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I'm looking hard for a Xj that hasn't been wheeled for my first trail toy/DD
I'll be a mall crawler on stock height - susp. - tires --> everything until I have rocker guards, a fuel tank skid, a T case Skid, a pseudo-frame sleeving with 3/8 in plate or 1/4 in. not sure which... as well as a front Rigid winch bumper with the steering box brace and a rear bumper with good mounts and recovery points... then throw in some JKS Quicker discos so I can start wheeling open.
Then an HP D44 for the front and an XJ D44 for the rear.. diff protection for both ends..
Aussie Lock the rear, leave the front open.
Do a proper SYE on the T case with a rebuild kit if need be
and Then..... only after that's all done.... 5" lift with the TNT customs drop frame and a full leaf pack for a 5" lift (not sure what combo but I'd like to avoid using shackles or blocks). Then 33s on 10.25 wide wheels. adj trackbar.. gotta find some wheels in a strong 6 or 7 spoke... polished.... not chrome... and not too flashy..
Done!!!!
Beyond that it's a little too far off to say... I don't even own it yet..
I like the look of some of the high steer setups.. And some of the replacement Taillights that use LEDs are pretty darn cool too...
I saw some build up pics of a guy who did it with 1/4"
I think it could have been Ashman.... Which would make sense because his XJ is chopped up pretty good. My memory could be failing me though...
Seemed a little excessive for my application... especially for something I'll be driving daily..
However I'd like to flex out and crawl the rocks out here a bit and I don't want my weekend activities bending the uni-body into a pretzel.
I have a close friend who does Custom 4X4 suspensions and Exo cages... etc... a bit of a freelance business... I'll be having him help me with any fabrication, and if all else on the truck is working fine when I pick it up I'd like to make this my FIRST project.... Buy some steel to make the frame sleeves..
Also if possible at the same time cut out the rockers and install square tubing in the resulting cavity, and attach some rock rail sliders... I have a procedure for it here somewhere... it' looked like the best setup if you want maximum clearance while still being strong enough to highcenter it on the rocks without bending the hell out of the rocker...
You need to figure out how bad you got "the bug". All it took me years ago was to go on a trail and have to winch once and I thought, "I'm not coming back until I have something that will walk through here and run the worst stuff around". Now a lot of people never get it that bad, they are content with mild trail riding and beating around pavement( wich is cool if that's your thing) it just wasn't me. When I get into a hobby I tend to really GET IN TO IT. After dumping countless thousand in an XJ going from 3" to 5.5" to 8" to 12"(wich is just too damn tall) and throwing money at 31's, 33's, 35's, 36's, 38's.Then throwing cash at a d30, then a d44, then a 60...And constantly not being satisfied with the size and weight of what I had ended up with, but not wanting to go the full buggy route (I'm 35 and like a roof,doors,interior, heat and a/c). I decided to go the MJ Truggy route, got a rust free 88' with factory a/c and started hacking it up. I used a lot of parts from my XJ , but from scratch I could have build it with the hp60/tube back/ 1/4 elip./ 4 link/long arms/stroker/9"/nice seats/38.5s/beedlocks/etc.. for about $7000 doing the work myself. I only had $300 in the MJ when I bought it and it ran (sold the drivetrain out of it for $500). $7000 may sound like a lot, but I bet I had 2 or 3 times that in my XJ before I got it the way I wanted it.
The moral to this story is , if you have the bug bad, build it as much as your budget will allow the first time around. Then again, you may want to do mild trail riding and some daily driving (wich I still do in the MJ) and there is no need to build to the extreme. One word of advice, unless you can paint or have buddies who will for free and you intend on riding trail that body damage will happen...never paint the biotch....whatever you decide good luck...Greg
After painting the VW I did up last... and seeing the paint deteriorate with daily driving after less than a year......
I'll never pay to paint a project better than a single color coat no clear... ala maaco style...
And probably rattle can rustoleum on whatever XJ I get...
I have alot of can control practice to the point if it's still and warm outside I can easily do whole panels... on the car without so much as one drip...
and if you prep it by pulling your trim, sanding, and taping everything off really good you can have a pretty pro looking flat paintjob...
I'd advise against using anything in Gloss as they tend to run pretty bad unless you do a million skim coats...
If I had to do it all over again there would only be three things I would change.
I would start with something that had the HO moter in it.
I would not have cut the pinchwelds out of my rear fenders.
and I would do something different then the tomkin long arm set up(even though it has worked great and never let me down.)
I would buy a Civic and spend the rest on weights and steroids.
When you can 'bench' 465 lbs and 'squat' a Country Squire, then you can talk to me.
:roflmao:
1. Skip the Rusty's 3" lift entirely.
2. Shove Rusty's shipping charges square up his a$$! (Also don't be so cheap; get a toll free number.)
3. Would not have bought Rock Krawler Steering (its sitting in a pile on the floor.) What crap! AHHH, this one makes me mad!
That's it, i quit, i'm getting my undies in a bunch thinking about this! lol -B
1. Skip the Rusty's 3" lift entirely.
2. Shove Rusty's shipping charges square up his a$$! (Also don't be so cheap; get a toll free number.)
3. Would not have bought Rock Krawler Steering (its sitting in a pile on the floor.) What crap! AHHH, this one makes me mad!
That's it, i quit, i'm getting my undies in a bunch thinking about this! lol -B
hey now, its 2008 where you are, up here in our igloos and constant snow storms is really like 2004, maybe 2005... so he's actually with the times if not ahead of the times.
I'd start with a 5.5" long arm lift, 33's 4.56 gears, and SYE, then build around it. That's exactly what I will be doing in 5 months when I buy my next XJ. Come on Spring 2009...
