Rattle-can paint job.

[cracker]

best XJ battery tray I have come across.....

http://www.dirtboundoffroad.com/optima-34-78-bolt-in-battery-tray-jeep-cherokee-xj.html

handles the JV do fast with ease and does not have a metal bar over the top of the battery which can short out under awkward circumstances.

Works only with the 34/78 Optima battery in either a yellow or Red top.

 

[shelbyluvv]

Pretty sure that's the same thing I use on my rock rails/rear bumper

image by mikedashg, on Flickr

This Jeep is what started my X/MJ addiction. I saw the Calico video way back in 2003 and this litte (at the time) XJ was doing things I never thought was possible in a vehicle. It is still my all time favorite XJ out there.

 

[mikedashg]

This Jeep is what started my X/MJ addiction. I saw the Calico video way back in 2003 and this litte (at the time) XJ was doing things I never thought was possible in a vehicle. It is still my all time favorite XJ out there.

Who me? My Jeep? That's quite a compliment.

Yeah around that time it was little because I was just finishing up college and didn't have the budget for the bigger mods. I was also daily driving it at the time. I didn't let that stop me from playing on the bigger trails. Did a couple of the hammers at JV on 32s and one locker for years. Drove to the trail, did lower big johnson, after shock, clawhammer, tack. Drove back. Went to school and work the next day in it. I also didn't want to go big and not have the drivetrain to back it up. So I didn't put in a front locker until I had enough saved up for alloy shafts/full circle clips. Some people say having to do the harder trails, and not jumping into bigger mods that are usually required for it, has helped me come a better driver. Vs just going big and lockers right away. Bigger tires and lockers don't make up for not knowing where to put your tires. You just end up getting stuck farther or worse. The pay off of having to work for it as I did, was seeing the faces of the buggy guys who were getting stuck, as I just drove through it with one hand not slipping a tire. When asked how I did that in a full body rig on "only 35s." I just said "it's easy when you've done it before on 32's and an open front diff."

 

[Skwerly]

I’m sitting here nodding, smiling.

My Jeep didn’t have any of the tricks some others had and yet I slid over obstacles with ease, every time. When asked how, my response was much the same, as I cut my teeth driving those same trails in a bone stock ¾ ton Chevy with a real weak small block and the flex of a steel roller skate. You get a guy like that into a Cherokee and yer gonna see some radical driving.

And that is why I get almost sad when I see someone’s first rig is a built-to-the-hilt thing, locked and loaded with RE everything and tricks up the wazoo. Will that cat ever drive as well as I do, or is the vehicle doing the heavy lifting?

A good point for discussion, methinks.

 

[mikedashg]

…
first pass, I dont have any final pics yet but it looks better then this, which aint too bad, it's not a show vehicle.

Body work Jeep by mikedashg, on Flickr

Got some final pics of the silver rattle can bumper and semi-flat rattle can hatch.

image by mikedashg, on Flickr


My axle tubes and shackles are in that silver too, hehe

image by mikedashg, on Flickr


This is what the hatch looked like when I got. Prior owner started painting it in desert tan

Jeep body work by mikedashg, on Flickr

 

[peterjford]

Fixed it for ya.

This is what the hatch looked like when I got. Prior owner started painting it in desert tan and was told by his wife to stop wasting time painting parts that weren't on the Jeep yet.

Jeep body work by mikedashg, on Flickr

 

[mikedashg]

Fixed it for ya.

Thanks Peter! And thanks again for the hatch!

I videoed the removal of my old cracked and stuck one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG4vHZAbWD4

 

[splatvonzipper]

Thanks Peter! And thanks again for the hatch!

I videoed the removal of my old cracked and stuck one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG4vHZAbWD4

Hahaha. Nice "persuasion" you used there. :cheers:

 

[GrimmJeeper]

NICE haha, that's one way to free up the latch... now you can lube it properly

 

[mikedashg]

Hehe, yeah. My drawer system prevented me from freeing up the stuck latch from the inside. Plus as you can see it was already cracked a bit anyway on the driver's side by the glass.

 

[Kevin3151]

I miss my beat to hell jeep