yellaheep

I have an '88 with that rear window in it from CR Lawrence. Super nice piece. Trim around the outside mimics the OEM seal, but it is just a bit smaller by about 1/8-1/4 inch so yeah, if you have a truck that's been repainted and they masked off around the OEM window rubber trim, you'll have a "halo" where the new and old paint don't match.

I had a '98 5.9 for a couple years. Stupid-clean and straight. I did like driving it but I will say, they can be problematic. Despite it's being so nice and low mileage, I fought with: -Badly leaking rear main seal -Inoperable sun roof (replaced entire assembly requiring dropping the headliner - BIG job) -Leaky sun roof (replaced seals) -242 with a bad viscous coupler (replaced) -Bad D44A axle bearings -Electric radiator fan died (impossible to find used, expensive new if you can find 'em) -Fragile inner front header panel that the lights mount to (ordered a new one from Jeep and a huge pain to swap out) -Driver's door wire harness cracked and wires chaffing/shorting -Heated seat wiring breaking inside the seats -Rear hatch "hatch open" sensor always showing on the information center -Noisy clock spring when turning wheel -Heater blend door sticking making A/C warm -Auto Headlight sensor went bad causing headlights to flash on/off while driving during the day There's something to be said for the simplicity of the XJ over a ZJ. While the 5.9 is a nice perk, I think I still take a nice '98-'01 XJ Limited over another 5.9.

It's a sad day boys. A complete, California rust free '91 4x4 4.0 rolled into this yard. Shoulda been saved by one of us before this happened to it. Such a shame! :fs1:

Lol.....aren't we all......

'97+ tail gates are steel and the hinges are inside the hatch, '96 and earlier are pressed fiberglass with hinges on the outside. Lots of other differences as well.

I'm betting the road to the house is pretty primitive and steep. Hopefully the plow truck goes with it. Hard to tell which side of I-70 the property is on. North side (south facing) would help with snow melt off. South side (north facing) would leave all of the property in the shade all winter.

For a bolt on kit: http://www.ebay.com/itm/86-01-Jeep-Cherokee-XJ-Hood-Strut-Lift-Kit-Ditch-the-Prop-Rod-1986-2001-/321492963007?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4ada794ebf Write up on using XJ rear hatch parts: http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1014250

Yes, the Renix flywheels and flex plates are different than the ones used by the H.O. / OBDII engines. It's the spacing of the magnetic pulse ring teeth that's a bit different. So yeah, as part of the swap, you'll want to use the H.O. / OBDII flywheel or flex plate........ I read that you said you'll be using an AW4 so you'll use a flex plate, not a flywheel.

Flagged and gone. What was it?

That bed floor box idea seems cool until you need something form inside it and you gotta unload stuff from on top of it to get to it. And.... sealing it from the elements would require quite a bit of fab work. I'm going to use a pair of fenderwell bed boxes on each side of a bed mounted spare at the front of the bed. For out on the trail, I'll have another removeable box to mount at the tailgate end with trail gear and spares that i don't need to haul around all the time. And having just re-read your post, you said you have a flatbed..... so why not bed side boxes? Here is a cool thread over on pirate4x4 of a bunch of flat beds guys have built for toyota trucks: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/toyota-truck-4runner/98472-official-toyota-flatbed-thread.html

It has been poked fun at on here before........ And I'll start it again........ Dual exhaust on a 4-banger? :laughin: :rotfl2: :rotf:

That ain't no long bed.......... dunno about "clean" either. But it does have potential.

Impressive ........... but it looks more like a ford ranger......... with an exo cage...... lol.

Just figured I'd post up an update - I finally got in touch with Bob by phone while working on getting ownership of a red '87 he used to own. Bob's doing well and still has Bucky. The whole paint fiasco tore him up mentally and emotionally pretty bad - you can only frustrate and push a guy so long before ya gotta pick your battles. Bob battled with that guy for too long and he finally settled things up, but he definitely got screwed. So, I think Bob's disappointment with the whole paint drama had him down. He has Bucky done to a point where he's been daily driving it and still intends to keep it and eventually get the paint fixed. I can certainly empathize with him on how he was aiming to get Bucky a well deserved spot as an MJ of the Month..... and now he feels that got ripped from him by a crackhead with no morals. I encouraged him to post up. I'm sure he will soon. He's got a few other irons in the fire right now anyway that need his attention. I imagine he'll get fired back up to work on Bucky come Spring time.

Yeah, I would imagine different locations would merit more attention to this issue than others. I have yet to buy an MJ with a liner that's had any rust issues. I did buy one that was rusted out where the aluminum topper had been bolted to it since new right around all 4 bolts. When I got my '11 Dodge Ram 3500 it came with a spray in bed liner. All my other trucks Dodge trucks had plastic drop ins. I preferred the plastic because moving heavy things around is so much easier, rubberized bedliner just grabs things like engine blocks and axles and whatnot. About a year after I'd had my '11 Dodge, I had already become frustrated with trying to drag things across the spray in liner but the deal killer was the day I grabbed a D44 from a junkyard MJ and was driving home when upon making a turn, the axle rolled a bit and the pinion rotated over from right to left and bashed into the inner fenderwell - caving it in. Not just a little dent, it was a stupid sized bash in. I now run a plastic drop in on top of the spray in. One serves as bed corrosion protection, the other, dent protection....... and makes moving heavy things SO much easier.

Given the parts it has, $750 isn't outrageous, but I'm guessing it's rusty as well. And the home of many multi-legged things...... ewww. But that fast-back, wind jammer thing could be pretty cool on my raceTruck..........

Indeed Jim........ My Sister and my 2 nephews live in Fla. She and her hubby moved there from Silverthorne, CO (8700 ft elevation) after the birth of the first kid - it's where her hubby has family and the first kid was a premie so high altitude wasn't helping him. They thought they'd move back after about 5-6 years when the kiddo's health and growth got better. Nope. They love it there. My parents love Colorado, lived in So. Jefferson County for 32 years. Decided to downsize and lived in a cabin in Estes Park for a few years, but bought a small place in Fla. 2 years ago so they could spend longer "visits" with their daughter and grand kids...... They just sold everything off and live in Fla. permanently now. I've only been there once - Naples Fla.- in November. It was AMAZING. Just dunno that I can give up Colorado and the mountains............ but the older I get, the less enthused I am with snow and cold.

Anyone know? If this '87 I just brought home having had a 4-banger and auto........ the axle gearing? Rumored to be 4:56? Can't find a source.... It's got a gear tag, but it's lightly stamped and heavily painted. I may go scuff it up and try to read it. And no.... it's not a D44 rear. It's a D35.

LOL....... good gawd. Went to the DMV to at least try to get the title work started or done on my latest MJ acquisition. Was pretty certain I was gonna strike out for 2 reasons....... One was what I thought would be a signature discrepancy on the title itself, and this: Yeah, apparently I have a brand new MJ.......... LOL. Not sure how this came about but I knew that all my other MJ's had been titled "mileage exempt" and never had to give the odometer - but those have all been Colorado titled trucks. The VIN Verification form requires a mileage entry. Stupid-easy. No problems at all. She wasn't concerned about the signature not having the middle name. The only thing that almost kept her from getting the title work done was that the GA title didn't the truck's GVW on it. She initially said I'd have to take it to a scale and bring back a certified weight slip....... then she said she might have a source. She went to the "archives" and found some old book for '87 model year cars and was able to find it in there. When she went out to do the VIN inspection, she was an older gal and said she didn't want to climb up on the trailer and asked that I read off the VIN on the dash. When she asked about the odometer reading........ she also said "I know the truck is exempt, it's just a block I gotta fill in on the Verification form." So I looked at the dash and gave her a few random numbers ....... yeah I fibbed..... sue me..... :shhh: Friggin' DMV. :D

He needs some involuntary time being unconscious with a busted jaw......... then when he wakes up, a solid kick to the nuts with enough passion to ensure he can't expand his bloodline.

Yeah, the MJ will fit fine on a U-haul trailer. My only issue has been U-haul's rediculous requirements for what the tow vehicle has to be in order to tow what's on the trailer. Don't be surprised that they tell you you need a 1-ton truck to haul that longbed MJ on one of their trailers......even though a half ton is sufficient. They won't rent it to you if you don't have the minimum tow vehicle there to take the trailer....... If you have a half ton tow vehicle, tell them you're hauling a VW bug.

Well no doubt lots of you saw my for sale ad looking to thin the herd. Most of that was motivated by having hurt myself recently - bulging C5 spine and resulting severe left arm nerve pain. Many treatments and therapy appts and a cortisone shot later and I'm back up and running at about 80%....... lol. And feeling better is not helping with my addiction. While I would really rather most of my trucks find new homes with folks enjoying them........ I can't leave any orphans behind. Some of you will recognize my latest acquisition....... a super nice '87 short bed 4x4 originally a 4 banger with an auto. Bob (aka: buffalob) bought this truck from an on-line auction and had it sent to him here in Colorado from Georgia. He also had bought his current project "Bucky" from me earlier so alot of "Bucky's" photos show this truck in Bob's driveway. Bob traded this truck for the paint work that would be come that year-long drama many of us are aware of. Anyhow, that painter took this truck as payment from Bob, but then apparently owed another guy money and that guy told the painter he'd sell the truck for what he could get for it and put it toward his balance owed. It was on Craigslist for $3K for a month, then $2K for 2 weeks and then today down to $1500. I called, he agreed to $1200. Oh, and the guy lives 6 miles from my house...... I'm like - how can I NOT go rescue this truck!?!? Back when Bob had it, it had been freshly painted, super straight and rust free. There may be a title issue with the truck...... won't know until I try to title it with the DMV so I've got a call in to Bob to see if he has the previous owner's contact info when he bought it - just in case I gotta try to get them to go get a duplicate title and make a correction. Yeah, this kinda stuff is always "fun".......... Took it to the car wash to blast off all the layers of crap that was on this poor thing. I discovered that the "jeep" letters are barely glued on (supposed to have those stamped nuts on the back of the studs).... the "J" went flying off during the wash. The front fenders and header panel are held on with only the bare minimum of screws and bolts, the lower parts of the front fenders were flapping around when I washed it. This truck also appears to have been optioned with the skid and hook package but the gas skid is gone as are the hooks. It also has factory roll bar brackets with holes in the bed..... unfortunately no roll bar. The interior is in pretty good shape, but the color of the velour seat inserts and velvet-ish headliner are a bit to Ricardo Montalban for my taste. Not real complimentary to the original color. So, yeah....... I have 7 MJ's again.......... :doh: Back when Bob had it, shown with early "Bucky"..... This is the only body damage and "new" to when I last saw it when Bob had it. It's a shame, but at least it's not worse. The paint isn't the best job and has kind of a hazy texture to it, I'm hoping it'll buff out nice.

I've got a 1st gen Hurst shifter in my '91 currently........ love it. But, the future plans for my '91 are to go automatic and use the RADesign Rock Shift and Rail shifter I bought years ago. So, if I don't put the 1st Gen Hurst into my raceTruck I want to get the longer handled Core shifter - perhaps for a YJ or TJ - so that the shifter is closer to me in the cab when I'm all strapped in. Currently looks like this: Want it closer like this: And being that I'm looking to leave the raceTruck 4x4 with a 242, those rubber double boots look like just the thing I'd need......... :thumbsup:

No. But I Have ideas. A local NAXJA guy has a pretty nifty idea he wants to work with me on. But I gotta get this road/track worthy first and see if it's even an issue. I'm mostly concerned with spring wrap and it causing the truck to lurch/surge forward and backward under shifting and acceleration. I doubt "hop" will ever be a problem like it would on a drag truck.

I don't think Fessy Built ever got back into business. I saw the stuff he built for Bob's truck and it was nice stuff but very shortly after that he got divorced and moved way out of the metro area. I tried to get Fessy to build me a set of those bed rail covers and he said he would love to but at that time, couldn't commit to taking on any business. Haven't seen anyone local get anything done by him since. And I really don't know what's up with Bob....... signs in every once in a while, but hasn't posted. Texted a couple times, no return. Hope all is ok.