doing a frame off restoration and stretching the frame and body...

ill def take plenty of pics and will def let you guys know when ill be working on it just in cause you guys wanna come have a mod day

-Raul

well I dont know what you all are seeing, But in MY honest opinion. I wold not have wasted the gas to get that shell to my house. Not to mention the cost to actually make it drivable.

The cage was not done very well at all. Not to mention the amount of clean up and stripping alone! The engine area was really a hack job. Sell it quick. Go spend the 1000$ for a running all stock xj and then cage it for less then 1000$. you will really be ahead of what this thing will ever do for you.

Just my .02, but maybe it just needs to be said and maybe your eyes opened a little bit? If this offends ya, sorry, but honestly, take a look at what you have for 500$ And NO that cage is not worth 500$ alone! its not even square and fit in the front right. And the inner fender well removale and that weak designed engine area replacment for the inner fender wells are scary!

but if you keep it, have fun it really will mean alot to ya if you even finish it! all the $$$ and sweat and time...

Im with Robert on this one...

That thing is junk. Scrap it and use the money to buy a stock running Jeep and save yourself a headache.

Cherokees are a dime a dozen. Theres no need to take a rusted piece of crap back from the dead when its something like a cherokee.

ROBERTK said:

well I dont know what you all are seeing, But in MY honest opinion. I wold not have wasted the gas to get that shell to my house. Not to mention the cost to actually make it drivable.

The cage was not done very well at all. Not to mention the amount of clean up and stripping alone! The engine area was really a hack job. Sell it quick. Go spend the 1000$ for a running all stock xj and then cage it for less then 1000$. you will really be ahead of what this thing will ever do for you.

Just my .02, but maybe it just needs to be said and maybe your eyes opened a little bit? If this offends ya, sorry, but honestly, take a look at what you have for 500$ And NO that cage is not worth 500$ alone! its not even square and fit in the front right. And the inner fender well removale and that weak designed engine area replacment for the inner fender wells are scary!

but if you keep it, have fun it really will mean alot to ya if you even finish it! all the $$$ and sweat and time...

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not offended at all bud... everone is entitled to their opinions...

i traded parts for it... so retail it would of been 400 but i paid far less than that for it....

the cage has only surface rust.. nothing a light sanding and some POR 15 can take care of....

ill be guting the body so its going to go down just to the cage and frame only.... it will give me a better start to do anything i want with it....
i def like a challenge so its just to keep me busy....

ill post other pics once its guted and cleaned up....

-Raul

It's a good solid foundation IMO. I wouldn't worry about making it "bling". You don't need to drive it on the street. Stick to the plan, we'll have it wheelin' by next summer.


Don't mind the haters, I remember back in the day when everyone said 38.5's would never fit on a ZJ with 4.5" coils.


We'll make it happen. Doesn't have to be SEMA, just has to work. :anon:

White1998XJ said:

...I remember back in the day when everyone said 38.5's would never fit on a ZJ with 4.5" coils.

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Yeah and im sure your D35 loves you for that. .!..!.

swbooking said:

Yeah and im sure your D35 loves you for that. .!..!.

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The alloy 31 spline 9" shafts lasted about an hour....D35 died with 33's :roflmao:

Just take a piece of paper (given it can be a Very small one at that) adn pen out to the shell you have there. And write down all that is Usable without replacement on it.

Then ask yourself is this really worth it? now a days you can get a complete XJ for about 700 that needs maybe 1000$ worth of repairs. then a cage and cut off what you dont want.

Rather then having to replace 90% of whats actually still on that thing you got there and then having to buy so many small things that it doesnt even have, not to mention every nut and bolt for something like that will be over 200-300$ if you get hardware other then crap. Then what can you really still put on that, that is stock fitment? Dash? Gauges? Any wiring at all? good luck there, and what about radiator, front susp. etc... Just way too much needed for something like that, when you can get a complete ready to setup with about 75% less$ I would think, start up vehicle.

Yeah the cage can have only surface rust, but what about the attachment to the sheet metal that has been welded to and not protected and left to sit in a field and rust and all that, for how long? IF, IF that was a JS rig then it was So long ago (look at the tubing and the design) that its been rotting since.... Why was it not finished or dismantled to start with? owner though it was a POS, maybe?

Good luck and be ready for a overly long build and overly expensive project.

Bring it to Big Bear, that way the ladies can use it for a uhm "private lavatory"......

lol you guys have no faith money is not an issue... it will take a lil longer to build but who cares.... i love working on them almost as much as i like whealing... its gonna look like a rock crawler buggy with the front end of a XJ... trust me its gonna look bad ass when its done and perform very well...

ill start cutting off the body in 2 weeks and getting it ready for either POR 15 or linex....

swbooking said:

Im with Robert on this one...

That thing is junk. Scrap it and use the money to buy a stock running Jeep and save yourself a headache.

Cherokees are a dime a dozen. Theres no need to take a rusted piece of crap back from the dead when its something like a cherokee.

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x3, my first thoughts were "WTF IS THAT?" and then second thoughts were "IS THIS A JOKE?"

But I guess he's serious.


Not trying to be a hater. Good luck. Post up some progress pics.

With my help, I think Raul has a chance. Hopefully :gee:

I just re-read all this. I don't think most of you understand, this isn't a XJ. Its a bunch of tube. It's not going to have a 4.0, or a aw4, it's going to have a 5.0, a C6, and more then likely a D300 (if I have my way). It's not going to have a exploder rear axle, it'll have a 14 bolt or a 70. It'll have a big ole 60 up front.

Going and picking up a 700$ cherokee would be a bigger waste of time and money. We'd rip it down to nothing, then cut half of whats left off. We might as well start with that.

No leafs, no coils. No "bolt on" kits. Just a few guys, alot of free time, and alot of beer.

White1998XJ said:

Just a few guys, alot of free time, and alot of beer.

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the funnest projects always start that way

GrimmJeeper said:

the funnest projects always start that way

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Square tube links, angle iron cages....that's what i'm talking about