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BUILD - 1990 XJ Wagoneer Limited

That stuff looks like Lizard Skin stuff that I have read about.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...MIwejvpISK4AIVAz0MCh3E_wuvEAQYAiABEgKcSPD_BwE

Way more work then had intended to do.




Lately I've been eyeing this product. Have heard a lot of positive stuff about it. Order as many compact rolls as you think you need with some water proofing to boot.



https://soundskinsglobal.com/


I believe we'll have the Waggy back from the shop relatively soon, so it'll be time to start on all that stuff.
 
The plan so far for the interior is - in the scarcity of the original ribbed type cloth inserts for the seats and door panels - to recover/redo those with a plaid pattern of some kind.



We found a ton of swatches/cloth online, but our favorites so far have been from The Scotland Shop
https://www.scotlandshop.com/tartan/upholstery


The fabric - if you pick the polyviscose variety for car upholstery - is thick and heavy and I think will hold up well.



Of the below we're torn. We were learning towards the top swatch in the first picture, but it may end up being tan overkill. We may need to go more blue to offset the upcoming color of the Waggy. We just need to unload the interior out of my little wagon (whoops, only been a few weeks) and compare by eye.


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We're definitely not far from painting at this point. The WW has had some downtime as the resto shop has had some other projects come in, which is fine. We're not in a rush and honestly being flexible has helped save us a lot of money. It also has given me time to do what I can on it while it's there and as time allows - like removing the interior, etc.



Every little bit helps. The big dent in the roof has been fixed - where something apparently fell on it - and much of the hail damage on the roof has been mitigated. Lots of new parts in - new weatherstripping from http://www.teamcherokee.com, and assorted parts from eBay.


Still on the hunt for a front grill as the current one has some broken slats. I may end up just epoxying them and cleaning it.


Part of the Waggy has been primered now, and a preliminary spray of the new color are below! Painting and the passenger floor are all that's left at the shop, then the WW will return to our garage/driveway. Moving along, moving along.


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P.S. - Forum newb apparently.



Can anyone enlighten me as to what I'm doing wrong with picture linking here? I have Imgur set to auto resize images to 640x480, yet my images are still linking as huge. I'm linking using the insert image tool in the forums here.


It's very annoying to me. I'm sure it's annoying to anyone reading as well.
 
This thread is awesome. About your interior, I've seen a lot of people try the plaid pattern and it always comes out looking a bit off.

I would take a look at houndstooth cloth. The pattern makes for some beautiful interiors that I think could work extremely well to the XJ.

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I am happy to see the progress you are making on this.

Kudos to you for rescuing this one.
 
I am happy to see the progress you are making on this.

Kudos to you for rescuing this one.

It's a labor of love, that's for sure, and thank you! I always loved these things. I was more interested in the GW (and still want one for my non-existent, but officially started now jeep-hoard), but this one was a right place right time sort of deal. Parts are tough to find though. Tougher than for a GW I'm finding.

It's been at the body shop since November, which has been really good for us. Not being in a rush, and getting to do a lot of the work ourselves (like prep stuff) has been a good learning experience, and has saved us a LOT of what would've been a really big bill. It's still a big bill, but not what it was.

The other side should be painted this week, and the floorpan will likely be replaced before or right after. After that, it comes home and I start picking through it.

I need to figure out where the heck to begin. There's a big part of me that just wants to start rebuilding the whole thing, wiring and all. It's still a huge project, but definitely snatched from the jaws of death.

I'm really happy to have found this community. Up until this point I've always been a Wrangler guy. Had a 1990, and have a 2013 now. Had a 2000 XJ and 2004 WJ for work purposes, but those are long gone now. But just goes to show you, Jeeps are in the blood I suppose. Doesn't matter what kind. Why else would someone (or many someones) spend this kind of time and money on an old pile like this, LOL.
 
Some paint progress pictures! The roof is all straightened out now, hail damage removed. Passenger side is painted now. Is it wrong to kind of dig the white top and hood with the blue?


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Hey there!

Not yet. It's far from over, LOL. It's just been on the shelf for a bit with current events. I guess the Waggy has been quarantined along with everyone else.

The current status is that it's painted now. We have the wood appliqué/trim for the sides, but it's not on yet.

I sent off the border trim for the appliqué on the sides to be re-wrapped - hopefully that will be back by the end of this month. Once we have that, we can put the thing back together and bring it home from the body shop.

I reached out to a local upholstery shop to get a quote on doing the fabric inserts on the seats, the headliner, and the cloth parts of the door panels. Since the interior of the Waggy is out of it, I could just leave everything with them. Might as well while no one is driving it.

Once it's home - the agenda turns to putting it back together. I need to find a few trim pieces (but man I can barely remember now without seeing it), decide on interior carpet since we threw the old nasty carpet out (and it was NASTY).

Before carpet I'll probably POR15 the interior for good measure, then apply sound deadener. I'm considering trying to have the undercarriage blasted and coated, but I'm not sure. This isn't a frame-off resto at this time, so I'm not sure if it's worth it.

I suppose I should decide if I want to tackle redoing ALL the wiring in it while it's apart. The wires appear to be in good shape still, but they're also 30 years old. I don't like the idea of it.

Beyond that it'll be mechanical concerns. Still a long road to go.
 
FWIW, I think AMC did a much better job with wiring than did Chrysler.

I say this based on my experience with the wiring for the fan switch for the HVAC system. The 4 prong connector in the dash always seems to be melted down on the H.O. XJs, but I can consistently find them in good condition in Renix XJs.

IOW, I would be slow to ascribe Chrysler's faults to AMC. Have good reasons before you tear into that wiring.
 
I'd probably just inspect the wiring real well for damage, and maybe pop apart connectors that get wet or carry current to clean and inspect. The fusebox and connector behind it for example. A headlight relay harness is always a good idea. Go through the cruiser54.com site and follow all the steps on the grounds, etc.


Then again is was AMC that did that problematic C101 connector and the headlight wiring and switch that likes to meltdown.
 
A headlight relay harness is always a good idea.

Most definitely do a relay harness for the headlights - your headlight switch will thank you, and you'll get much better light output from the bulbs.

While a relay harness for this is not "stock", it should have been.
 
Wow its cool you are redoing that wagoneer. I have a 89 and a 90 that I hope to make one good one out of, also taking the more damaged front clip off and putting it on my 2000 Trail Jeep.

One thing I found strange is that he did not remove the rear glass, or the front fenders for paint. My 1990 is dark blue, but rusted beyond repair, but has a good engine and fuel system. The 1989 has a nice body but a bad knock. Sometimes things work out!
 
Most definitely do a relay harness for the headlights - your headlight switch will thank you, and you'll get much better light output from the bulbs.

While a relay harness for this is not "stock", it should have been.

Thank you for that advice. I'll research it. I'm generally a dummy with wiring unless it's run-and-connect, LOL, but I think I can figure a relay out.

Brighter headlights will be nice. When we were first running it around we got into the dark here and there. After being used to modern era headlights the Waggy's left a bit to be desired. If I can find LEDs that won't change the look I'll go with those. I know LEDs become a slippery slope very fast on an older car.

More than likely it'll come down to improving the existing hardware, though.
 
You can get housings that have better beam patterns and take modern bulbs and won't change the look.
 
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