burntkat
NAXJA Member #1145
- Location
- Charleston, SC
I bought this 90 XJ as a basket case back in 2002. Paid $600 for it, with a hole in the motor. Filthy interior, mudstains on the door panels, and it had "never been wheeled". Yeah, sure... the dude was a liar, to say the least.
Swapped in a junkyard pull motor ($300) and drove it to work for a couple years. Along the way I did a bastard pack lift with S10 leaves comingled with the factory leafs. There's a thread on here somewhere, early in my history. Made some 3" spacers out of washers and iron pipe and drove it like that. To say it rode poorly is an understatement- but it cleared a set of 33's after judicious fender trimming.
Upgraded the lift to Clayton longarms, RE 6" coils, and an AAL in the rear. So now it rode worse out back and great up front. Basically it upgraded to "bucking bronco". The welds I laid down weren't the best but were far from the worst. There's a lot I've learned between then and now.
The engine developed a knock in 2009 due to fuel wash from the oversize injectors I installed (stupid on my part.. as I said, I've learned a few things). Parked it and it's sat there for 9 years.
I got involved in motorcycles and doing a SAS build on my S10 in the interim. My son has grown up and is now 17- we got him a 97 XJ around the corner from a neighbor, for $900. "Never been wheeled" he said. "Very well maintained" he said. Another liar...
Spent a great deal of time installing new suspension on it, owing to seized and sheered fasteners. It's now at 4" with new springs and shocks, ACOS, on and on... I'd forgotten how nice an XJ can be. This rekindled my interest in my decaying 90.
That truck is now covered with pine sap, crud, and full of squirrel turds. There's a few injector wires that have been chewed. I HATE tree rats.
It's also full of the following, awaiting install:
-RE 4.5" coils
-JKS ACOS
-JKS BPEs
-JKS shock stud converters
-RE 5.5" rear leafs
It needs:
-tires- I'll probably stick with 33s. Most likely Treadwrights
-shocks- I have Rancho adjustables, will probably go to Doetsch Tech
-wheels- my dog as been peeing on them (do NOT get me started). So the powdercoat lifted. I'm going to make treasure out of trash, though- blast them, weld on beadlocks, then paint them with Durabak. Ignoring that that dog is about to pass on (and yes, I'll miss him- he's stupid, but lovable), I won't have an issue with corrosion on these wheels again.
-Paint. Well, durabak actually. The entire outside will be rolled with Durabak smooth, and the lower panels will be Durabak'd with the rough stuff. Still trying to decide on the colors. There's a slight chance of my using the Monstaliner, but I really would prefer a smooth coating. I may go with a white roof, as I've always liked the look.
I may have to replace the engine. I think I might be able to get away with dropping the oil (it smells of fuel, so I know that's what caused the noise). It only makes noise at hot, high RPMs. There's surely some damage, but I think I just may be able to limp on it for a while.
Eventually I want to put a smallblock V8 in it.
I will provide pics in the future. Right now it's sitting in my back yard, so I am working on getting it cribbed up on 4X4 lumber so I can work safely under it. It needs to be pressure washed and defunkified where the critters have gotten into it.
Swapped in a junkyard pull motor ($300) and drove it to work for a couple years. Along the way I did a bastard pack lift with S10 leaves comingled with the factory leafs. There's a thread on here somewhere, early in my history. Made some 3" spacers out of washers and iron pipe and drove it like that. To say it rode poorly is an understatement- but it cleared a set of 33's after judicious fender trimming.
Upgraded the lift to Clayton longarms, RE 6" coils, and an AAL in the rear. So now it rode worse out back and great up front. Basically it upgraded to "bucking bronco". The welds I laid down weren't the best but were far from the worst. There's a lot I've learned between then and now.
The engine developed a knock in 2009 due to fuel wash from the oversize injectors I installed (stupid on my part.. as I said, I've learned a few things). Parked it and it's sat there for 9 years.
I got involved in motorcycles and doing a SAS build on my S10 in the interim. My son has grown up and is now 17- we got him a 97 XJ around the corner from a neighbor, for $900. "Never been wheeled" he said. "Very well maintained" he said. Another liar...
Spent a great deal of time installing new suspension on it, owing to seized and sheered fasteners. It's now at 4" with new springs and shocks, ACOS, on and on... I'd forgotten how nice an XJ can be. This rekindled my interest in my decaying 90.
That truck is now covered with pine sap, crud, and full of squirrel turds. There's a few injector wires that have been chewed. I HATE tree rats.
It's also full of the following, awaiting install:
-RE 4.5" coils
-JKS ACOS
-JKS BPEs
-JKS shock stud converters
-RE 5.5" rear leafs
It needs:
-tires- I'll probably stick with 33s. Most likely Treadwrights
-shocks- I have Rancho adjustables, will probably go to Doetsch Tech
-wheels- my dog as been peeing on them (do NOT get me started). So the powdercoat lifted. I'm going to make treasure out of trash, though- blast them, weld on beadlocks, then paint them with Durabak. Ignoring that that dog is about to pass on (and yes, I'll miss him- he's stupid, but lovable), I won't have an issue with corrosion on these wheels again.
-Paint. Well, durabak actually. The entire outside will be rolled with Durabak smooth, and the lower panels will be Durabak'd with the rough stuff. Still trying to decide on the colors. There's a slight chance of my using the Monstaliner, but I really would prefer a smooth coating. I may go with a white roof, as I've always liked the look.
I may have to replace the engine. I think I might be able to get away with dropping the oil (it smells of fuel, so I know that's what caused the noise). It only makes noise at hot, high RPMs. There's surely some damage, but I think I just may be able to limp on it for a while.
Eventually I want to put a smallblock V8 in it.
I will provide pics in the future. Right now it's sitting in my back yard, so I am working on getting it cribbed up on 4X4 lumber so I can work safely under it. It needs to be pressure washed and defunkified where the critters have gotten into it.
