FXWorks

I've been following your thread since the beginning. Getting close to starting my own now that my XJ is mostly done (we can't have a work shop being empty - can we?). I was hoping to pick your brain about the install of the dash. I've never had a XJ/MJ torn down to that level (carcass with interior goes to the wrecker normally - nothing hanging around here currently). Looking at your pictures I'm trying to understand what exactly you need to do to attach the dash to the MJ. Are those silvery-grey cast metal pieces what the dash is attached to and you just bolt them into the firewall in the appropriate places? You mentioned a bracket at the root of the A-pillar. Did you bend up some sheet metal to make that? Cut up some light box section? How did you go about determining where to place the new brackets? Trial and error? Did any of the original brackets get to stay to help locate the dash? I've got my `98 donor with a TNT lift sitting out behind the barn... now to find a MJ worth working with - I hate living in the salt belt. Thanks!

Thanks for the insights. I'll likely pull the shafts and zip tie them up. If I'm picking up a ~$1000 MJ of questionable condition I might as well spend the 5 minutes per end to undo the differential end of the shafts and zip tie the loose shaft to the frame or something. Is the tow hook area of the MJ identical to a XJ? I can fab up an arrangement like the above pictures in an afternoon I'd guess and go that way. I have a RENIX era XJ behind the barn I can use as a "template" to build against if it will be identical. I think it is the same but defer to the experts here. TIA

I've been looking for a MJ lately. Bought a rusted out `98 XJ with a whack of parts on it that I want to transfer to an MJ (if I can find a decent one). Lots of the MJs I'm seeing are a considerable distance away. If I find the right one I'd like to tow it home using a tow bar. Is there a easy/good way to hook up a tow bar to the front of a stock MJ? The tow bar that I have has brackets that are bolted (one big bolt per side) to a flat surface on the towed vehicle. When I towed my YJ home I drilled two holes in the bumper and hooked up the bar brackets and brought it home. Will an MJ stock bumper hold up to this? What about adding a piece of steel behind the bumper to keep the bolts from ripping out? Will that work? MJ bumper is same as Cherokee bumper, right? Any input appreciated. TIA

Regarding the overhead console... If you wanted to "update" the look of the interior a little bit you could paint the part that is normally covered in fabric with a silver colour. Do the same to the center console in the dash - or find some fake wood grain appliqués for the overhead console (i.e. vice versa). I recently bought a OH console for my XJ and the fabric is saggy. I was going to do the silver bit when I get around to it.

Are those flares wider than the 97+ flares? Look like they might be by just a touch in the photos.

To do the swap for the dash, do you need to use the original or the new style heater and AC core/box?

For the interior are you planning to make the air bags functional or gut them and use them to make the interior look complete? I don't see why the entire SRS harness couldn't be transferred over to an older XJ... it's not like anything structural changed. the sensor locations and such should still be valid unless there is some kind of a ECU tie in with the air bag ECU.