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1992/1999 Mj Project


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I didn't realize your truck looked almost identical before you painted it . Is it more burgundy or red !!

Looking good man !!

My truck was/half is, identical to yours. It came from the factory in 'Colorado Red' just as your truck is. When I got the bed painted, we decided to go with 'Pioneer Red' which is a bit brighter than the burgundy 'Colorado Red'.

 

Thanks for the comment :thumbsup:

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you fixing the xj up for the road too?

Negative. The last thing I need is 3 Jeeps on the road that I need to maintain :ack: I simply buttoned the XJ interior up to keep critters out since it is being stored in an old barn. The passenger side is also all warped from the flop.... air tight nightmare.

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You and I will be going through a similar buildup in the coming months. I picked up a 1999 XJ Classic w/4.0, AW4, NP231, and 8.25. I intend to transplant as much as I possibly can into the MJ. I'm currently in the process of taking the MJ down to the bare shell to prep the body for paint, paint, and more paint!

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No doubt you will beat me! I am extremely slow and meticulous. Its not a good combination :ack:

 

I was able to get my grubby hands on an XJ Infinity stereo system for the Jeep. Comes with the factory CD player, amp, harness, and speakers. I have always liked factory Jeep radios, and their sound :nuts:, over the misfit aftermarket options. I will have to get creative to get all of it shoved in the MJ.

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Any more info on the bedliner kit? I've never seen that stuff before. How do you like it? It looks similar to the consistency of the dupli-color rattle can spray liner I've used before. Lately I've been using Herculiner for everything. How thick and durable is it?

 

Regardless it looks like it went on well and the truck looks great.

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No doubt you will beat me! I am extremely slow and meticulous. Its not a good combination :ack:

 

Slow and steady wins the race! I've got my work cut out for me - as do you - and I don't anticipate being anywhere near completion until the end of next year. I should have a running, driving MJ within 3-4 months, though. It all depends on how crazy I get with the painting and undercoating since the mechanical portion of the project should go by pretty smoothly.

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Any more info on the bedliner kit? I've never seen that stuff before. How do you like it? It looks similar to the consistency of the dupli-color rattle can spray liner I've used before. Lately I've been using Herculiner for everything. How thick and durable is it?

 

Regardless it looks like it went on well and the truck looks great.

I can not comment on the durability yet since the new bed is sitting on saw horses in the garage. I did a lot of research prior to buying the liner on various Jeep/truck forums not only on the application and texture, but the durability. It seems everybody that prepped the surface has had no problems with the liner. It is also UV protected to resist the fading that happens with other liners.

 

I have the duplicolor liner sprayed on my TJ's cage and winch plate. My application method of the U-Pol is certainly yielded a thicker and more textured surface than the duplicolor. If you wanted a more aggressive texture, all you need to do is drop the air pressure to the gun down.

 

Slow and steady wins the race! I've got my work cut out for me - as do you - and I don't anticipate being anywhere near completion until the end of next year. I should have a running, driving MJ within 3-4 months, though. It all depends on how crazy I get with the painting and undercoating since the mechanical portion of the project should go by pretty smoothly.

Initially I just wanted to swap the drivetrain and interior over with a fresh coat of paint on the outside. As the project evolved, I figured that if I am 75% there, why not take it completely down and get everything treated for rust and longevity. I am building the truck in anticipation that I will be my DD and will last 30 more years at least.

 

When the drivetrain comes out of the MJ, new floors will be welded in, then the entire under carriage treated with POR15 then some sort of undercoating (still need to research that). After that, the body work will be done and everything swaped over. Sounds like a piece of cake doesn't it :rotf:

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Initially I just wanted to swap the drivetrain and interior over with a fresh coat of paint on the outside. As the project evolved, I figured that if I am 75% there, why not take it completely down and get everything treated for rust and longevity. I am building the truck in anticipation that I will be my DD and will last 30 more years at least.

 

When the drivetrain comes out of the MJ, new floors will be welded in, then the entire under carriage treated with POR15 then some sort of undercoating (still need to research that). After that, the body work will be done and everything swaped over. Sounds like a piece of cake doesn't it :rotf:

 

Anything is easy if you have the right equipment! I intend on doing the same as you, but I'm not certain if I will use POR-15 or a cheaper alternative such as Valspar Tractor & Implement Primer & Enamel. I've heard some very positive things about that stuff being as tough as nails and the price is right, too - about $9.99/gallon for the primer and $29.99/gallon for the enamel compared to $145/gallon for POR-15.

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  • 2 months later...

March 2010-

 

The poor MJ has not been getting much action this year. I moved to the city for work while the truck was left in a barn on the family farm. Then I hauled off and got engaged.

 

I have been able to pull apart the XJs interior wiring harness, eliminating eveything I won't need. The front clip, fuel tank, and bed were also pulled from the MJ. Luckily there was very minimal rust on the back frame rails. Looks like some minimal clean up of flaking rust then some POR15 over everything is all she will need.

 

The next series of milestones will be driveline removal from the MJ and getting the XJ dash fitted in there with the firewall modifications. Then to the body shop for new rockers, floor pans and cab corners. Hopefully she will be at paint by the end of the year.

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  • 4 weeks later...

April 2010-

Slowly making forward progress on the truck. Got the bed removed and started getting the frame rust ground down. Looks to be in great shape so I will simply soda blast it then coat in POR 15. I am working towards pulling the drivetrain before blasting the undercarriage. One more afternoon and the engine, tranny, and tcase should come out with out much trouble.

 

How she sat this afternoon:

Image Not Found

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Here we have it, a goal to reach. I spent a little time getting a loose rendering done of what my ultimate goal for the MJ is.

 

 

- JKS/Skyjacker/Hell Creek/OME 4" lift

- Polished Rubicon Moab wheels with an aggressive 31" tire

- Black flares

- Full on 97+ conversion

- Jeepsticker's "Comanche" door sticker

- SkinnyPedal's IPF/HID headlight conversion

- Tinted side and back windows

- Comanche Club rear window sticker (out of view)

- K-State tag up front

 

The only thing that my be different would be a tougher front bumper and tow hooks.

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  • 1 month later...

May/June 2010 Update

Between working on wedding plans I have still been able to get some work done on the ol' MJ.

 

My first order of business was to verify the donors harness and accessories still work 100% after being thinned down. Naturally, I had to take a test drive around the property:

 

It was then time to pull the drivetrain out. Decided to take out the 4.0/AW4/231 as one piece. Used our John Deere 4210 loader to pull it out, worked great!

 

Some MJ nudes:

 

Then I gutted the interior:

 

My next step will be getting the XJ dash fitted (need to pick up a spot weld driller) and firewall patches cut and outlined for the body shop to weld in.

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Thank you so much for the complement! jamminz.gif I am sure the plans will change a little, but it much easier to build towards that ultimate goal. Luckily I DD a company truck and have my TJ for personal use. If all else fails I can borrow my folks XJ as long as I clean it and change the oil.

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  • 4 weeks later...

July 3, 2010

First I used a spot weld driller to remove the 3 brackets from the firewall. Then I started testing out how the XJ dash will fit. Need to get the top of it mounted securely. I was surprised how little effort this took. Just needed a couple new holes drilled and she was up and in place.

 

 

Dash to windsheild clearance.

 

Slowly but surely!

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  • 2 weeks later...

This weekend was fairly busy. After replacing two unit bearings on the TJ I removed the MJs doors. Lets just say, 200K miles of rust made this a chore. I wound up cutting off 6 of the bolt heads due to their rusted nature.

 

I got the doors hung and continued to test fit more of the dash pieces

 

Loose striker pin attachment. At this point they keep the doors shut as I do not want to finalize their location before I get the hinges repaired.

 

Door stop bracket was busted, so I replaced it:

 

Rough dash mounting:

Still needs finalized and cleaned up -

I still have one dash tab to be retrofitted, but need to get an extra tab welded to the body.

 

Getting closer and closer to taking the truck to the body shop. I want to get most of the dash fitted before it goes to the shop. :banana:

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