87Warrior

Reason #457 why I don't mind that my truck sits unfinished in the garage.

This evening I had dinner with my grandfather and asked him about the pronunciation. He grew up on a rural Missouri farm in which they used a Willys as a tractor, plow, disc, mill, etc. He said, without a doubt, it is pronounced 'williss' and always has been.

Good, so no typical failures in the 99+ 4.0 that I haven't been made aware of. The 4.0 in my 03 TJ is by far the quietest, smoothest running 4.0 I have ever been around. I've put 110k miles on the rebuild so far and it continues to impress me. (PO hydrolocked it and sent two rods through the oil pan at 12k miles...)

I'd have to say "mnkboy" has the best purpose built 2.5 here. I have grown to love the 2.5 in my 86. It do everything a 4.0 will do, just slower. I would suggest taking a close look at what you are really going to do with the truck. You mentioned hunting and cabin access, but I must ask if 33" tires are really necessary.

What rap is that? You would have to pay me to own a 05/06 4.0. No thanks!

You do realize the 86 MJ did have the 2.8L V6 as an option, right? Whenever a for sale ad advertises a 4.0L V6, it is safe to assume the seller has no clue what they have and can probably be talked down on price quite a bit.

In my opinion, the truck you are looking at should be 1/2 the price. However I do not know your location, desire to do body work, or how hard it is to find an MJ in your area. Having dealt with 3 rusty trucks, I agree with Jeep Driver that doing a drivetrain swap would be the way to go. You can turn a rusty truck into a gem. All it takes is time and money. You can also patch a rusty truck together and have a phenomenal wheeling rig. It really boils down to what it is worth to you and what you want out of the truck. Replacing the floor boards isn't a massive undertaking as you can buy quality replacement floor pans. It is a very time consuming job though. The bed however, I would consider a loss unless you have the skills to fabricate body panels. I absolutely love my rusty '86. Bought it for dirt cheap with a transmission and t-case in the bed, mismatched wheels but a solid frame.

After I media blasted the chassis of the my truck, I coated it in POR 15 followed by the POR 15 chassis coat. I had planned on leaving it as is but discovered a new POR 15 undercoating product. I applied the undercoating to the underside of floor boards in hopes it will dampen road noise.

Wow, it is clean. I wonder if we could get the seller to take a few more pictures of the wheels ;) But for the price, I would rather have a truck that was properly restored. The mismatched engine bay and door frame paint turns me off of the truck.

Per some of Cruisers info: XJ Cherokee and ZJ Grand Cherokee 4.0L engine blocks interchange. 1997-1999 4.0L TJ Wrangler blocks will interchange in XJ/MJ/ZJ and visa-versa. XJ/MJ/ZJ blocks and 2000+ TJ/WJ blocks do not interchange without significant modifications.

I agree. However that isn't an option Redwolf is looking at. Find a used car lot or small tire shop who gets tires from Independent Tire Dealer. Absolute cheapest price I could find for my AT3's.

I can't say either puncture was a hard hit, but more of a wedge in a tight spot. Granted these were on a heavy JK. However, the relatively weak duratrac side wall is well documented online yet they are still a real popular tire among wheelers because of their strengths.

Of those two options I would get the BFG, primarily for the stronger sidewall. I have never run a duratrac, but have wheeled with folks who do. Any rock or tree sidewall contact usually resulted in a puncture.

I used a grade 8 bolt (with the headed slightly rounded) and nut. I couldn't find any center pins locally that cost less than $50.

I tried to go this route with my 8.8 swap. However, I was uncomfortable with the minimal material left on the spring plate after I elongated the holes to fit the much wider Ford tube width.

You will want long shock tabs/mounts/brackets since you are staying spring under to put the shock mounting position relatively close to stock. I was able to modify a set of TJ 8.8 swap shock brackets for my truck. However, RuffStuff has some long curved shock tabs that I think would work perfect (and I would have used if I wasn't in a hurry). http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=ruffstuff&Product_Code=R1653&Category_Code=shockbracketstabs You will also need center pins or rounded off grade 8 bolts (to fit the aftermarket spring plate that is designed for SOA, they all are) for your leaf spring rebuild.

Joe is a new member here. JHS is his username. Somewhere he posted that he picked up a MJ and is developing some of those rocker sliders for it.

Next step. Increase departure angle by replacing Fey bumper and Valley Hitch with the JCR DIY bumper I bought in 2012. The bumper comes to you in a small, unassuming, yet heavy box. You then have to figure out how to bend metal to specific degrees in an unequipped garage. Bumper starting to take shape. Per JCRs instructions, grinding and smoothing done before shackle and mounting brackets installed. You can also see the real Curt receiver hitch I bought to replace the piece of box tube JCR sold me as a receiver. Finished: Something happened to the bumper brackets when I burned them in. During the construction/tacking of the bumper, everything lined up perfect. However, once the bumper was permanently mounted I noticed it sits about 1/4" lower on the driver side of the truck. I guess something warped. Whoops. The crazy thing, I swear this bumper weighs less than the Fey bumper + Valley Hitch combo.

Welcome to the club Paul. You are in the right place! The 4wd swap is very common around here. It is essentially a bolt in affair. You will need transmission, transfer case, front axle drive shaft, the shifter linkage and a new rear driveshaft or yours shortened. Hate to rub salt in a wound, but I know we would love to see pictures of your old 92!

Great work on the truck. It certainly looks like a refined rig now!

I have been looking at the Pro Max head for my 2.5 as well, but reviews are few and far between. Did it come to you spotless with smooth machine work done? Has it been decked? Where did you pick up the new valvetrain components? Would you mind sharing how much $$$ you have tied up in the remanufaced head assembly? I am debating going the Pro Max route or pulling my head and having my engine builder take care of it. NIce truck and nice updates :thumbsup: I like the direction you are going with this truck.

My guess, GM is thinking about turning the new Colorado/Canyon into an SUV.

I am in search of the front door weather stripping from a 97-01 4 door XJ, one for each side for my 86 MJ. Small tears are ok as long as the bulb is still in good shape. Let me know what you have. Thanks.

Jim wouldn't need to fly anywhere. He is in CO!

In my case I elected to remove the valve since one of the brake lines was rusted through, the other wasn't and was in great shape. Being mindful of budget I decided it was cheaper to buy a plug for the distribution block than to install a new brake line. Plus I wanted to see how the truck would behave, and I was pleasantly surprised.