TAZMATIC
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- St. Charles Mo
Hello all!
I'm new to this forum but not to Jeeps.
At my wonderful wife's request I bought a 1988 MJ. It's a base truck, 4x4, short bed with the 4.0 and an automatic. Dana 30 front and 35 rear.
She informed me that she wants a "new old truck." I've been doing searches and lurking around this forum since December when we brought the MJ home. We have His and Hers 03 Rubicons on 36" Iroks as our main trail rigs. We want the MJ for daily driving, use as a light truck, and for the cool factor of having something not everyone has.
I'm in the process of swapping the interior from a 1988 XJ Lorado. I'm swapping out the idiot lights to gauges, the bench seat to buckets, the column shifter to the floor and adding a center counsole. I'm also looking at swapping the doors for the power windows and door locks.
I'm happy with the interior progress and have done the mechanical work to make it dependable. The new 4" long arm is going on tomorrow and will take care of some worn suspension issues.
Moving on to the outside of the truck is where I have a couple of questions. The truck is pretty solid with what seems to be a normal amount of rust. I'm looking at replacing the front fenders, hood, cracked headlight buckets, and possibly the doors. The bed is solid and I have a small hole in the floor pan.
Can I change the front to the 97+ style front end? Will the body lines match and newer style parts bolt on? What problems can I expect if I change to newer doors? We can't decide if we even want to go with the newer look. I'm just wondering if it is even an option.
I'll also be trimming the fenders for bigger meats prior to the paint and body work. With both rubys lifted 6", I'm trying to keep the COG a little lower on the MJ. Our 15 year old son is already talking about the MJ being "his" when he is ready to drive. (He and his Mom can fight it out. I lost my battle with her and had to get the second ruby)
What size tires can I run with a 4" lift and cutting? Can I buy a full floor pan replacement? Our local dealer only shows a floor pan replacement back to 97. Will a floor pan from a 97 XJ weld in?
Sorry for the long first post and all the questions. The faster I get things done, the faster she wants it done. I've learned a bunch reading this forum and I hope you can help with the rest of our "new old truck" project.
Thanks for any impute!
Tim
I'm new to this forum but not to Jeeps.
At my wonderful wife's request I bought a 1988 MJ. It's a base truck, 4x4, short bed with the 4.0 and an automatic. Dana 30 front and 35 rear.
She informed me that she wants a "new old truck." I've been doing searches and lurking around this forum since December when we brought the MJ home. We have His and Hers 03 Rubicons on 36" Iroks as our main trail rigs. We want the MJ for daily driving, use as a light truck, and for the cool factor of having something not everyone has.
I'm in the process of swapping the interior from a 1988 XJ Lorado. I'm swapping out the idiot lights to gauges, the bench seat to buckets, the column shifter to the floor and adding a center counsole. I'm also looking at swapping the doors for the power windows and door locks.
I'm happy with the interior progress and have done the mechanical work to make it dependable. The new 4" long arm is going on tomorrow and will take care of some worn suspension issues.
Moving on to the outside of the truck is where I have a couple of questions. The truck is pretty solid with what seems to be a normal amount of rust. I'm looking at replacing the front fenders, hood, cracked headlight buckets, and possibly the doors. The bed is solid and I have a small hole in the floor pan.
Can I change the front to the 97+ style front end? Will the body lines match and newer style parts bolt on? What problems can I expect if I change to newer doors? We can't decide if we even want to go with the newer look. I'm just wondering if it is even an option.
I'll also be trimming the fenders for bigger meats prior to the paint and body work. With both rubys lifted 6", I'm trying to keep the COG a little lower on the MJ. Our 15 year old son is already talking about the MJ being "his" when he is ready to drive. (He and his Mom can fight it out. I lost my battle with her and had to get the second ruby)
What size tires can I run with a 4" lift and cutting? Can I buy a full floor pan replacement? Our local dealer only shows a floor pan replacement back to 97. Will a floor pan from a 97 XJ weld in?
Sorry for the long first post and all the questions. The faster I get things done, the faster she wants it done. I've learned a bunch reading this forum and I hope you can help with the rest of our "new old truck" project.
Thanks for any impute!
Tim