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    1995 Jeep Cherokee

    This is a little improvement on the previous RR thread that got booted out of the official RR forum...

    I bought this thing when I was 17, sold it shortly thereafter, and my mom bought it back for me for Christmas 2004. I used it as my dd in college, and started building it for weekend 4-wheeling trips.

    Here's what I started with... a nice-driving, smooth-riding, shiny, rust-free, solid, straight 1995 Cherokee that could knock down 24 MPG on the highway.



    Next, how I went about destroying all of those great characteristics!

    The first wheeling trip- totally stock with little tires in the snow at Iron Rock ORV park in Gilbert, MN- it did better than expected, but still got stuck a lot.

    March-ish 2005:


    Here's summer 2005 at Iron Rock OHV area after a Rusty's Offroad 3" AAL lift and some 30x9.50R15 Goodyear Wrangler GSAs (teh SUCK).



    The look and capability vastly improved and the gas mileage vastly suffered with the addition of some Cooper 31x10.50R15 ATs on black Rock Crawler steelies. This picture was taken after a debate with my friend over what the purpose of the big stupid rock in his front lawn was. Fall 2005



    After that pic was taken, the Jeep was parked due to the torque converter lockup not wanting to function. 13-15 MPG I could handle... 8 was another story. So, it sat on the farm and occaisionally went out around the property. I had every intention of fixing it ASAP and getting it back on the road, but life and such got in the way. I joined the Air Force in the fall of 2006, and just for the hell of it I renewed the registration and insurance on the Jeep for the last couple of months I lived in MN, even though the tranny was still sucking at life. She continued to sit as the windshield leaked and the floors dissolved while I worked in Florida. I even went so far as to make a deal to sell it again, but I just could not bring myself to do it. When I would go home on leave I would always drive it around and wash/wax/vacuum it before it was parked again.

    Fast forward to 2009. I'm sitting in the middle east sweating my ass off, but making good money. Hmmm... money, you say? What can I blow a large portion of that money on...

    So after ordering many parts while in the sandbox and doing much research, I had a plan. Upon returning to the States I flew home to MN and started wrenching. Before I made the trip back to FL with it I had some work to do- fluids, tuneup, new exhaust header, new motor mounts and troubleshoot that damned transmission. Turns out the reason I had to park it for all those years was because of a damned $30 solenoid that took about an hour to install.

    Enough gabbin' already and on with the pics!

    Here's How she looked summer 2009 with a lot of money sunk into her:


    The parts list:
    Rough Country 6.5" lift with control arm drop brackets
    Omix slip yoke adapter
    Tom Woods CV driveshaft
    JKS Quicker disconnects
    Detours Backbone (winch wount/steering brace/unibody brace)
    Detours Tailbone (unibody brace/rear tow point/tire carrier) (not in pics)
    JCR Offroad rock sliders (not installed)
    Kuhmo KL71 33x12.50R15s
    Iron Rock Offroad HD Over the Knuckle steering conversion (not yet installed in the pics)



    Dirty 4.0:



    Dirty interior:





    The latest 'wheeling trip- a little over a month ago:



    And finally, how it currently sits- with properly trimmed fenders, only 1 slider installed, and NO FLOORS!


    I'm gonna flintstone this biotch! But seriously though... carpet is evil.

    2007 F-150 Supercab XLT 4x4
    1997 Jeep Cherokee

    #2
    Looks like alot of fun

    Comment


      #3
      You think that's no floors? Wait until I get my car back on the lift...

      Comment


        #4
        I'm not into Jeeps, but you've certainly done that justice. Looks awesome! Theres a kid down the street from me with a similar looking rig, but I think its a little newer. He wheels the piss out of it too!

        Originally posted by CheeseSteakJim View Post
        You think that's no floors? Wait until I get my car back on the lift...
        Surely not the Lincoln? I've seen it with the rug out, and floors looked pretty damn mint!
        **2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302: 5.0/ 6 spd/ 3.73s, 20K Cruiser
        **2006 MGM,"Ultimate": 4.6/ 2.73/ Dark Tint, Magnaflows, 19s, 115K Daily Driver
        **2012 Harley Davidson Wide Glide (FXDWG):103/ Cobra Speedsters/ Cosmetics, 9K Poseur HD Rider
        **1976 Ford F-150 4WD: 360, 4 spd, 3.50s, factory A/C, 4" lift, Bilsteins, US Indy Mags, 35s Truck Duties

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by CheeseSteakJim View Post
          You think that's no floors? Wait until I get my car back on the lift...
          It's sitting at the hobby shop on base right now. Next time I go to work on it I;ll take more pics. That one really doesn't do it justice! But on the plus side of your car- at least you have a frame!

          2007 F-150 Supercab XLT 4x4
          1997 Jeep Cherokee

          Comment


            #6
            Nice XJ!
            Save a seal, club a liberal.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by P72Ford View Post
              Surely not the Lincoln? I've seen it with the rug out, and floors looked pretty damn mint!
              Come on Nate, I own a Lincoln... and a G-body. When I'm talking about rust, which one do you think I'm talking about?
              Originally posted by moneypit View Post
              It's sitting at the hobby shop on base right now. Next time I go to work on it I;ll take more pics. That one really doesn't do it justice! But on the plus side of your car- at least you have a frame!
              True. I put one of those Rusty's Offroad kits into an '88 Wagoneer and found a great deal of the floor pans missing. Considering it's a unibody, that made me uneasy as hell.

              The only thing I'm concerned about is the burning smell I get whenever I floor it due to the carpet sitting on the exhaust.

              Comment


                #8
                Concerning the original, gas-thrifty layout; you didn't touch anything? I'm bringing a 1992 XJ Laredo home in two weeks, and I'm kind of curious, provided everything is running correctly, how it will perform (or a vague idea, anyway) after it's repaired.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Larry, does it have the 4.0? If it does, being a 92, it should have the HO head on it. It's a decent runner. The only mechanical issues I ran into was the vacuum actuator for the front axle had died, so it wouldn't shift into 4WD.
                  Save a seal, club a liberal.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Paul_ View Post
                    Larry, does it have the 4.0? If it does, being a 92, it should have the HO head on it. It's a decent runner. The only mechanical issues I ran into was the vacuum actuator for the front axle had died, so it wouldn't shift into 4WD.
                    Yes, it's a 4.0 High Output.

                    The motor is junk, as my sister freaking nuked it. She got it sooo hot, the tops of the pistons were polished smooth, and combustion chambers clean, not to mention the head gasket was melted.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by The Auntie Christ View Post
                      Yes, it's a 4.0 High Output.

                      The motor is junk, as my sister freaking nuked it. She got it sooo hot, the tops of the pistons were polished smooth, and combustion chambers clean, not to mention the head gasket was melted.

                      Jeezus.
                      Save a seal, club a liberal.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        my uncle pulled one better... oil leaked out of an Offenhauser v4 racing engine in a prototype superbug (styled up like a porche) as he was driving from San Antonio to Houston. Got engine so hot that it was actually starting to melt out the bottom of the car when he stopped. Destroyed everything in the process. Frame/unibody/whatever was warped from the heat. He said the idiot lights were on, but he figured since it didn't stop, it was fine.

                        I wish they had taken pictured of that epic fail. I would've liked to see it.

                        Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
                        rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)
                        Originally posted by gadget73
                        ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.
                        Originally posted by dmccaig
                        Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by The Auntie Christ View Post
                          Concerning the original, gas-thrifty layout; you didn't touch anything? I'm bringing a 1992 XJ Laredo home in two weeks, and I'm kind of curious, provided everything is running correctly, how it will perform (or a vague idea, anyway) after it's repaired.
                          In stock form, they rip. With 225/75R15 or smaller tires, that is.

                          Originally posted by Paul_ View Post
                          Larry, does it have the 4.0? If it does, being a 92, it should have the HO head on it. It's a decent runner. The only mechanical issues I ran into was the vacuum actuator for the front axle had died, so it wouldn't shift into 4WD.
                          History lesson...
                          '87-'90 had the Renault-sourced Renix injection. They had a more restrictive head design and made 177 HP. These years also suffered from the CAD vacuum-actuated Center Axle Disconnect) front axle. '91 saw the improvement of the head design and the introduction of the Chrysler fuel injection. This bumped the power to 190. A whopping 13 horsepower increase got it the name "High Output" lol.

                          Originally posted by The Auntie Christ View Post
                          Yes, it's a 4.0 High Output.

                          The motor is junk, as my sister freaking nuked it. She got it sooo hot, the tops of the pistons were polished smooth, and combustion chambers clean, not to mention the head gasket was melted.
                          Wow. I idiotically left mine idling for a LONG time with the electric fan removed. I had to get the fan out of the way when I changed the alternator. I started it up to let the battery charge for a minute and my ADD kicked in. I walked back up about a half hour later and heard it knocking and hissing and saw steam pouring out. The gauge was beyond pegged. But, it's still fine. I also ran it with NO OIL. As in, the drain plug wasn't even installed. But that's another story of my stupidity. Moral of the story: the 4.0 is a tough cookie.

                          2007 F-150 Supercab XLT 4x4
                          1997 Jeep Cherokee

                          Comment


                            #14
                            That thing is pretty kickass! I want to do something similar to a ZJ Grand Chero, maybe the one I have...we'll see.
                            -2004 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor - Daily Driver - 17" Bullitt's, 235/55/17 Goodyear Eagles, Ex-NH State Police, best 1/4 mile time; 15.3 @ 90 mph
                            -1987 Crown Victoria 2-Door - Project - 90k miles, Summit chambered muffler, Sunpro gauges, parked since 2010, fate tbd

                            Comment


                              #15
                              As for the "no floors" discussion:



                              And now, the closest an XJ can get to a frame-off restoration:


                              POR-15 is some good shyte!

                              The remains of the DS floor:

                              And to add to the joy- rocker panels!

                              Plans are to add some TNT unibody stiffeners and replace the rockers with 2x6 3/16" wall steel tube. Then, I'm going to make new floors out of plexiglass and give glass-bottom Jeep tours where I run over dolphins!

                              2007 F-150 Supercab XLT 4x4
                              1997 Jeep Cherokee

                              Comment

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