Beginning of 1993 Cheromanche build

[dave92cherokee]

As she sits now, hopefully with the long weekend coming up I'll be able to get the pass side frame rail welded together. Then have to finish cutting out the floor and the rust/rot on the pass side of the XJ. I've got to fly out of town again next week for work so it'll be another week of not getting anything done to it. If I could just stay home for a while I could prolly have it almost done in about a month of just working on the weekend's by myself.

[kastein]

How are you splicing the two frames? I hope frame stiffeners and/or fish plates are involved!

Also, just curious, how did you choose the length of the rear door opening? Personally I'd set it up very carefully to use as many OEM parts (glass, etc) from the stock rear doors as possible.

[whatever]

i think it would be kinda cool (at least without seein a finished product) if the rear doors were like the old lincoln continental style (suicide). hinge the trailing edge of the rear door and throw a nader on the back side of the b-pillar....only thing is i dont think it would really work to well given the angle of the rear of the door opening of the mj.
i can see it all in my head but pretty sure the hinge setup for the rear door would be a deal breaker...just a thought, not really sure id like it

[bjoehandley]

Never mind

[joe_peters]

You have the skills, do suicide doors in the rear.

[Zuul99]

Like your Crew Cab MJ, might want to look for Dodge truck parts your suspension components. But looks great so far, i Think a Scuderia Ferrari red would look nice if you want a new colour.

[dave92cherokee]

As for color I'm thinking of going with an indigo blue since I used to have an S10 that color and it looked real nice in the sun. Was thinking about doing rear suicide doors so it's like the old kissing door lincoln's but with the back of the rear doors shaped like this ) it would be pretty hard to find a hinge that would allow it to open properly. If the doors were straight up and down shaped like a rectangle then it'd be alot easier. I decided on the length for the doors based off the front doors, the front doors measure about 33" and wanted to provide a little leg room in the back since regular XJ's were never truly designed for rear seat comfort. Don't worry kastein the frame's getting plenty of reinforcement now and will have more added after it's all finished in the form of stiffeners like brianho does. Will end up using 3"x2" angle to plate the side and bottom of the frame rails. Also for the rear doors I wanted to run a bigger window so I'll either find the glass from front 2DR XJ or cut some 1/4" lexan to make a good sized window.

[beraad44]

Looks like its going good! Let me know if you need a hand anytime and Ill swing by.

[kastein]

Originally Posted by dave92cherokee

Don't worry kastein the frame's getting plenty of reinforcement now and will have more added after it's all finished in the form of stiffeners like brianho does. Will end up using 3"x2" angle to plate the side and bottom of the frame rails. Also for the rear doors I wanted to run a bigger window so I'll either find the glass from front 2DR XJ or cut some 1/4" lexan to make a good sized window.

Awesome hope this project comes out well.

I'd stick with glass personally - lexan scratches and scuffs and won't look the same. If I was doing this I would make the doors basically out of most of a stock rear door, splice on the back of a front door with the cuts and splices going through the fixed window, and get custom glass cut (possibly from a stock front or rear movable window, since it has the right curve in it already and is larger than required) to fit the new lines - since the back edge of the rear doors and the back edge of the front doors are at different angles, the stock rear door fixed glass wouldn't fit. This way you'd keep all the pillar lines and widths "right looking" and keep as much stock glass as possible, with custom glass costing as little as possible.

EDIT: I'd also build the rear doors first, then use them to make sure the body splicing aligns properly.

[shelbyluvv]

I have been tossing around the idea of using the rear 1/4 glass out of a 4 door XJ. Not sure if it will fit or not. But, it looks like it may have all the right curves and angles.

I am doing my rear doors first. Once I get the window sorted out I will then move on to the cab. I "think" I have figured out a way to keep from having to bob my bed and still have 4 doors.

[dave92cherokee]

Unfortunately the rear windows won't work as they're shaped like a parallelogram so it would prevent the window from rolling down. Plus the regular windows in the xj/mj have that tab on the bottom that the bolt goes through and attaches to the controls to go up and down instead of in a channel like other typical vehicles. Best option would be what I'm thinking of and getting the glass from a 2dr model as the glass is almost 10" wider than the 4dr fronts. The 4dr front glass is about 18" and i've seen on here that the 2dr is just over 26".

[shelbyluvv]

I will have to take a better look at it this Sunday when I get my donor rig set into place, stripped, and cut apart.

I am planning on using 2 door glass either way. I will be extending the rear of the frame 4", dropping a SWB bed on my LWB frame, and flipping the rear leafs around. This will stretch my wheel base 10" and "should" allow me to retain the stock frame and 6' bed. I will then stretch my cab about 28-30 inches without cutting the uni-frame in half.

[FlexdXJ]

What's the plan for lift/tires? I think its gonna need a massive set of meats to look right. I can't wait to see this thing done.

[dave92cherokee]

It's going to be a street only DD rig so it'll be lowered a couple of inches past stock with some 20's and 255/45/20 tires, stiffer suspension, 4.10 gears, and someday down the road a 4.7 stroker.

[John D]

Originally Posted by dave92cherokee

...and someday down the road a 4.7 stroker.

Go V8, you'll be happier...