derf

I saw that one too. Going to look at it on Saturday to see what's left...

Maybe I need to do a chief paint job then...

Yeah, you may be able to live with 3.55s and 32s with an automatic. I start to look at regearing at 31s. To get back to stock performance, 4.10s are probably good with 32s. 3.55s and a manual are probably OK with 32s since the stock ratio with a manual is 3.08.

Some days you just need a little bagpipe in your rock and roll...

There really isn't much left of this one. It was at one point a 4wd 4 cyl short bed truck. Most of it is gone. But the chassis is solid and there's not much rust. So I'll be taking parts off my mostly complete but rusted out parts donor truck. It's going to get a Renix 4.0, and I have an AX15 to go behind it. I have both an NP242 and an NP231. I'm leaning towards the 242 but haven't made up my mind. A non CAD D30 will replace the 2wd beam it's sitting on now. And I have a factory MJ Dana 44. Most likely a 3.5" lift with some 31x10.50/15 tires. And 3.55s with TrueTracs front and rear. It's going to get a full paint job since the donor parts won't match. And the paint on it is pretty well shot. Likely something close to navy blue, with the burgundy interior. As it sits now:

The sheet metal is more solid than any of my other trucks by a long shot. And it came with a title. One of my other rust buckets is going to donate parts before it completely falls apart. Probably going to strip it and do a full respray while it's like this. Trying to work out a deal on a bed for it.

It followed me home. My 5th overall. 1987 short bed. I'll get more details in the registry soon. And start a build log. But it's going to have a Renix 4.0 with AX15 and an NP242. On a 3 inch lift with 31s.

Spring over axle gets you the most comfortable ride. You need 4.5-5.5" lift in the front and that means a long arm kit if you want comfort. For 3", a short arm front with a 3" full leaf pack rear from some place like hell creek suspension is your best bet.

I've done AALs before. They're cheaper than replacement spring packs. And that's their only upside. They do make the ride much more stiff. Rough country tends to be stiffer across the board compared to other brands too.

If you're going to do a carb swap, I have a Motorcraft 2150 that I just took off my CJ. And the adapter to bolt it to a 2bbl manifold. The 2150 is a good all around carburetor. It probably needs a rebuild and maybe some different jets. It was running rich on my CJ. Another alternative would be a TBI from a 4.3 chebby. Easy swap if you're good with wiring.

Got the manually controlled dual battery setup in. One switch for each battery to connect/disconnect it. I can run either battery or both if I want. Still have a bunch of wiring to finish. Also did the spark plugs. It may have been running a tad rich...

Not sure whether this could be considered a laxitive...

It is.

I've done gears on many axles. I can't offer warranty on the work but if it's something you are interested in doing with some help, I'm set up to do it.

Test fitting as I do wiring...

There were a lot more similarities in the early years of the XJ that quietly went away.

There's several options, including Dynamat knockoffs. There's several spray in options too. You can also get a roll of foam padding and cut it to fit. Just don't attach it to the carpet first.

I have a good 40 years of CDs accumulated. Going on 850 discs. Ripped under fair use with the original discs as backup. I have a dozen playlists with easily over 1,000 songs. Playlists are grouped by genre so I can change which one I'm listening to depending on my mood. I find that many vehicles can't do shuffle right on thumb drives. But it's not hard to connect the phone (wired or wireless) to the car's stereo. And PowerAmp is a decent app for playing my playlists. Still, I'm planning a cassette deck for my Comanche build and I'm going to revive my old mix tapes. Maybe even record some new tapes.

I remember the days of cassette players in cars. Mostly, I would just let the cassette play and not bother trying to find a specific song. Even now with MP3 playlists, I just let the list play. Of course, I spent a bunch of time making mix tapes followed by mix CDs, now MP3 playlists that only have songs I like. It's work up front but it's a good way to avoid having to deal with fast forwarding or reversing cassettes.

That's like arguing over which midget is taller...

Yeah, but the only way it's useful is on a 4 cyl...

I still have all my mix tapes from the 80s collecting dust on a shelf. I totally understand the nostalgia and wanting a cassette deck in an older truck. I'm considering doing that in my next project build.