Allow myself to introduce ....my..self..!

[J-spot]

Evening all,

 

I'm kind of knew to the Jeep scene, but as always there is a back story.

 

It all started back in 2004 when my sister and brother in-law bought a nice 'N' plated Jeep Cherokee 4.0 Limited that had suffered a little tap to the front offside corner, resulting in me inheriting a few weekends of work to put it right. so a wing, bumper and headlight later it was looking sharp, and upon completion I waved it off back in the hands of my sister and brother in-law for it to live its new Jeep life in London and it wasn't long before it was upgraded with a multipoint LPG system and a slightly reduced petrol tank to accommodate the LPG(no tank in the boot  ) making it a usable daily for their young family.

 

So that the brief time with the Jeep rubbed off on me, and it was only a matter of time that I spotted a similar aged model running LPG with a short MOT and a low price.... so I bought it!!  Within hours of getting it home I realised I'd bought a whole lump of trouble, bent selector linkages were the easy bits, stacks of rust in the boot(so I bought a MIG welder), some tricky electrical faults, corroded brake lines, sagging rear leaf springs and as I learnt a single point LPG that was both inferior to my brother in-laws system in both performance, economy and the gas cylinder in the boot was the icing on the poo!!  Needless to say, I stuck with it for a year then parted company with it for similar money. So there's me thinking that my Jeep affair was done, and some 12 years later I've find myself in possession of that original Black Cherokee 4.0 Limited that started this whole journey off, albeit less fresh than 15 years ago, and rather tired looking wearing scares of city life and worse still a the abuse that only a loving young family can give 

 

So what's next? We'll in order to take on this Jeep I've given myself a few caveats, one most importantly a garage space than can handle the task (last time around I was working outside in the rain) and several weeks later I'm almost in a position to drive the Jeep indoors for its make over. I'm still very mixed on how to tackle the XJ, do I try and restore it to original spec, mildly upgrade a few bits or go all out and lift it up with big wheels, drivetrain mods and lots of stick on bits.  I'm not really looking to build an offroader to drag around the green lanes and mountian tracks every weekend, nor am I really wanting to create a pristine classic for future investment.  My kids(yes I have 3 off them too) have been showing me pics off the internet on what to do, hmm, and I can see the appeal, but there are a few restrictions ££££$$££££. 

 

Anyway, until the first spanner hits it I'll leave it there and hopefully will have some news on planned direction in the next few weeks.

 

I've added a 2 pics of what I've got and one of what my kids want(like I said, I can see the appeal) 

 

Jason

 

Edited June 21, 2019 by J-spot

[frosty]

XJ's are a great truck, I had 2 of them in the past, they are a very capable off roader, even with just a few mild modifications, also upgrade parts are available at very low prices now, just make sure that there is no major rust lurking in it and you can very easily and cheaply make a great weekend toy for you and the family. 

[J-spot]

just realised how long its been since my last post, good news is that Jeep is running great, and looking good. still more mods and money to be spent, but she's turning wheels most weekends, and despite upgrades so far, I've kept it away from green lanes etc, but its has got muddy recently while using some poorly finished roads locally(which i wouldn't entertain in anything short of a tractor to be honest). Anyway, recent photo attached with my xmas tree on the roof.

[spookie the aardvark]

Your Jeep is looking good Looks like it got the lift kit?

[Fourpot]

Looks good, the XJ is the best Jeep in my biased view!  You can get properly carried away with mods... some look fun and easy to install, but often lead to a need for other bits e.g. lift kit, can lead to an adjustable track-bar requirement to restore track symmetry and potential bump-steer, and some prop-shaft mods to eliminate vibration from increased pinion angle.

Big heavy bumpers, winches and wheel carriers increase fuel consumption (and decrease acceleration). I've done a lot to my XJ, but have now started taking some mods back off it again. Keeping it clean and simple, if not pristine (remembering that an XJ is a pretty capable vehicle without mods) will help maintain value. They are becoming more valuable too, though heavily-modded ones may be treated with suspicion by the more average purchaser. Not that you'll EVER sell it!  

 

[V]

J-spot, your XJ looks lovely.

 

The wheels look very nice restored. Are they shod with 30" tyres?

[Tony]

Bigger tyres and keep the clean looks if it was my xj,picture of my xj years ago which had small lift and 33” tyres.

[J-spot]

Thanks for the positive comments, looking back, I have been busy.  So its not so much a lift kit fitted, but I replaced the tired front springs with HD springs, yes HD, but that was all I could get my hands on at the time at a reasonable price to get it through an MOT. Having experienced a very bouncy rear end on my first XJ years ago(that I fitted HD leafs to) I opted for standard rear leafs, not forgetting that it had a 2" spacer kit on in the original pic, which just demonstrates how bad those original springs were. Anyway i coupled that with a rear shackle re-location kit which help match the ride hight on the front with the HD springs. Also included in my upgrades was an adjustable front track bar, as the axle shift was obvious to me, and couldn't live with it, and a new front steering damper too!

Wheels have come up lovely with some elbow grease to remove the old peeling lacquer, but maintaining the original gunmetal grey paint within the alloy spokes, then polished and re-lacquer, bought them up lovely. Also put a set of 31" tyres and it certainly improved the look and stance.

Shocks 'skyjacker hydro' are the ones that came with the 2' lift kit from several years ago, and they are currently restricting any suspension droop, as they are not suited to the taller springs(and spacers), so I added some bar pin eliminators to give both an extra 3/4" to the damper(yes I know, clutching at straws a bit there), but it made it drivable, and meant that the original brake lines are still reaching the calipers(stainless braided extended lines are on the shelf ready to go!! 

I've poly bushed the front control arms(and axle mounts), which certainly helped with the sloppy front end too.

Front lights have had a subtle upgrade to better quality bulbs and the front clear indicators I have running with white/orange switching bulbs on the main indicator lamp and a orange bulb in the clear side markers.

Bumper and ends are new on the front, with just new plastic ends on the rear.

Alloy roof basket was just a must, but not being sure what direction I'm going I went for something I felt was nice quality, looks good and well within budget(£239), not so good if I want to carry some seroius kit, but lets see how it al evolves.......

Christmas treat seen a set of front control arm relocation bracket arrive, 4 longer shocks, 2 front springs (4.5") and a pair of add leafs to complement my new rear springs, and a transfer case drop kit, which I have started fitting , but had some bad luck with a broken stud, so planning to put that right this week, before the other bits go on. Don't think its going to look much higher with the new bits going on, but hoping it will ride a little more comfortable on poorer surfaces.

Interior has seen a pair of WJ front seats, I have the rears to go in too, but I'll need to do some work on them prior to that.

I also have a plan to fabricate a rear wheel carrier mounted on the tow bar plate, but this is still work in progress, and failing that the 31" spare can go on the roof cage!!

 

More to come as and when it happens, I'm starting to get into it now 

[digger]

Sorry and amazed I've not seen your post before. I really like XJs and loved both of mine!    Yours looks very smart and capable. Upgrading the back seats sounds good. The back seats were the only thing the family didn't like!

Would be gr8 to see you at some events!

[J-spot]

well been a quiet few weeks on the XJ, i dropped the front axle to fit my new control arm relocation kit, springs and dampers, which coincidentally meant fitting my new longer braided hoses..... that's were things started getting messy! 

......so anyway have put new pipe fittings on my mildly shorten brake lines, and while I have everything exposed I'm going to tackle a bit more underbody paint protection from my friend Mr Waxoil.

 

Whilst I have the axle off I'm checking at some remedial welding repairs that have been done to the lower track arm mount on the axle, and I will say that one good thing about buying a Jeep from within the family is you know its history, but the only other problem with buying a Jeep from within the family you knows its history!!.

I do recall my father having to do some repairs to the axle after my sister caught the wheel on a kerb/bollard/row of park cars.... who can remember, she couldn't?? Either way the mount in question was re-welded, and looking at the welds there is not a chance in hell of it coming off again, its just ashamed its not quite right in the same place that it started its life! so approximately half a hole out means that my best attack is to elongate the hole to its correct position, and then weld in a small half hole pad to keep everything were it should be. Least I know why I struggle so much to get the alignment correct when fitting the poly bushes last year!!

 

Anyway, more to come when it happens..