89 MJ

I know it’s just a bedliner, but my dad ran Raptor Liner in his YJ. It was about as quiet as the stock carpet.

I agree with this, but I just wanted to throw out some food for thought. I know lots of Supras are drag raced, but I have no clue how many have the manual in them. How many of these 1000hp Supras have the traction to break parts though? If you can't put the power down, you're not going to be as hard on parts. I'd bet a Jeep doing 4 wheel drive launches or aggressive offroading would cause more damage. This is all purely guessing and food for thought.

Look up Vice Grip Garage and Pole Barn Garage on YouTube. They both have videos on decent driver quality painting on a budget. Do not bed line the exterior of the truck. It makes fixing damage harder to fix, it weighs more, it typically fades, and I think it hurts the resale value.

Sounds like someone drilled them for a 1 ton steering conversion.

A Rubicon case may also have an electronic speedometer sensor. I'm not sure if you can put a conventional speedometer gear in or not. Many people run stock 231Js offroad. The biggest difference in capability will be gears and a limited slip in the rear. That said, if the Rubi t-case is a good price, it may be worth buying anyways.

That said, I fully expect your truck to be much nicer than mine was. Mine was fairly rough and had issues for years before I got it.

My truck had vinyl floors too and was a southern truck. Both floor pans needed replacing. The water gets behind it and soaks into the insulation and then never evaporates. Even if they look good from the bottom, they might not be. My build thread shows how bad they can be.

@Pete M, should this be in tech to get more eyes on it? @ghetdjc320 might know something.

If the windshield is leaking, you should really make sure you get the carpet out otherwise you'll have a nasty rust surprise later. Other than that and the bed damage, it looks like a good, straight truck. Even the rear bumper is in good shape.

Oh, and the ECU is tuned and the truck runs and stops now.

It’s been a while since the last update. Not much has changed either. Running boards are mounted and filler panels are done. When I was home for break, I buttoned up the piece that rotates the master cylinder.

If that local guy doesn’t have one, I’d probably buy the new one. Lots of used ones go for a few hundred

@krustyballer16 makes new bucket seat brackets.

Yes, 94+ bellhousing still have the CPS location.

Just get something to shield them. I’ve done that in both my Comanche and Eagle with no issues.

You need to sign in with your email now instead of your username. Its some security thing

Check out this thread. You'd be looking at one for an AX-15, NP231J, Dana44 rear combo.

The bird has been sitting in storage still, but @thej10guy painted up an Eagle matchbox to match my car.

Not much new with the JK. It went wheeling over the summer with my Comanche and it just got a winch. Otherwise its seeing summer daily driver duties for my mom. She got a Badlands Apex 12,000lb unit with synthetic line when they were on sale at Harbor Freight. On my dad's old YJ, the winch pretty much was only used for yardwork and I've got the Oliver 550 now, so time will tell if this is just going to be decoration or not.

February 2024 - The Bitchin Manchee Owned by @Smokeyyank Build Thread- Year/Model – 1988 Pioneer 4x4 Drivetrain- 4.0 w/AX5 and NP231, HP30 front and D35 rear Cooling- Converted to an open system. Electrical/Ignition- Stock, with 2G battery cable upgrade. R.E.M unit Suspension/Steering- Stock with ACOS to level rake and oversize tie rod Interior- Buckets with full center console. Full stereo with Kicker 8” sub speakers, Kenwood Exelon BT deck and 5ch amp. REM unit. Brakes- Stock Lighting- Harness upgrade Exterior- Colorado red with earned patina. Wheel & Tires- XJ ECCO wheels wrapped in Toyo open country Misc- I currently own two MJ’s, this one and a 92. For a minute I had 3 but was able to sell one off before the wife offed me in my sleep. This MJ is by far my favorite vehicle I own. Currently, I got 5 vehicles with Jeeps coming from every generation from the 70’s. 73 Commando, 88 MJ, 92 MJ and 04 WJ. Slowly building it but it’s not that far from the end goal. Need to refresh the suspension, toss on a little lift, get my turbines wrapped in some 31’s and a regear and should be good. There’s something about cruising it around that is just awesome. Probably the only vehicle I’ve ever owned that I’m content in stock form. About have a stroke anytime I see another one driving around. They are just awesome! Best MJ story- Other than how I got the MJ and getting it back, my favorite story is more just a memory. When my oldest daughter was about 2 she loved to play in the truck. So, we would just go outside, and it was her jungle gym. Fast forward a few years and now my second daughter loves to play in it so the two of them will “go driving”. CC is Awesome! Why?- It truly it is, and this forum is the best spot on the intrawebs. Not only do we got to talk about sweet MJ’s, but everyone is genuine and always willing to lend some advice for all sorts of life events without being a bag of d’s. Forums have been on the declines with other social media platforms on the rise, but CC doesn’t feel like it’s a ghost town at all. Actually, prefer to come here for any jeep related questions than other spots. Great community with tons of knowledge. Congrats @Smokeyyank! Its great to see young people such as your daughters enjoying this truck with you.

I’ve seen pictures of this truck before too. Either a member or on FaceSpace

I drill a 5/16” hole in the top panel, then mig weld the panels together. That’s what my dad does who has been restoring cars for 20+ years does and he learned that working in body shops. I would’ve liked to see spot welds where the factory spot welds would’ve been for strength, but I do like the panel bond on the outside edges more than when people just tack the floor pan in and brush seam sealer over it.

I’ve had good luck with Standard parts and NTKs. I’d recommend getting the CPS for a high altitude emissions truck. This will advance the timing and give you some more power.

Dang it, Jake! You've got me wanting to build a 6 passenger 2 door XJ now and I've got too many projects as it is...

That SJ center seat looks right at home in there. I like it!