yeah, I'm going to stick with kansas. It may be annoying to live in an incredibly red state but I can do what ever I want to my jeep and no one cares! I could swap out 1 ton axles, throw in a carburated 427 with a blower and cut the body down to a tube frame and just send in my yearly payment for tags, lol.
We can do the same except we use later model engines and matching transmissions, and they run better than the old, carbureted engines, I grew up with carburetors and hated them, fuel injection is one of the greatest improvement in driveability, mileage and emission, win, win, win!
Changing drivetrains isn't the huge deal that out-of-staters make it out to be, once you understand the rules. Southern California has a big off-road scene with many shops installing different engines or high-performance upgrades, there are ways to make it legal.
I live with an within an hour of the Pacific ocean, the mountains and the desert,
none of which Kansas has. What good is a built XJ that doesn't have a mountain to climb or hundreds of miles of desert roads to blast down...just wondering?
Every state has its advantages and disadvantages, My family has lived in-state for four generations and it has worked well for us, you do need to understand how things work, pick a needed, well-paid profession and get the required education and experience.
I'm not talking just about college, a person that becomes journeyman in any of the mechanical or building trades can make a good living here, the problem is too many want desk jobs, a computer and corner office with a window.