WBKrazy's Project 88!

[WBKrazy]

well i figured i'd post a build thread up finally, so here we go! mine is currently a 2.5 AX-4 rwd shortbox, i'm about an 1/8 of the way through swapping in a 4.0, AW-4/231 and a D30 front axle i got from a donor xj.. i originally bought the mj as a gas saver a couple years ago when gas prices were near 5.00 a gallon, cause my daily drivers at the time were a 91 fullsize bronco and an '01 police interceptor. this is what it looked like the day i bought it, it had 98k on the clock... Image Not Found

Image Not Found

 

it's come quite a way since then.. here's a list of everything i've done to it so far:

 

94 XJ buckets and console

chrome mirrors from an XJ

silver dash bezel

zj wheels

shift knob from an eaton fuller roadranger (semi truck tranny) with the air split valve for high and low range

jvc head unit and delphi xm radio tuner

grant steering wheel and jeep logo horn button

stripped off the side mouldings

rattlecan repaint! :rotf:

clear corner lights

 

 

 

here's some pics

the interior with the old ripped up bench seat

Image Not Found

 

 

new seats and steering wheel #3 (originally had the plastic wheel, swapped it for the leather wrap one, then scored a grant on ebay for a really good price, and the jeep horn button was an extra $20 from summit)

Image Not Found

Image Not Found

Image Not Found

 

pics of what it looks like right now:

Image Not Found

Image Not FoundImage Not FoundImage Not Found

Image Not Found

Image Not Found

Image Not Found

Image Not Found

Image Not Found

 

i got a 4.0 and 2wd AW-4 from mike (comanche87) after we swapped his mj to AWD, and i had planned on keeping it 2wd but decided to make it 4x4 as well... so i picked up an xj 2 hrs away from me in CT and we stripped it all down, now it's just an empty shell i need to get rid of and i have a lot of parts in boxes in the loft over the garage! we just started the swap on mine, right now it's sitting on stands with the 2wd tube out and the D30 waiting to go in, the motor and trans/tcase are both on stands next to the truck.

 

the motor i bought from mike:

Image Not Found

 

trans and t-case:

 

the donor XJ on the trip home! paid $200 for it and drove 2 hrs up to CT to get it. it's an 87, clean black interior (the front buckets will be going in my 91 sonoma), 152k, had a minor wiring fire that was put out before it damaged anything but the wiring.... this thing was a steal at 200, it had 3 metric tons of new and newer parts and a maint. record book that came with it dating back to '90! plus i found a mac tools 4cell maglite and a cig lighter powered tire inflator under the back seat.

Image Not Found

 

and here's how it sits right now, ill update this again when i motivate myself to do some work on it :shake:

Image Not Found

[johnnybebad]

nice truck !!! it`s so odd to see a vehicle 20 years old with so little rust. my XJ is a 2000 and has more rust than the 88 you scrapped lol

[WBKrazy]

thanks! i think the truck was garaged for a while at some point in its life due to the low miles and condition.. i got lucky, especially up here in NE... it's not completely rust free though, it's got the old floorboard rot.... my next step in the swap is to gut the interior, fix the floors, install the auto shifter and tcase shifter, wire in the xbody harness for the power doors, and rewire the hack job that someone did to install rear speakers... they used a yellow ext. cord for the driver side, and a brown ext. cord on the pass. side and cut the ends off and ran them from the radio to the back where there carved up the pillars to pit factory paper 6x9's out of god knows what.. :fs1: i scored a new set of pillars from the yard and the proper speaker brackets (thanks johnnyc!), now all i need is the right size speakers and that'll finish the interior

[DJM/78]

Nice and clean ! :thumbsup:

 

What's next ?? :popcorn:

[WBKrazy]

Nice and clean ! :thumbsup:

 

What's next ?? :popcorn:

 

 

saving some money! need a few things still to complete the swap.... motor mounts, all engine gaskets, a full round of sensors, exhaust pipes, p/s hoses, and the front axle needs bearings and seals... and i gotta have the driveshaft cut down

[DJM/78]

Yeah , those sensors add up quick , I was pricing some yesterday . :ack:

[Rymanrph]

Rattlecan repaint? What was repainted? Cause if you rattlecanned the outside, that looks great from a can.

[WBKrazy]

Rattlecan repaint? What was repainted? Cause if you rattlecanned the outside, that looks great from a can.

 

 

thanks! yeah, i painted the whole truck with gloss black in rattlecans, using one of those can gun things that holds the spraycan and has a trigger on it.. stripped all the front end pieces off and painted them separately, the only part that i didnt do was the tailgate cause i ran out of paint.... it's gonna be redone again this summer cause the power doors I'm installing are grey, the d.side fender needs to be replaced (starting to rust out at the bottom) and there's some hackjob bodywork the PO did on the right bedside that needs to be fixed properly

[knever3]

Nice job, keep up the great work!

[Rymanrph]

Rattlecan repaint? What was repainted? Cause if you rattlecanned the outside, that looks great from a can.

 

 

thanks! yeah, i painted the whole truck with gloss black in rattlecans, using one of those can gun things that holds the spraycan and has a trigger on it.. stripped all the front end pieces off and painted them separately, the only part that i didnt do was the tailgate cause i ran out of paint.... it's gonna be redone again this summer cause the power doors I'm installing are grey, the d.side fender needs to be replaced (starting to rust out at the bottom) and there's some hackjob bodywork the PO did on the right bedside that needs to be fixed properly

 

Wow, I'm impressed. Any more details on the paint job or suggestions? Mine could use some help.

[WBKrazy]

Rattlecan repaint? What was repainted? Cause if you rattlecanned the outside, that looks great from a can.

 

 

thanks! yeah, i painted the whole truck with gloss black in rattlecans, using one of those can gun things that holds the spraycan and has a trigger on it.. stripped all the front end pieces off and painted them separately, the only part that i didnt do was the tailgate cause i ran out of paint.... it's gonna be redone again this summer cause the power doors I'm installing are grey, the d.side fender needs to be replaced (starting to rust out at the bottom) and there's some hackjob bodywork the PO did on the right bedside that needs to be fixed properly

 

Wow, I'm impressed. Any more details on the paint job or suggestions? Mine could use some help.

 

 

thanks, but I'm the last person you want to be asking for suggestions on how to properly do paintwork :rotf: the only prepwork i did was a quick brushoff with the old california duster.. i was surprised it came out looking like it does as i didnt even clearcoat it, and i used generic gloss black paint... hell, i didn't even mask off the windows, i just held up sheets of carboard and folded up newspaper over them and painted with the other hand :rotf: i did, however, remove the grille, headlight bezels and front trim pieces to paint them separately... about the only real advice i can give you is spend the 4.00 and pick up one of those "cangun" things from the hardware store... the spraycan clips into it, and it has a handle and a trigger sort of like a real paintgun... helps you control the paint flow much better than just holding the can in your hand...