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'87 Cherokee XJ This is my '87 Jeep Cherokee with Off Road package.  It was purchased for $250 with 322,000 miles on the odometer.  Believe it or not it ran fine and I was able to drive it onto the trailer when I purchased it, and I drove it around the yard when I got home.  It needs some work, but its a solid XJ that will hopefully see a lot more use before it comes to the end of its life.  The following pictures were taken the day I purchased it. As it was coming off the trailer. Not pretty, but not too bad either. Dana 44 rear! Great score for a $250 XJ! I finally own a manual XJ. The AW-4 in my '88 held up well, but I prefer a 5 speed. 332,000 miles and 50 lbs. of oil pressure. I think the engine has been changed. Full skid plates underneath, including gas tank, t-case, and under the engine. Jeep actually did something to the vehicle besides putting a sticker on. This is pretty clean for any older XJ around here, and its down right beautiful for one with 332,000 miles.

I decided to use this vehicle as an example of just what you can do with very little money and some time spend on a nice custom project.  No corners will be cut on the building of this Jeep, but every dollar spent will be carefully thought out.  The goal is to get the most reliability and best off road performance without investing thousands on custom parts.  Every dollar spent will be added up throughout the building of this Jeep.  Some parts will have the actual cost listed, some will be listed as free if they came from a part's vehicle, unless the part's vehicle was purchased only for parts for this project.  Some people have part's vehicles, and others have parts left over from previous modifications, so its difficult to judge how much you would spend to duplicate this project.  You will find daily subtotals listed throughout the page, and a running total at the bottom.

Update: 9/1/02

I removed the windshield from the Cherokee to see how bad the rust problem was, and got a pleasant surprise.  The windshield frame wasn't really very bad, just some minor scaling rust and pitting around it.  The leaks were from an improperly installed windshield seal!  I cleaned up the frame with a sanding disk on an angle grinder, and decided to use a sandblaster to properly remove the remaining rust before painting and installing a new windshield.

Update: 9/2/02

Well as usual I strayed from my plans.  My original plans called for 5-6" of lift for this Jeep, but I flew by that.  Since I can't ever do anything the "normal" way, I came up with my own suspension.  I started in the rear and decided to use a set of stock front coil springs, placed between the axle and frame.  Instead of a quick and dirty home-built mounting system, I took the time to carefully cut the control arm mounts and lower coil spring buckets from my 2 wheel drive '94 XJ front axle.  I also removed the upper coil mounts from the inner fenders of the '94.  Its nice to have part's rigs so handy.

For testing purposes I didn't want to have to remove the whole rear suspension from the '87 to test fit the springs.  I was lucky enough to have my deceased '88 sitting in my driveway, up on jackstands.  I jacked up the rear and tack welded the spring mounts to the axle and frame, and carefully blocked the tires of the rear axle.  I had to do this since I don't have control arms built yet.  Remember, this was just a test fitting, to see how the springs would make the Jeep sit.  I put the springs in the rear and let the weight of the Jeep sit down on them, then measured the height of the Jeep.  Measuring from the fender flare lip to the center of the axle, I compared the height to the '87 and found I'll be gaining 8-9" of lift.  Since I like the rear a bit higher than the front to allow room for additional weight, and also factoring in the fact that more weight will actually be on the rear coils when a front axle is in place instead of having jackstands placed near the lower control arm mounts on the front of the frame, I should be able to run 8" front coils.  If there is any adjusting that needs to be done I can use coil spacers to fine tune ride height.

Since I will be designing my own links for the suspension, I'll factor in the possibility of going slightly higher without having to redesign the whole suspension.  I could simply add coil spacers front and rear to gain 2-3" at each end if I find I need more height in the future.  I don't like a vehicle to sit too high though, since I do a lot of sidehilling and off camber driving.  Things can get very tippy at times like those.  Below you will find pictures of the height testing.  They aren't much to look at, but they do give an idea of the ride height that will be achieved.  The wood block under the rear of the Jeep isn't supporting any weight, its just there for safety reasons.  And no, that shock isn't hooked up to the axle.

Update: 9/3/02

I sandblasted the windshield frame and cleaned up around it.  I found a couple tiny pinholes in the metal, but the POR-15 paint should take care of those nicely.  I blasted the entire windshield recess and also all metal which is hidden below the plastic trim that covers the defroster opening.  There was some minor surface rust starting there, so I took care of it before it could spread.

Update: 9/4/02

Although I had a perfectly good (almost) windshield sitting in my '88 XJ, I broke down and invested the big bucks for a brand spankin' new windshield.  I did the Cheap Bastard thing though and bought it cash-and-carry.  The "insurance cost" of the windshield was over $300, and the installed price was $168.  I bought it for $125.  Its the biggest expense other than the purchase of the XJ, but at least I didn't have to deal with getting the '88 windshield out, and that windshield wasn't exactly perfect.  There were several small stone chips, and the entire windshield looked like it had been sandblasted.  It had tiny spots all over it.  It turns out it was the original windshield, so almost 15 years and 150,000 miles can take its toll.

One thing I did fail at was the acquisition of the proper urethane windshield adhesive.  The windshield shop gave me a line about how their company can't sell it to me because it requires special equipment to preheat the sealer before installation.  A friend used to work at another branch of the same company, and every time their heater broke down they would just set the tube of sealer in a pail of hot water.  I think I can handle that with my automotive experience.  I'm going to try another place tomorrow with hopes of finding the proper sealer.

I did manage to get a little more accomplished today.  I removed the rusty factory brush guard and front bumper, and found that the bumper brackets were welded to the factory tow hook brackets.  I had to torch off the bumper brackets to remove the bumper.  I'll be removing the tow hook brackets so I can grind off the weld, clean up the brackets, and sell them on EBay.  I'll do the same with the factory transfer case skid plate since I'll be making my own transmission crossmember and skid plates to go with the custom suspension.  Maybe I'll be able to get back some of my money to fund other parts of the project.

After removing the bumper and brush guard I removed both front fender flares and the plastic inner fender liners.  I used a sawz-all to trim the front part of the fender even with the bottom of the grill/parking light assembly.  I also cut off the entire fender lip, removing all of the contoured material.  That gained me close to 1 1/2" of fender opening.  That left me with a new low point, the inner fender pinch weld.  I carefully hammered that over out of the way, trying to make it look as decent as possible.  I was surprised that it actually came out looking fine.  I trimmed a little extra material from the lower rear part of the fender to allow for tire clearance while turning.

Tomorrows plan is to trim the other fender, then possibly work on a little of the remaining rust.  Hopefully I will be able to Herculine the Jeep soon.  If I get time I'll also start removing the carpet.  The floor is still soaked from that leaking windshield, and I'm not looking forward to what the floor looks like under it.  I hope I can get away with just sanding out any rust, but I may have to sandblast it if its too bad.  Once the floor is cleaned up I'll Herculine that in black, since black is the cheapest color.

Update: 9/5/02

Something I had not mentioned is that I changed the passenger side tail light out of the XJ because the one that came with it was in perfect condition.  I had one from my '88 that had a minor crack at the very bottom, so I swapped them so that I wouldn't destroy a perfectly good tail light while off road.  I listed the removed tail light on EBay, and it sold for $14.50, and I'll subtract that money from what I have invested in the Jeep.  I also sold the digital clock for $24.50.  I hardly think a clock is going to aid in the trail worthiness of the Jeep.

I removed the rear bumper today and found that the sheetmetal behind it is actually in pretty good shape.  There was some minor damage to it, but no real rust.  I straightened out the minor dents and am ready to start building a rear bumper.  I trimmed the other front fender and one rear fender today.  I didn't go crazy on the rear fender because unlike the front, the rear is double layers.  I am going to have to weld the layers back together now that I cut out the pinch weld/fender lip.  If I wanted to get into more major body work I could trim a lot more than I did, but for now this will have to do, because I don't want to get into the hassles of major reconstruction.

As I was sitting around tonight thinking about the XJ mods, I started thinking about tires.  Are the 34's too small?  Are they too narrow?  Will they work well enough in all kinds of terrain?  Now I'm considering a possible alternative, the Goodyear MT-R.  They seem to be a good all around trail tire.  Now I just have to decide.

Update: 9/6/02

Not much progress today.  I had to seal a driveway, take the dog to the vet, and  Fed-Ex the deposit for my shop, so the day was pretty full.  Even so, when I got home with the dog, before going to do the driveway, I was able to install the windshield.  When I got home I put on the trim clips and tried to remove the one remaining fender flare.  I suspect someone has had that one off before, since the nuts don't match the other three.  They are 11mm or 7/16", so I quit and came in the house.  Better luck tomorrow.

Update: 9/7/02

I got a bit more accomplished today.  I did some minor "Cheap Bastard" mods to the front axle to increase articulation and axle droop.  This involved eliminating the existing lower shock mounts and trimming the spring mounts so the lower control arms don't hit them during droop.  After that I removed the stock springs and started working on the lift.  I'll be buying a set of 8" coils to go with the rear coil setup, which I should be installing early next month.  Until then I'll be running a home brewed combination lift: Rough Country 3" coils in the front, combined with 2" Budget Boosts, and Dodge truck rear springs and 3" blocks in the rear.  I personally hate blocks, but this is a temporary lift which will be used for one off road trip only, then the 8" lift will be installed and completed properly.

Today I got the front coils installed.  Man do I get serious droop with the trimming I did!  I still need to fabricate some temporary lower shock mounts and install longer brake lines.  If I have time I'll take a few pictures of the front lift tomorrow, then start working on the rear lift.  I hope I don't run into any driveshaft problems when I do the rear.  Since the lift is temporary, I don't want to invest any money in a custom driveshaft or SYE just for one event.  If I have to I'll rotate the pinion up at a big angle to relieve the U-joint angles.  I won't be worried about vibrations or wear of the joints since I won't be driving the XJ on the street like this.

Update: 9/13/02

Over the past couple of days I didn't get a whole lot done, but I did get in the parts for my crossover steering conversion, and today I managed to get the rear springs completed.  The Jeep now sits level and the rear articulates a fair amount.  Its nothing impressive, but this IS only a temporary setup.  I'll be deducting the costs of these temporary parts once I get to work on the real lift, the rear coil conversion and front 8" coils.

I decided to post a section down here at the bottom of the page to let you know what the future plans are for the XJ.  I'll list what I plan to do for modifications, and you can see how the plans differ as I actually follow through on them.  My plans are always changing, usually quite drastically, so this could be interesting for you.

Engine:

The engine will remain stock with the exception of adding a snorkel.  I know that really isn't an engine modification, but since it is part of the intake system, this seems like the most logical place to list it.  At this time the plan is to use my old reliable snorkel design, and hook up the Cherokee intake hose to a Samurai airbox, which I'll attach a Shop-Vac hose to and run it up the driver's A-pillar.  The Samurai airbox seals better than any other I know about, and the hose fits it perfectly.

Body:

Herculine the exterior red after repairing the rust and finishing the fender trimming.  I'll Herculine the interior floors black after removing the carpet and cleaning up the floor.  The actual Herculining will also have to wait until after the suspension mounts are welded in place, otherwise I might melt or burn the Herculiner.

I'll be building custom front and rear bumpers, possibly with a swing-out tire carrier for the rear.  I hate the idea of having my rear vision blocked though, so I might put the spare in the rear of the XJ and build a shelf over it.  I'll be building something to use as rocker protection.  I don't know yet whether I'll build actual rock rails or just weld in rocker guards.  Since I'll have so much height I may just go with the rock rails.

I will be making up some custom doors for the XJ.  I talked to Neal Hoover about this on a LONG road trip.  I want 3-piece doors.  The main body will be a fabricated cage lower half, with hinges and a latch like the factory doors.  I can use just that as doors on a warm day if I want the open air feeling.  If I will be driving through a lot of mud or just want to enclose the lower part of the doors, I'll have acrylic outer skins that can go over the framework.  For either when the day turns very cold or warm, I'll have upper portions that can be attached, like Jeep half doors have.  Then I'll be able to run the heater or A/C without fear.

At a future time I may start building an external skeleton.  My friend has an actual tubing bender that he builds race car roll cages with, and it would be perfect to bend up tubing for an external skeleton.  I don't really care for the idea of the extra weight up that high though, so its just a thought at this time.

Suspension:

Relocated upper and lower control arm mounts, and longer control arms.  I have the actual arms ordered, they are a cheap and dirty solution: I ordered 3-point hitch bars from a tractor supply store.  They aren't machined as precisely as automotive quality parts, and the heim joints wouldn't last as long, but they are cheap to buy, cheap to replace the joints, and they should work fine for a vehicle which will spend most of its remaining life on the trail or on a trailer.  The rear suspension will be a similar design, but the frame side mounting positions will be changed a little from the front.  Where the front links have to be located so that the axle will move up and down without rotating to keep the caster angle the same, I actually want the rear to rotate.  This is because I'll be using a CV rear driveshaft, and I'd like the rear pinion to stay in line with the driveshaft to minimize vibrations.  Of course the rear suspension will be converted to coil springs.  Long travel shocks mounted at an angle to maximize the travel will be used front and rear.

Update 4/01/03

All work on the XJ was put on hold while I was looking for a place to live over the winter. I was stuck on a couch for the winter, while the poor XJ was abandoned in the woods at my friend Don's house. Spring is coming, and its getting to be time to get back to work on the XJ. I have made some progress since my last posting.

The first order of business is to report how the temporary lift and suspension mods worked on the trail during a trip to Livingston, Kentucky.  The articulation was simply awesome.  In fact, the front axle twisted so far the front coils had a habit of falling out!  I had to rig up some limiting straps to get through the weekend.  The next thing I found was that the track bar I made up just won't cut it off road.  Its more than beefy for circle track racing, but thats where it should stay.  I ordered some 1" ID, 1.5" OD steel tubing from Avalanche Engineering to use for the tie rod, drag link, and track bar.  I also ordered 3/4" rod ends from them.

Before making up the steering parts I need a strong axle suitable to mount rugged steering parts to.  I have a Grand Wagoneer Dana 44 which is just about the perfect width, but has the wrong wheel bolt pattern.  Well I'm going to fix that by using the knuckles and outer axle parts from a late 70's Dodge pickup with full time 4x4.  The Dodges will full time 4x4 didn't use locking hubs, so Dodge decided to make the wheel pattern smaller...and it just happens to match an XJ.  It would have been nice to have manual hubs, but I guess I can live without them.  First off, this IS a trail-only vehicle which will see very limited street use.  Wear is not a concern...strength is.  Next, many XJs didn't even use an axle disconnect, so all of the front drivetrain parts spin while the vehicle is moving, even in 4x2.  I will have essentially the same setup, so I shouldn't have any problems.  I already have all of the parts I need for the hybrid axle, so I just need the time to do the work.