WolverineLiving
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Michigan
Hello all, I'm new to the site and to Jeeps. I'm an old man that's too fat to crawl in and out of buggies and sxs's anymore and don't want to eat dirt and freeze my ass off getting soaked from crashing through puddles and mudding. I've four wheeled and buggied through the woods my whole life, just never in Jeeps. Most of my friends that are my age no longer off road, so I want to hang with some slightly younger friends who mostly use sxs's to offroad.
SOO...my thought was to get an XJ, lift it, suspension mod it, axle swap it and make a way for my big ass to get in and out of it. So my questions are, is there any year XJ that's a better starting platform? Does it need to be engine swapped or is leaving/modding the 4.0 viable for "spirited" use. I have a GenIII Hemi or could LS swap it if the 4.0 needs a lot of expensive modding to make decent power. I'm a welder/fabricator and have worked in the racing industry for decades so the fab work doesn't concern me, just my general lack of knowledge off roading in modded Jeeps. I have a like new Dana 60 that was taken out of a brand new D series Dodge truck. I know the high pinion Fords seem to be the desired front axle, just wondering if using the Dana I have for the rear makes sense or am I better off selling it and getting something else?
Sorry for the novel guys, and I know some of these questions are subjective, I just don't want to do things twice and waste a lot of money buying the wrong stuff. Thanks in advance :cheers:
SOO...my thought was to get an XJ, lift it, suspension mod it, axle swap it and make a way for my big ass to get in and out of it. So my questions are, is there any year XJ that's a better starting platform? Does it need to be engine swapped or is leaving/modding the 4.0 viable for "spirited" use. I have a GenIII Hemi or could LS swap it if the 4.0 needs a lot of expensive modding to make decent power. I'm a welder/fabricator and have worked in the racing industry for decades so the fab work doesn't concern me, just my general lack of knowledge off roading in modded Jeeps. I have a like new Dana 60 that was taken out of a brand new D series Dodge truck. I know the high pinion Fords seem to be the desired front axle, just wondering if using the Dana I have for the rear makes sense or am I better off selling it and getting something else?
Sorry for the novel guys, and I know some of these questions are subjective, I just don't want to do things twice and waste a lot of money buying the wrong stuff. Thanks in advance :cheers:
