johnnyc

Damn, since seeing Scott's MJ yesterday, I've been thinking about lowering my truck back down to three inches and 31s, like in this old pic. And doing some sort of engine swap, be it a stroker or V8. I've actually been thinking of this for a while, but yesterday was the capper. I could sell my built axles and I already have a line on a D30 and 8.25 with higher gears and ARBs. I think I'm over the rockcrawling scene, but I still want to be able to venture into the backcountry. A lot to think about.

No pictures of it "in action", but here it is with an ARB tent. You can also see the cowl hood, which was needed for clearance.

The shop in Vegas made a custom wiring harness. Everything works - gauges, A/C, everything. It's California emissions-legal and gets 20+ MPG.

Minor bodywork and paint.

I'm not sure what he's using for fans, Don. But we were talking about the cooling issues that people have when stuffing a V8 in an XJ/MJ. He says that he hasn't had any problems. And he flew over the Grapevine, a section of Interstate 5, notorious for causing overheating

Yes. Scott used to work for Rubicon Express.

A pic of my buddy Scott's MJ has been on this board before. Here's another pic to freshen your memory. I just got back from the Off Road Expo in Pomona, where Scott's MJ was on display. And this is what I saw. This V8 conversion is absolutely beautiful. Much of the work was done by a shop un Las Vegas. And it was just recently completed. Scott drove the MJ to SoCal from Sacramento and he said it performed flawlessly. I'm more than a little jealous. ;)

That green portal-axled MJ belongs to JohnX on this board. He has since added a camper shell.

Hey, if it would help your decision, I could get it as far as Vegas. I've been wanting a Vegas vacation anyway. :)

Local guy is selling a Wildernest camper shell that he had on his shortbed MJ. $250 http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1090083

I'm using a prop valve from a 4-wheel disc brake ZJ.

Well, we are reunited. Rush hour traffic was surprisingly light for a Friday afternoon. Only took 1.5 hours to drive from Orange County to the San Fernando Valley.

That's beautiful, Rob.

It's just that the Sonata resembles so many other cars out there. The MJ has some uniqueness. Also, I miss the MJ more than I miss the GF. Now is that normal, or what? Ha.

My GF lives 60 miles away. She went out of town for a few days and I went up there Wednesday to take her to the airport bus and watch her two dogs. I dropped the dogs off at one of her friend's house Wednesday night, so that I could come back home to work a couple of days. I'm going back up there Friday after work to watch the dogs over the weekend. Anyways, I decided to drive her Hyundai Sonata for a couple of days and left the MJ at her place. Now the Sonata is a good car, gets better MPG than the MJ, and drives very nicely. But I seriously miss my truck and keep wondering if it's okay sitting up there all alone. :) I can't wait to finish work tomorrow and get up there. I'm gonna hit some hellacious LA rush hour traffic, but I don't care. Is that weird? Or normal?

For a while, I had a 245/75/16 tire under there. I too was concerned about the weight of the tire and wheel snapping the cable. So once I got it cranked up, I ran a couple of ratchet straps through the holes in the wheel and around the "X" part of the truck frame. I also got a 33x12.50x15 wheel and tire up there. It did come really close to the tailpipe and it hung down awfully low. Too low for fourwheeling.

Go for a nice long drive. That'll drain it.

What'd you pay for this one, Troy?

A lot of us have done the late model door swap. You'll need doors from a 97+ XJ. It's a lot easier if you prefer manual windows. The wiring for power windows and locks can be daunting. The only mod is that you'll have to get the newer style striker and drill a couple of holes to mount them in the jambs. -edit- The post type strikers were used all the way to 96. I know this because the first late model door swap I did was on my 96 XJ.

Plus the cost of the sixth quart. :D

Thanks, but its not the same as seeing it in person. :) Just couldn't believe they didn't have any lights out there. Years ago, one of those hidden camera shows was out in Yellowstone. Since they know exactly when Old Faithful erupts, they had a guy standing next to it and he would turn a giant fake valve in the ground at precisely at the right moment. The geyser would shoot up, then the guy would turn the valve the other way and the geyser would stop. They filmed the tourists' reactions and it was pretty funny.

The one time I was there, we got to Old Faithful after sunset. So we only HEAR the geyser going off.

Was it a great show? No. Was it 100% accurate? No. Will I watch the remaining four episodes? You bet. I'm not ready to condemn the show yet. How many offroading shows are out there? Including this show, one. It was mildly entertaining and the slow motion footage of the Jeep going through the mud near the end of the show was pretty cool.

S10 shells have very similar bed dimensions, widthwise and lengthwise. But when I tried one, the height of the S10 shell was 1.5-2 inches shorter than the MJ cab. Looked too funky for my taste.

The reason I used a locksmith is because I wanted the door locks to work with the ignition key. I realize that this only works with 91-92 models and that the earlier models have separate door and ignition keys.