Dzimm

Thanks! No problem, good luck with it.

Thanks! If you decide to take on the challenge and have any questions just ask.

Looks like a nice truck to start with. Do you plan on doing the full 97+ swap or just the front clip? As for images, I wouldn't trust Photobucket because they will eventually take down your photos and you will have to re-upload. On Imgur you just upload the picture to their site, click on the picture, that brings up the direct link in a pane to the right of the picture, which you copy and paste here. It seems like a process but it actually works pretty slick.

The truck is finally all one color! I did all the prep Friday after work and spent all day Saturday painting. For prep I ended up sanding everything with 100 grit, 120 grit, 180 grit, and 400 grit with a palm sander, then did 1000 grit and 1600 grit with a sanding block. After that I wiped down the whole truck with a dry rag and followed with mineral spirits before painting. I did not do any sanding between or after any coats of paint but I did use a dry rag and wiped off the over-spray dust from the automotive primer before spraying the blue. For paint I did: - 1 medium-heavy coat of primer sealer (6 cans) Plus the many layers that were already on the truck from my previous repairs. - 1 light coat of automotive primer (5.5 cans) This stuff did not spray or coat well and I didn't want the possibility of "tiger stripes" so I only did 1 coat. - 2 coats of blue (10.5 cans) This sprayed and coated very well. The first coat was light-medium and the second coat was a heavy coat. - 2 coats of clear (9.5 cans) These cans sprayed a little sporadic, which led to a couple small runs but overall it coated well. Both coats were medium coats. These are some pictures I took today after putting the truck back together and giving it a quick rinse. You can see the dents and areas where my prep work wasn't the best but the paint overall looks like a real paint job (cheap Maaco). Since my taillights had some over-spray from the white spray job it previously had, I decided to clean them up, paint the borders black, and spray clear coat on them. I also sprayed some bedliner on the tailgate handle and the top of the rear bumper. Towards the end of the week I received my blue LEDs and my light bar rocker switch so I installed those as well. This thing is really coming together and I love it. The inner bulb of the marker light on the drivers side only works as a turn signal... weird The HVAC controls have blue LEDs too but you can't really tell in this lighting. Also these LEDs don't dim all that much so if you are someone who likes your interior lights really dim, this isn't a swap for you. Some of the last major things I need to do to it: - Paint and install the factory flares (96- front flares and brackets currently in the mail) - Put the decals on it - Bedliner the lower part of the body, the bed, and maybe the hood - Put the Moonvisor on it - Get bigger tires - Figure out a spare tire mount in the bed - Modify the front yoke to accept my front driveshaft u-bolts - Probably an auto locker in the rear There is just a huge sense of accomplishment that comes when you near the finish of a major project like this. September 10th will be 1 year since I got this truck and it is amazing to me that in just under a year I was able to take a pretty much stripped truck and build something like this out of it. This club has been a huge help with this project and a huge motivational tool for me. Thank you everyone for creating this great community and thank you Pete for leading the way.

This is my last ditch attempt to aquire a Moonvisor for my MJ. I know everyone is looking for these and nobody seems to have them but it's worth a shot. If anyone happens to have one in halfway decent shape, I would love to buy it or maybe work out a trade for my very good condition, gloss black XJ Moonvisor. If not, I'll be retrofitting my XJ visor on the MJ.

Well its blue!! More to come. Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk

How much down time are we talking? I can't go long without my fix....

Maybe "Running when parked in creek"? :laughin:In all honesty the Fairlane looks like it was fairly complete under the hood when it was "parked" there, so it very well could have been running. Not sure why it was dumped. Pop the trunk and check for human remains. I would love to check the inside of these cars but they are underground and filled with dirt. Only the front end of the Fairlane and the passenger side and front of the Bel Air are exposed.

Maybe "Running when parked in creek"? :laughin: In all honesty the Fairlane looks like it was fairly complete under the hood when it was "parked" there, so it very well could have been running. Not sure why it was dumped.

Nope no no Nope No.. NO.. I will stick with my 4.0s that come with a nice Jeep body. Why did they make it look like a RR Defender?

Thanks guys. Definitely looks good with the stock flares so I ordered a set of fronts to put on it. Should be here next week!

Don't forget that they are RARE!!

Deleted duplicate.

Well I've decided this will be a 5-10 foot paint job. I can't spend the amount of time it would take to get this perfect. There are so many imperfections and different layers of paint. Oh well, it'll look good to me and ya can't beat spending $200 to paint it. I couldn't imagine what a shop would charge to do all the body work this would need. Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk

Yeah it lasts longer and gives it more shine. I'm using an automotive grade clear coat from rustoleum so it should work out well. All the paint I'm using is their automotive grade with the added uv protection. I've never done a whole vehicle so well see how it comes out.

That's not a bad idea. It also makes the limited search function a little more useful (eventually, once enough new content is added). Moderators will have to expect to move threads fairly often. But that's part of the job. :rotfl2: Just don't make too many subforums that it becomes overwhelming. This is a good idea but do we really see that many varying topics? I feel that the subforums for the more uncommon things like "engine swaps" are less likely to be seen by the vast majority, and the less you have to click around, the better the experience imo. I don't feel like the tech section moves all that quickly. Subforums would make searching a lot easier however. Some guys don't care to read or answer the basic maintenance questions, but are more than happy to muse about things like axle or engine swaps. IMHO they tend to then pick a subforum or two and spend a bunch of time in it, and actually provide more content then if they just take a quick look in the tech and see nothing they feel like reading and move on to only return a few days later. But, yeah, it's a matter of finding the right balance. Some places split it as stock tech, and modified tech, which is generally a decent balance. Other places add a body/paint/interior section beyond that. And others an electrical. The problem then is if a guy has something like a 97+ question, what section does it go into? It's modified tech, but using stock parts, and it also affects the body/paint/interior, and the electrical system if he's really going all out. :doh: So you have to be careful what you choose for subforums, and make appropriate ones for the more common niches, or at least put a note as to where such questions should mostly go. One thing I will point out with the way the sub-subforums are displayed currently (such as the "Popular threads" one in The Pub) is that they get little traffic as they are not accessible from the main forum directory. Also, with it being up near the header by itself, which is a somewhat uncommon thing in modern forums, some people will skim past it while scrolling to the actual subforum. I do this, I think I've clicked on that sub-subforum only 100 times or so total in all the years I've been here. Personally I think tech could be split to a few more subforums, as long as it was done right. Then sticky some decent posts that cover the most repetitive of questions in each... Well said. I'd agree with this. You mention the stuff pinned to the top of the page, which reminded me of something. I love that this forum has the new posts at the bottom.. I hate reading a thread where the new posts are at the top and you have to scroll up and down to read the thread. NAXJA is an example, I can't stand it.

That's not a bad idea. It also makes the limited search function a little more useful (eventually, once enough new content is added). Moderators will have to expect to move threads fairly often. But that's part of the job. :rotfl2: Just don't make too many subforums that it becomes overwhelming. This is a good idea but do we really see that many varying topics? I feel that the subforums for the more uncommon things like "engine swaps" are less likely to be seen by the vast majority, and the less you have to click around, the better the experience imo. I don't feel like the tech section moves all that quickly. Subforums would make searching a lot easier however.

Thanks, that's perfect. Any idea how many retainer brackets are on the front? I'm seeing two each on the website but I want to confirm. Nvm I found the third one.

Thanks, that's perfect. Any idea how many retainer brackets are on the front? I'm seeing two each on the website but I want to confirm.

Ive got a 52 Bel Air and a 63 Fairlane in my creek. If you want to come dig them out they're yours. Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk

Thanks and welcome to the addiction! Yeah the fenders and front clip will bolt right up to the existing holes. The only modifications you have to do is to adapt the wiring on the 97+ clip to work with the MJ wiring. Below is a link with the wire colors that need spliced, coincidentally that thread was started by the PO of my truck when he first did the front clip swap. Your wire colors may differ slightly from what's there but it's a good starting point for you. Good luck with your swap and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask! http://comancheclub.com/topic/17155-adapting-mj-headlight-harness-to-97-xj-harness/

Well today I started preparing for paint. I got the last bit of bondo I wanted to do on the drivers side done and got all the rough edges smoothed out and decals removed. This way when I go to do the paint job for real, I just have to sand everything with high grit sandpaper and start painting. I plan on doing this same thing to the passenger side tomorrow and on Friday start removing lights, bumpers, and the tailgate as well as get the shed cleaned up and ready to start painting on Saturday. I'm very excited! Last night I got some blue leds ordered to convert my dash lights to blue and I ordered the rocker switch I needed to finish my off road light install. These should be here the beginning of next week. Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk

That's not a bad price at all imo. I think we should do more events throughout the year to raise money for the club. Like Shelbyluvv's bumper raffle for example. Great idea and will help everyone in the long run.

So I am to the point that I need to figure out what I want to do for fender flares. So far I've decided that I don't want to spend the money on Bushwackers nor do I want rounded flares. I want to stick with the more boxy look. Here is the options I've come up with in my head and I want your opinions. - Stock flares (I have a set of rears but not fronts. How do the factory front flares look cut short on a 97+ fender? I can't find any pictures of this. Also are they available new with the inner brackets for a decent price anywhere? What about new inner brackets for the rear? Mine are pretty rusty.) - TJ rear flares on all 4 corners (I've seen them used on XJs but has anyone done it on an MJ? How do they fit in the rear?) - Track down some PVC board and make my own flat flares. (I've already made phone calls about this but nobody can get it around here anywhere at a decent price.) What other options can you guys come up with?

This writeup? https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/zj-tie-rod-upgrade-22717/