jpnjim

Looks taller all of a sudden........

You're doing something right if the wife was on board with it! Not the most practical vehicle ever, but I've wanted one for a long time. a Pinzgauser could be almost as much fun, but maybe not as tractor-y

I love stepside Jeeps, I know this original question is old, but there was a guy that (re)designed these wheel flares and had them produced about 10-12 years ago for a Gaucho rebuild: ^The original 78' Brian Chuchua Gaucho^ I don't know if the re-creater "jscherb" is still making anything like this. I think he still posts some of the Wrangler & CJ forums: https://www.wranglerforum.com/ https://www.cj-8.com/members/jscherb.3191/ Here's a couple threads where he was using the flares in builds: https://www.jeepforum.com/threads/gaucho-cj-stepside-pickup-build.709132/ older version: https://forum.aev-conversions.com/forum/all-aev-products/brute-and-brute-double-cab-pickup-discussion/397-not-quite-a-brute and he was offering them to some S10 guys to try out: https://www.s10forum.com/threads/retro-stepside-s10.421964/ I don't know him, but remember him from Pirate, and maybe even back in the Jeepsunlimited days, lots of talent for design and was always eager to share his ideas. He had some awesome CJ/Wrangler hard tops reproduced, and designed some Jeep trailers in Fiberglass too. Always very nice, high quality stuff.

My first choice for a non-Jeep truck would be:

I've never had a Renix computer go bad on me (yet), but is your mechanic pretty sure that whatever caused the last one to fry won't blow up the next one too?

Thanks ghinmi for the explanation, I guessed there was an answer for your approach with this build. I would love to do a similar (but far less amazing!) turbo Cherokee/Comanche, knowing what the differences are is helpful. And thanks for all the thread updates, it really is amazing to see all the attention to detail as the build unfolds.

Thanks Eagle Scout! Very interesting to see how some of these were optioned out! Nice that you were able to confirm it as a Florida truck as well.

Thanks Eaglescout! and Fiat! that seems like an awful lot of codes for just one vehicle, is that normal? & I didn't see where it said what model it was, I believe this one had the hockey stick PIONEER decals (I'll post a pic if/when I find it)

I really like them, and think they would look great on the trail truck, but being LED only is a dealbreaker for me. at $300-ish a set, & I'm guessing they won't be replaceable one side at a time if they get smashed. + I'd rather not deal with LED's when it comes to blinkers, etc. (backup lights yes, blinkers, no). So I'm not holding my breath, but hopefully they think about expanding their market by offering the tailights themselves with conventional sockets in them (assuming the plastic is high temp rated), and sell them one at a time for replacement purposes. I am very glad to see another company taking a chance on us though

I bought this one in 1996 with 87K miles, it still lives on in other Jeeps, but most of it finally went off to the big Jeep Farm in the sky around 2004: 1J7FT36L9KL465542 1989 2wd MJ Longbed P1 Black Pioneer Light Grey Interior Bench Seat Mini-Console Roll up windows Renix 4.0L Peugeot 5spd 3.07 geared D35 Body was a little rough for a 7 year old truck, but I think I paid $1200. Engine had copper showing on the rod bearings at 87K miles, but a CarFax showed the mileage was right

I found an old note with the VIN of this one on it from back in 1996: 1JTMW64P9JT163724 1988 2wd MJ Shortbed Colorado Red Light Grey interior bench seat mini-console roll up windows Renix 4.0L Peugeot 5 speed 3.07 geared D35 I remember it well because the body was good, had one repaint in a slightly darker shade, tinted windows, may have originally been a Florida truck. Pretty sure it's long gone now, just wondering what it was (I'm guessing a Pioneer)

It's been a pretty good Father/son project so far (while we wait to start on the Chief......) Just to put all the specs, work done & future work in one place: info: 2000 4dr XJ Forest Green Pearlcoat Dark Slate/Agate interior 280K miles 4.0L w/miss & slight rap AW4 Auto LP 30 front/8.25 Rear 3.55's w/Aussie Lockers Ft & Rear (front in box) 4.5" Rough Country short arm lift w/rear springs new 33x10.5-15 BFG AT's on American Racing Atlas wheels Factory (long) slip yoke, with T-case drop some rot, rear bumper/quarter munched also came with set of newish 225/75-15's (now on the Chief) and a big box of spare parts/uninstalled new parts. ^Paid $1000 in 2020 2020-2022: Jeep mostly sat in back yard waiting Fixed rear bumper, pulled quarter out cut out rotted rocker Cleared out mouse nests Sept 2022- Dec 2022: Swapped in: 2001 4.0L (52k miles) New Waterpump 1998 AW4 (90k miles) 1987 NP231 (for older style slip yoke) removed t-case drop Dropped lift to 3.5-4" (removed 1 rear leaf, RE Ft Coils) Burned in new inner and outer passengers side rockers new front floors new front ACC Carper (black) LED Headlights JKS Disconnects Longer rubber ft brake lines replaced front steel lines with Copper/Nickel used Keyless entry module from 2001 Swapped black 1998 header panel on after using too-short Harbor Freight 1ton engine crane to pull old engine (damaged 2000 green header panel) Jan 2023 Installed BPI Front bumper 6000lb rear receiver hitch Swapped wheels & tires a few times (Snow tires for now) Speakers & Stereo LED Foglights Swapped out bad steering wheel Next stuff & later stuff: Clearance/adjust lift height for 33's Front brake pads Re-cover headliner fix speaker wires to ft passenger door 32 spline HD T-case output + Double Cardan rear shaft longer rubber rear brake line put front Aussie locker in at some point recharge & diagnose A/C

Wow Ghinmi, you're killing it with this build! Very nice work all around! I miss reading your stuff on the AMC Forum, so I'm glad to see what you're doing with an MJ. I have a couple questions though if you don't mind: Is the PT Cruizer/SRT-4 (transverse) 2.4L block better/stronger, than a Liberty/TJ 2.4L block? (or is the PT Cruizer/SRT-4 block the same as the KJ/TJ?) I like the idea of this build (a lot!), and wondered if there would be a simpler way to get a PowerTech 2.4L Turbo into an MJ or an XJ. Even if the transverse vs longitudinal blocks are all the same, I'd guess that the front engine accessory layout from a TJ/KJ may be a closer fit out of the box(?), and something like an AR5, or MA5 transmission might work with the Libby/TJ NV1500 bell. I'm not well versed in NV1500 bells, but I think a Supra R154 would even bolt up if input shafts could be swapped. I know you are building this around an automatic, so that part wouldn't really apply to your build, and sorry to sidetrack this thread, but I'm really interested in this swap and there's not a ton of info out there on these engines. Thanks!

Hey Neohic thanks for remembering me Yeah Jake is better at crawling around on the cold unheated garage floor this time of the year, so he does a lot of the wrenching, while I point and complain he's doing it wrong That old Red MJ was put together when decent Comanches could be found for $500, and parts Cherokees were everywhere, so not everything was done to be a work of art The YJ/CJ bed bar was stick welded together outside in a rainstorm the night before a trail ride, I always worried about the little MJ cab not holding up to a rollover, and figured it was time for a little insurance. I still read Comanche Club from time to time, but hadn't looked up the old password till now. Glad to see some of the old guys are still around with lots of great new members keeping the place going strong.

Get well soon Don!!! Sorry to hear you're having a tough time, take it slow and steady, this place needs you back to show the young guys what Chrome is all about. Get stronger every day sir there's lots and lots more World Champion Red Sox to enjoy in the coming year.

I haven't been by here in a while and was very sad to read that Jim had passed I can't think of a member that was more full of life, or mentally sharp. Every post he typed was full of Jim-ism's, so there should be plenty of his wisdom in every thread he posted in for a good feature on him. I didn't see one on the MJotM, but I could have been looking in the wrong spot. Either way, thanks for taking the time to recognize such a unique and wonderful member. Rest In Peace my friend

apparently (from what I've been told) some later years could have been had with the 44 under a short bed (some sort of offroad package?). but only long beds had the metric ton package. If so it was never "officially" available from what I've seen. I have brochures up to 91 and none make any mention of the heavy duty axle except in the MT package. I could see it happening though. Possibly a case of "well, if you REALLY want it..." Double check the 1987' brochure Minuit, I know I have one or two that list the 44 for 87', before Chrysler changed things the D44 was available 3 different ways; part of the MJ Big Ton/Metric Ton package part of the MJ & XJ Off Road package (1987 only) or as a stand alone HD rear axle option. Officially it was just a Big Ton/Metric Ton thing for 1988+ but it seems like a bunch of them trickled out there in XJ's and MJ's in 88 & 89 too.

This is why I hate anyone else to work on my stuff. Stupid levels are at an all time high, and it's only getting worse. That car needs a junkyard engine, and the owner needs to never be allowed to pop another hood again, ever. Kind of reminds me of when a friend in high school was asked by his uncle to chang the oil in his L6 Chevy Nova, instead of 4 quarts of oil, he refilled with 4 gallons lol Thought he was supposed to fill up the valve cover. it smoked a bit lol

....and another vote for the ratchet strap method.

I paid less than that for the originals, I'd hold out for originals for that price, but if you can't wait, a money back guarantee is good, though shipping back and forth on 3 books if you don't like them might put a damper on the refund a little.

There was some gear pitch changes along the way, way back when I swapped a 23 spline gear for a 21 spline (in a 231 box), and the t-case sounded like it was full of rocks. It could have been a 231 only thing, just putting it out there that there was different generations of T-cases and not all of the gears interchange. Old thread: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/jeep-cherokee/808683-np231-gear-pitch-changes.html

That's pretty awesome, hope you post up plenty of pics (or video!) when it's done. ZJ rear coils are the same as MJ/XJ/ZJ/TJ fronts, only a lot shorter. Might be worth trying some uncut rear lift coils instead of the cut down front lift coils if you came across a set. I've used them + spacers in the front of XJ/MJ's when I wanted stiffer than factory springs, but not a higher ride height. The goal is to actually cut the coil shorter, since that raises the spring rate of the coil. I would look for the stiffest, longest coil and then cut it down to make it much stiffer. Spring rates are one of the few things (and sway bars) we can really experiment with to balance the handling front to rear. The combination of the cut Rancho coils front and a couple leaves added to the stock leaf pack rear ended up making the XJ very balanced. It would understeer or oversteer based on how it was driven and not much simply because the car wasn't balanced. The MJ has stiffer rear springs, so I'm anticipating wanting to try a stiffer spring in the front also. It's trial and error, we'll need a track day to figure it out. If you really want the stiffest springs possible, you should also try stock 1970's F150 coils, Lots of people used them to lift XJ's before there were so many aftermarket coils out there. Biggest complaint was how stiff they were. I think they're close enough to swap right over, and are dirt cheap, once you cut some length out of them you should have the stiffest riding MJ on the planet :eek: Good luck & I'd love to read a build thread on it :thumbsup:

I wonder if the wheels are bent(?) Wouldn't be too tough to check them for runout by giving them a spin on the vehicle and eyeballing them or getting fancy with a piece of solid wire or something as an indicator. The Walmart guys probably can run a balancer, but if there's any other issues going on, they just slap weights on it and roll it out the door. Maybe you could try the Walmart tires one at a time on the front of the vehicle to see which one is the bad one. Good luck Eagle

Yep. 1974. Prestolite. Very problematic but the fix was found and came out in a TSB. I thought the Prestolite was in 75' but either way, it was the Peugeot BA 10/5 of ignition systems :yes: I liked it, and used it on a few different AMC V8's "back in the day" since they were plentiful in the junkyards, and no one wanted them. I carried a spare control module, but never needed it. To the original poster, I'd say go with the later Motorcraft stuff, or a point distributor + a drop in breakerless conversion. Either way, I'm guessing replacement parts would be easier to find than chasing down Prestolite BID parts. :thumbsup:

Even worse is all the people so excited to inform you: "Didja hear?!, they're bringing back the Jeep Pickup!!" Me (thinking) big whoop, they could have designed a new TJ/JK half cab any time in the last 20 years if they really cared about this market. I would like to see the JK 4 door body with Hummer Pickup style (no frills) door blanks on the rear doors to make a slightly extended cab 2 door JK pickup. Instead we'll get a giant 4 door pickup with minimal towing/hauling capacity, 14 cup holders and dvd players. I guess it's the thought that counts.