FitchVA Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 i've been wanting an MJ for quite some time. i had found a MINT 91 on Craigslist but the owner kept giving me the run around. oh, well, his loss - i had cash in hand. well, pursuing that MJ really got me hung up on them. i happened on this one on Craigslist as well. once i signed up on here, i found out that another member had looked at it but passed because it needed some work. i'm using this as an excuse to try out some things that i'm just too scared to do on my other jeeps. heck, if i mess it up too bad, i can always make a killer offroad trailer out of it ;) here's a picture of it's good side: the main specs: 1989 MJ short bed/4.0L/231 tc/auto tranny/d35 rear this will become my to/from work driver as well as parts hauler. but i admit that i'm a little vain when it comes to what i drive. i like to drive things that look good. ...this MJ doesn't...right now. that's why my project's nicknamed the Ugly Duckling. others might not (others outside of the jeep community) see her potential, but i can see it. the plan: (in no particular order) [*:2xku6v9l]get rid of the UGLY brown - i'm currently trying to pick between a silver or desert tan[*:2xku6v9l]mild lift ~ 4.5" ( i'm upgrading my xj's suspension so i can scavenge a lot of lift parts off of it)[*:2xku6v9l]more aggressive tires.[*:2xku6v9l]the front ds fender is toast so it needs replacing - so i'm pondering a 97+ front end conversion if i can find the parts local and reasonable[*:2xku6v9l]then freshen up the motor. EDIT: i forgot to mention, the progress might be a little slow on this one. i've been putting off my green xj for a while now and she needs a little bit of love first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FitchVA Posted February 24, 2009 Author Share Posted February 24, 2009 the first order of business so far was to get her road worthy. the tires were in gawd-aweful shape. i am a pack rat, so i still had my old tires/wheels that i pulled off of my white 98 xj. before: after: she's a little more presentable now ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 nice wheel swap. Keep us posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giffer Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 looking good. she'll be nicer then your XJ soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FitchVA Posted September 30, 2009 Author Share Posted September 30, 2009 well i fingally got around to pulling the ugly ducklying into the shop. first thing addressed: the boo-boo'ed fender: it's nekkid! now it's just the worng color and has the wrong emblem yesterday i got the pinstriping off of the replacement fender, removed the badges, and fixed some dents. almost ready for paint i will be hacking the front fenders off just below the headlight buckets/bezels to accommodate a wraparound bumper this was my 1st attempt at bodywork. it was a learning experience :rotfl2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Its about time you got back to work on that thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FitchVA Posted October 1, 2009 Author Share Posted October 1, 2009 i think my neighbors agree with you :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FitchVA Posted October 3, 2009 Author Share Posted October 3, 2009 not much progress. the plan was to paint the MJ "John Deere Blitz Black" - it's a flat/satin black that looks really nice when done right. a coworker's father works for a paint supplier and was going to get me some for a good price. but my coworker has been dragging his feet so i haven't been really rushed to get stuff done. but i need to go ahead and get some paint down before it gets too cold. so i've decided to hold off on the Blitz Black until next spring so I can have plenty of time to do it right. in the mean time, i'm just gonna spray bomb it. i picked up the paint tonight. the plan was to have it sanded, taped, and prepped for paint in the morning. but me being me, took forever to strip down the important bits. so i didn't even get a chance to sand. but here are a few shots. not much different, but a little. and here's a closeup of my roof repair. it's still not perfect, but miles away from what it was considering this is my first attempt at body work. before: meow: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 I was going to ask you if you had a cowl hood on one of your rigs, then I remembered I was thinking about ol' 1bolt over in Culpeper. I get you two VA guys mixed up for some reason. Anyhow, the MJs starting to look good mate. We used to call that color turkey turd tan. :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FitchVA Posted October 3, 2009 Author Share Posted October 3, 2009 i hope to have a cowl hood on my green xj sooner or later. i have 2 hoods that i'm gonna try and cut up into 1 cowl hood. we'll see how that turns out. :clapping: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FitchVA Posted October 4, 2009 Author Share Posted October 4, 2009 UGH!! what a hum-dinger past couple of days. i will fully admit to doing everything seemingly the worst way possible this weekend. first, i didn't buy and really agressive sandpaper because when i was going to do the Blitz Black, i didn't want to risk leaving scratches that would later have to be sanded out after the prier was on. so needless to say, it took for-fraking-ever to sand down the paint. i'm not sure what kind of paint the PO used to cover the factory, but the parts that weren't peeling up were flipping tough as nails!!! lol took me all day saturday to sand it down. i think i started around 10 am and it was around 9 pm when i closed up the shop. looks like the bed at least was a pioneer how it sat this morning after the first whipedown today (sunday). the bed is darker only because it was the last thing i wiped down. the driver's side door was the first so it was dry at this point. i read a trick to get better results was to warm the cans up in a bucket of hot water. my only hot water source was inside the house and all of my buckets were kinda dirty so i went with a cooler. it actually turned out really well because it kept the water warm all day after a day much longer that it should have been today took so long because of 2 things: * my choise of masking paper * my choise of masking tape i don't get a newspaper so i bought some paper to mask off the glass. unfortunatly, it was way way too thick and no tape i had would keep it down w/out it peeling up. i chose to use some dollar general masking tape to hold all that on. THAT CRAP just doesn't work. i should have known better. once the first attempt at masking fell, i pulled out the expensive/good stuff. fighting with all of that probably cost me 2 hours. i stopped when i did because i needed to do some laundry for the week. i'll finish up the color coats later this weekend hopefully. but hopefully all of this prep will pay off when it's done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Automan2164 Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 I like the job you did... I hope my first attempt at bodywork looks half as good. Rob L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtyler8140 Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 Awesome job so far man. I actually went and looked at that MJ, but I needed a DD and didn't want to dd something that looked that brown. hahaha Glad to see you are making her look right. Hey you can also say that your MJ took 2nd in a tough truck competition. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakjeep93 Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 looks awsome dude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yesterday's Danish Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 not much progress. the plan was to paint the MJ "John Deere Blitz Black" - it's a flat/satin black that looks really nice when done right. a coworker's father works for a paint supplier and was going to get me some for a good price. but my coworker has been dragging his feet so i haven't been really rushed to get stuff done. but i need to go ahead and get some paint down before it gets too cold. so i've decided to hold off on the Blitz Black until next spring so I can have plenty of time to do it right. in the mean time, i'm just gonna spray bomb it. i picked up the paint tonight. the plan was to have it sanded, taped, and prepped for paint in the morning. but me being me, took forever to strip down the important bits. so i didn't even get a chance to sand. but here are a few shots. not much different, but a little. and here's a closeup of my roof repair. it's still not perfect, but miles away from what it was considering this is my first attempt at body work. before: meow: How did you get that dent out of the roof? I have a small dent in the same place and it looks like it's gonna be a pain to get out. :mad: Paint looks awesome. Looks very clean. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FitchVA Posted October 4, 2009 Author Share Posted October 4, 2009 I like the job you did... I hope my first attempt at bodywork looks half as good. Rob L. thanks :cheers: Awesome job so far man. I actually went and looked at that MJ, but I needed a DD and didn't want to dd something that looked that brown. hahaha Glad to see you are making her look right. Hey you can also say that your MJ took 2nd in a tough truck competition. ;) yeah, i walked away from it the first time i looked at it. but he dude called me back and offered a price i couldn't turn down. i was looking for a fixer-upper that i could learn on. this one fit the bill perfectly. looks awsome dude thanks :clapping: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FitchVA Posted October 4, 2009 Author Share Posted October 4, 2009 How did you get that dent out of the roof? I have a small dent in the same place and it looks like it's gonna be a pain to get out. :mad: Paint looks awesome. Looks very clean. :thumbsup: i bought a stud welder from harbor freight. it also came with a slide hammer. but using that plus welding in new metal where it was too bent to save got back to kinda normal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrailReadyMJ Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Lookin' great Steve! It's nice once they are all the same color isn't it...lol. BTW, I got the bedliner all cleaned up, drilled some holes for the tie downs, and got her screwed in. Works and looks good, thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FitchVA Posted October 5, 2009 Author Share Posted October 5, 2009 Lookin' great Steve! It's nice once they are all the same color isn't it...lol. BTW, I got the bedliner all cleaned up, drilled some holes for the tie downs, and got her screwed in. Works and looks good, thanks again! lol heck yeah it is! glad to hear it about the bedliner. i'm just glad you took it or else i'd have to figure out some what to get it in the garbage lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FitchVA Posted October 7, 2009 Author Share Posted October 7, 2009 well i got the paint done tonight. well the body at least. i still need to paint up the flares and other trim pieces. started with 1 light coat aaaaaaand after 3 coats: it's a tad bit darker in real life. here's a pic of the hood. this does not do justice on how badly it turned out. i think i'm going to take it off and repaint it with it vertical. some tips: if you don't wear one of these the entire time, you're just stupid. and don't think that those thin paper ones are doing anything helpful enough. spray can pistol grips - USE ONE. here's my old faithful. i've painted a ton with this, but because you can only use 1 finger at a time, it'll wear you out in no time i picked this one up because it had a larger trigger but i never used it because it couldn't hold the cans firmly enough: i would HIGHLY SUGGEST spending the $7 and getting this. it's much easier to pull the trigger and you can use 2 fingers at once. and it really clamps down on the cans. it worked so well that the only time i had to switch hands was when i needed to change angles, not because of fatigue. tape: for the love of pete - buy the good stuff. i hope to trim the flares and finish the trim painting later this week or this weekend. then it's time for lift and tires! :banana: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FitchVA Posted October 11, 2009 Author Share Posted October 11, 2009 got the trim parts sprayed and mounted. did the flares, all of the grill pieces, and the wiper cowl cover all flat black Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Lookin good kid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FitchVA Posted October 11, 2009 Author Share Posted October 11, 2009 thanks. ...but kid? lol, i'm pretty sure i'm older than you. :hmm: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Don't flatter yourself, I call everyone kid. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FitchVA Posted October 24, 2009 Author Share Posted October 24, 2009 just a little trim and they should fit...right? :yes: the champion beadlocks will be going on the xj. the tires aren't mine either. i was just goofing off after a buddy dropped them off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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