Advice On 87 Mj

[Tylerzap]

I have a 87 MJ. Its a peice of crap. But i love it and it has sentimental value to me.

 

Bad things about it:

No bumpers- front or rear

Dents in EVERY body panel

Cracked windshield

No drivers side floor due to rust

Orange rattle can paint

Broken front axle

No parking brake

Dry rotten tires

 

Good things:

Runs

I have a title

 

 

So, i was wondering what yall think i should do with it? I was thinking about switching it to HO with a whole new drivetrain (keeping pre 96) and fixing it up and driving it one day, but i want to know what yall think?

 

I will post pictures later if yall want.

 

 

 

[jimoshel]

I think you should give it to me. Save yourself a lot of time, grief, trouble and money. :yes:

[Tylerzap]

I think you should give it to me. Save yourself a lot of time, grief, trouble and money. :yes:

 

Haha actually i promised to give it back free to the POs parents if i ever get rid of it because their son was killed 2 weeks after i bought it and they wanted it fixed up but couldnt themselves.

[jimoshel]

Why don't you post your location? I bet a lot of folks would be willing to help, if they knew where you were.

[Tylerzap]

Why don't you post your location? I bet a lot of folks would be willing to help, if they knew where you were.

 

Thanks! I live in Asheboro, NC right inside of the Uwharrie national forest. The trails are about 20 minutes away.

 

I can do all of those repairs myself, but I'm just wondering if yall think its worth my time and money to do so since its in so bad of shape?

Or do yall have any suggestions?

I am a unemployed highschooler so it will be a while before i do very much work on it.

 

Honestly I love this thing way more than my 98 XJ with RC lift. theres just something special about Comanches.

[Tylerzap]

 

[ftpiercecracker1]

Hey, I saw you on jeepforum about a month ago. :wavey:

 

If the frame is still good, who cares about the body. Getting running good and DRIVE that sucker.

[AMCJeepMJ]

Looks like a good parts donor truck for another project to me.

[Tylerzap]

Yea my responses on Jeep forum were more negative and just told me to scrap it. But i don't want to.

 

Its special to me and the POs parents.

 

There are no parts on this worth putting on another Jeep. The only good thing is the frame. So no point on parting it or using the parts on another one.

 

I like your suggestion of just getting it to drive first, and i will problably do this. But i will also do alot of body work after it runs good.

 

 

I guess i need to start chasing down problems.

 

[relyt120]

Truth is it seems to have rust in the bed anyway so it wouldn't hurt to replace, fenders can be easily swapped from xj, same for hood and header panel and doors for that matter. So as long as you can handle the work on the rockers and the rest of the cab (floors etc) you can just replace everything else with fresh metal and throw your own rattle can paint job on it, and some bumpers, and that thing will be good as new! :thumbsup:

[Tylerzap]

Actually the bed is rust free except where the paint has been knocked off. The bed itself is in great shape. Just dented bedsides.

 

here's my eventual plans:

 

Remember I'm a broke HS student. It will be a while before anything actually happens but...

 

Get it running right

 

Fix interior, floors, and rockers. Some type of sound deadener and new carpet with bucket seats.

 

And yes i want to do the 97 door swap, fender swap, and hood swap with the older style header panel. Problably from a 92-96 model area.

 

A good lift kit will replace all the suspension problems.

 

I want to swap in a 97+ HPD30 for bigger u joints, non disconnect, and hopefully one with 4.10 gears. 3.07s SUCK. And mine is broke anyways.

Also a open 4.10 ford 8.8

 

And throughout all this i will work on other small problems.

 

 

From Pull-A-Part in Charlotte, all the parts should be pretty cheap.

 

Anybody have any ideas to add??

[Eagle]

Can you weld? Or do you have a friend who can weld?

 

You CAN buy replacement floor pans for an XJ and weld them in. They won't fit right, but they can be made to work. $$$$$

 

You can spend some time and effort cutting the floors out of a wrecked XJ and weld them in. $$1/2

 

Or you can do what I did. Lowe's sells sheet steel in two thicknesses. I used the thicker. They had one width that was perfect from going from the frame rail to the transmission tunnel, and a narrower size was perfect for the frame rail to the outer sill. A friend's father welded them in for me. Undercoated the bottom, and used a quart of bedliner on the topside. $

[flint54]

Are those really red headlights??

 

If you plan to drive it, make it safe (brakes and tires) and legal (bumpers) first,

then worry about how it runs. Don't waste money you don't have trying to

make a silk purse from a sows ear, just enjoy it until you can save enough to

do more.

[Tylerzap]

Yep i can weld and have a welder. New MJ floor pans from Rockauto were only $45 or something like that? Or would it be better to just put XJ ones in? The passenger is solid.

 

I will problably go the lowes route though.

 

How would i fix the area behind the rocker in the corner? They are dented in and i don't know how to get them out.

 

Once i get the floor fixed I'm going to put in some kind of sound deadener and new carpet.

[Tylerzap]

Are those really red headlights??

 

If you plan to drive it, make it safe (brakes and tires) and legal (bumpers) first,

then worry about how it runs. Don't waste money you don't have trying to

make a silk purse from a sows ear, just enjoy it until you can save enough to

do more.

 

Yes. Ill have to explain the story. Toby, my sisters bf, bought it. It was black and in pretty good condidtion just didnt run right. He fixed it all up and loved it but had to sell it as he was very poor. He was shot 2 weeks later. The guy who had bought it trashed it and screwed it all up. I bought it from him to fix in Tobys honor and promised Tobys parents i would give it back free if i ever didnt want it.

 

The middle guy who trashed it spray painted it and took off bumpers and put dents in it.

 

Actually i just replaced the brakes not to long ago. Work great! And i am not actually planning to drive it anytime soon. I have a XJ for that. So i think I'm going to get it running good first because it will barely pull its self in 2wd. But i do see it from your point of view, so thank you.