I have been on this site for a long time with lots of ideas on what I wanted to build but my budget was limited and I had to piece it all together so it took a long time with lots of breaks. I was going to post all of the pics I had saved of the build with the story and do it all at one time but due to a computer crash I lost all of the pics I had. All I have left is the finished / most recent photos of how the Jeep sits today.
I started with an 89 Cherokee 4.0 with Auto trans. It already had a lift on it but it was rough and the rear end was out of it. I traded a Glock for the Cherokee. I put in a Chry 8.25 with limited slip rear end. Then the front end went out and I had to replace it. It is a Dana 30 HP. Next was new tires and wheels. I got the wheels for 100 bucks off of Craigslist. They are from a 2005 or so Rubicon. The tires are 10 ply 265/75/16s. New tires and new front and rear end and I thought I was ready to hit the road. But I was wrong, the geometry was so far off from the lift that the other guy put in you could not go over 35mph without fighting to keep it on the road. First I changed the track bar and that helped but did not fix it. Next was new shocks it help and I could finally do 45mph without flipping the jeep. Next was Iron Rock adjustable lower control arms and finally I was able to do highway speeds with no death wobble.
Next was body work. I replaced both front fenders, grill, headlight assembles, and scored the Rough Country bumper for a Ruger 22 pistol that I had bought at a police auction for 125. After getting that done the Jeep sat for almost a year with no work being done to it. I ended up picking the project back up when I got the Badlands Winch on sale at Harbor Freight. (I know its not the best in the world but it has helped me more that once since I installed it.) The power windows went out last summer so off to the local pick a part I went where I got two new front doors with manual windows. I went back the next week to get to rear doors but the donor Jeep was gone. So I rigged up a hot wire with a switch and ran both rear windows to it. Now both front windows are manual and roll up and down as smooth as silk and with a flip of a switch both rear windows roll up and down together.
After all of that next was to decide on a paint scheme as the front clip was green, the two front doors were blue and the rest of the Cherokee was primer black. After looking around and seeing a lot of cool ideas I came up with a Woodland Digital idea for it. I used the print at home magnet sheets (the ones you use for making your own refrigerator magnets) I drew up some patterns and printed them out then used a razor blade to cut out my patterns. I applied my base coat (OD Green) the color that I wanted the most of and then using my stencils I went about adding the other colors (brown, black and sand).
So that puts us to today and how the jeep sits. I dont drive the Cherokee much but when I do I know I will not pass another like it on the road. Now after all of that here are the few pics I have of it.
I started with an 89 Cherokee 4.0 with Auto trans. It already had a lift on it but it was rough and the rear end was out of it. I traded a Glock for the Cherokee. I put in a Chry 8.25 with limited slip rear end. Then the front end went out and I had to replace it. It is a Dana 30 HP. Next was new tires and wheels. I got the wheels for 100 bucks off of Craigslist. They are from a 2005 or so Rubicon. The tires are 10 ply 265/75/16s. New tires and new front and rear end and I thought I was ready to hit the road. But I was wrong, the geometry was so far off from the lift that the other guy put in you could not go over 35mph without fighting to keep it on the road. First I changed the track bar and that helped but did not fix it. Next was new shocks it help and I could finally do 45mph without flipping the jeep. Next was Iron Rock adjustable lower control arms and finally I was able to do highway speeds with no death wobble.
Next was body work. I replaced both front fenders, grill, headlight assembles, and scored the Rough Country bumper for a Ruger 22 pistol that I had bought at a police auction for 125. After getting that done the Jeep sat for almost a year with no work being done to it. I ended up picking the project back up when I got the Badlands Winch on sale at Harbor Freight. (I know its not the best in the world but it has helped me more that once since I installed it.) The power windows went out last summer so off to the local pick a part I went where I got two new front doors with manual windows. I went back the next week to get to rear doors but the donor Jeep was gone. So I rigged up a hot wire with a switch and ran both rear windows to it. Now both front windows are manual and roll up and down as smooth as silk and with a flip of a switch both rear windows roll up and down together.
After all of that next was to decide on a paint scheme as the front clip was green, the two front doors were blue and the rest of the Cherokee was primer black. After looking around and seeing a lot of cool ideas I came up with a Woodland Digital idea for it. I used the print at home magnet sheets (the ones you use for making your own refrigerator magnets) I drew up some patterns and printed them out then used a razor blade to cut out my patterns. I applied my base coat (OD Green) the color that I wanted the most of and then using my stencils I went about adding the other colors (brown, black and sand).
So that puts us to today and how the jeep sits. I dont drive the Cherokee much but when I do I know I will not pass another like it on the road. Now after all of that here are the few pics I have of it.