Ryder86 Posted March 30, 2020 Posted March 30, 2020 It all started with this gem that i found in upstate ny in dire need of a full rebuild with 114k on the clock. Its been a long road of about 6 years, both enjoyable and frustrating. Soon after purchase i had decided this build was go big, so OBD2 swap it was! After reading writeups on the swap, it was definitely the only option for my build. Ill add more to my build thread as time allows.
Ryder86 Posted March 30, 2020 Author Posted March 30, 2020 The teardown starts, alot of rust repair and worn out parts!
Ryder86 Posted March 30, 2020 Author Posted March 30, 2020 Alot of metalwork to include floor pan patches rocker panel and cab corner, inner fenders on bed, and that pesky passenger side spring hanger rot on the unibody. Floors done and firewall modifications started for obd2 swap. Firewall from donor xj welded in Dash and harnesses going in Por 15 the floors and sound deadening material going in. Dash installed, xj limited woodgrain trim sourced from junkyard. Original MJ trim painted black New carpeting installed, anx xj donor seats recovered headliner, and a soundbar from a 97 xj
Ryder86 Posted April 1, 2020 Author Posted April 1, 2020 Some goodies for the interior, guage background from azzys designs Found some XJ heated leather seats for the rig at the junkyard!!
Ryder86 Posted April 1, 2020 Author Posted April 1, 2020 After finishing the swap it was time to pick out the paint, i settled on LinerXtreeme in safety orange with a med gray accent. This was a ton of work!! With the prep work done time to shoot some paint. A shutz gun was used with a pressure near 100lbs, most areas have atleast 3 coats.
Ryder86 Posted April 1, 2020 Author Posted April 1, 2020 A few photos before paint, i drove it for one season before it was painted to work out the bugs. One thing i learned was catalog all known issues with donor before you swap so you know whats junk first! One part at a time the whole front end was replaced due to death wobble, sensors were replaced and replaced again with mopar sensors......
Ryder86 Posted April 1, 2020 Author Posted April 1, 2020 Now for final assembly after paint, and to add some flare! I used napiers flares, after seeing bushwackers fade, i decided to try napiers after reading rave reviews. Happy to say that after 3 years they look great still. These pictures are from July of 2016, some of the bolt on used at this point on the body include, Napiers flares Farmer johnson offroad light mounts Amazon special led light bars 50" top, 21" front and pods on rear. Rustys rear light buckets Bumpers were homemade and fully winch capable...in the future.
Ryder86 Posted April 1, 2020 Author Posted April 1, 2020 Winter can be long in upstate ny, and this MJ doesnt see winter roads soooo the backyard woods it is... Next I added a winch and some napier hood vents! Winch is a 10k smittybilt x20 with wireless remote and sythetic line.
Ryder86 Posted April 3, 2020 Author Posted April 3, 2020 But wait theres more.... Made some rock sliders They are made from 2x4 .25wall tubing, and are removable with two bolts, they slide into 2" recievers welded to frame.
Ryder86 Posted April 3, 2020 Author Posted April 3, 2020 Last summer i came across why the engine had a knock. Originally just replacing a rear main and oil pan gaskets when i find.... All bearings were trashed, had oil pressure issues when hot but otherwise ran fine and at redline! And all this metal was in the screen and bottom of pan, no idea to this day how a piece of a ringland could end up in pan with no holes in pistons, guessing this had a prior cob job. And a cracked oil pump.... So it was time to build that spare motor i had hiding away.... Out with the old.. In with the new, and of course all new gasket, Valve stem seals, timing set, harmonic balancer, oil pan, 12 port injectors, dynomax headers, 62mm throttlebody, new paint, and ofcourse hemi orange for the valve cover. Alot of work but well worth it runs smooth as silk, and no more oil spots.
Ryder86 Posted April 3, 2020 Author Posted April 3, 2020 Added a fabtech spare tire carrier, and skme other goodies for the upcoming roadtrip to OC jeepweek 2019
Ryder86 Posted April 3, 2020 Author Posted April 3, 2020 Made the 8 hour trip to OC JEEPWEEK, good time with a few old friends and lots of jeeps... The gray MJ is my friends jeep we built after mine, it an 88 4.0l/aw4/231 4x4 long bed also obd2 swapped as a daily driver with a small lift and 33s. Jeep crawl on the beach!! Hardwork pays off, took home an award for outstanding at the OC jeep show and shine!!! Lastly the night lighting show at Hooters in Ocean City. Pretty good time, but my few rock lights are no match for the jeeps here.
Ryder86 Posted April 3, 2020 Author Posted April 3, 2020 Some more lighting pictures, rock lights are from infinite offroad, only have 4 but do help at night with seeing ground and working under the truck.
Ryder86 Posted April 3, 2020 Author Posted April 3, 2020 This is what the inside of the truck looks like as of yesterday when i pulled it out of winter storage 😎. Truck has 8 speakers, polk, pioneer, oem infinity tweeters, and a small kenwood sub. Powered by a pioneer deh80prs deck. Rearview and temp sender was pulled from mid 2000s chevrolet suv, basically a gentex mirror but free. Azzys guage overlays Rugged ridge floor liners Coverking seat covers Compustar security and remote start
Ryder86 Posted April 3, 2020 Author Posted April 3, 2020 Thanks for following there will be more as a jeep is never finished! Thanks for comments, any questions feel free ask!!
Rooster92 Posted April 8, 2020 Posted April 8, 2020 I really like your build. It is giving me a lot of inspiration for mine.Thank you for sharing it!
Ryder86 Posted April 8, 2020 Author Posted April 8, 2020 9 hours ago, Pete M said: love it! what's the striped pattern by the dials? That comes with azzys design work guage overlay kits, this specific design is don't tread on me. Very nice customization and quality
Ryder86 Posted April 8, 2020 Author Posted April 8, 2020 37 minutes ago, Rooster92 said: I really like your build. It is giving me a lot of inspiration for mine.Thank you for sharing it! Thanks, any questions id be happy to help!! What are you starting with?
Pete M Posted April 8, 2020 Posted April 8, 2020 13 minutes ago, Ryder86 said: That comes with azzys design work guage overlay kits, this specific design is don't tread on me. Very nice customization and quality that was my first thought, but wasn't sure. looks fantastic
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