Dickinson County Comanche Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 Figured I’d share this here. Just went and bought this rough, but clean ZJ Laredo out of a parts yard. My current plan is to fix it up to use as a daily driver. You almost never see these ZJs with the factory manual. I also plan to swap it to Cloth seats and put an ARB bumper on the front since the factory one got damaged in the wind on Saturday night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyRodder Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 Well damn- If thats original leather to the GC, thats a pretty rare one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dickinson County Comanche Posted September 19, 2022 Author Share Posted September 19, 2022 38 minutes ago, RustyRodder said: Well damn- If thats original leather to the GC, thats a pretty rare one! Is leather rare? I guess I though cloth was the rare type of seats because of the Grand Cherokees luxury status over the regular XJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89 MJ Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 @gogmorgo also has a 5 speed ZJ. They’re pretty cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The86manche Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 4 hours ago, Dickinson County Comanche said: Is leather rare? I guess I though cloth was the rare type of seats because of the Grand Cherokees luxury status over the regular XJ. I'd say it's about 50/50 but to have a near base laredo with power leather seats is a rare combo. I have never seen that. If those are original and it looks like it. This jeep is a rare combo for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 That one’s looking pretty well equiped, yeah. Laredo was sort of a mid-tier trim level for ‘94, with the base model like mine still available and the Grand Waggy at the toppest end. This one does look pretty well equipped, power leather seats, factory fogs, etc. Mine doesn’t even have power locks or a/c. Good find, they’re out there but not as common as all that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dickinson County Comanche Posted September 26, 2022 Author Share Posted September 26, 2022 Managed to find this mint steering wheel at another local yard so I snagged on it. This style of fake-leather steering wheel always seems to be ruined from the ones I see at the parts yards, whether it’s in an XJ or ZJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dickinson County Comanche Posted October 5, 2022 Author Share Posted October 5, 2022 Got it pulled out of the mud today. Hopefully gonna start on it Thursday after we get it moved home tomorrow. She looks pretty damn good for having 330k on her Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dickinson County Comanche Posted October 12, 2022 Author Share Posted October 12, 2022 Got it home and running. The poor NP231 was worn out and the chain was jumping so I used parts from one I had laying around to get it fixed. Needs a power steering line to be drivable at this point but after that she’s pretty much ready to go! I also got a new carpet for it and a set of Grand Cherokee Limited pillow-top leather seats to replace the torn leather set mine originally came with (couldn’t find a good matching set, and the cloth wasn’t nearly as comfortable as the leather is) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dickinson County Comanche Posted October 16, 2022 Author Share Posted October 16, 2022 She’s all back together! After gutting the interior and installing some new leather seats I got out of a 93’ Limited and a carpet I got of RockAuto (color is slightly off ), it’s actually comfortable (and probably safe) to be inside it. + a whole slew of new suspension components and tires and she’s back ready for service. Here’s to another 322,000! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted October 16, 2022 Share Posted October 16, 2022 I love the rear couch. Hahaha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted October 16, 2022 Share Posted October 16, 2022 those seats look absolutely luxurious! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dickinson County Comanche Posted October 16, 2022 Author Share Posted October 16, 2022 22 minutes ago, Pete M said: those seats look absolutely luxurious! Most comfortable seats I’ve ever sat in, and I’m not even a fan of leather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dickinson County Comanche Posted October 16, 2022 Author Share Posted October 16, 2022 50 minutes ago, eaglescout526 said: I love the rear couch. Hahaha. We’ve been using them as movie chairs in my dorm room this week lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted October 16, 2022 Share Posted October 16, 2022 1 hour ago, Dickinson County Comanche said: We’ve been using them as movie chairs in my dorm room this week lol. Hahahaha hey whatever works. A tech at work has a mustang seat as his workbench chair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The86manche Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 Looks great! My next suggestion would be to pull the plastics off the rocker and clean the crap out of behind them and behind the fenders too before its too late. And spray some linseed oil in the rockers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dickinson County Comanche Posted October 17, 2022 Author Share Posted October 17, 2022 42 minutes ago, The86manche said: Looks great! My next suggestion would be to pull the plastics off the rocker and clean the crap out of behind them and behind the fenders too before its too late. And spray some linseed oil in the rockers. Too late already. The rockers are rotted and the bottoms of the fenders are too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The86manche Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 41 minutes ago, Dickinson County Comanche said: Too late already. The rockers are rotted and the bottoms of the fenders are too. They always are unfortunately. There is a company that makes really nice full stamped rockers for the zjs. Thicker than stock metal. Nice fir. I think it was 160 per side. I used one to restore my orvis and was very happy with quality Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dickinson County Comanche Posted November 8, 2022 Author Share Posted November 8, 2022 On 10/15/2022 at 10:32 PM, Dickinson County Comanche said: Here’s to another 322,000! Pfft, spoke way too soon on that. Almost immediately after making this post I had not only the radiator violently fail on me, but my clutch also broke while in traffic. So while usual college students are getting black-out drunk over the weekend, I’m taking out, repairing, and replacing the transmission in my Jeep. Release bearing ended up locking up and wore the ends of the pressure pad fingers off, allowing the release bearing to slip through the fingers and up against the clutch disk itself. During this carnage, it broke off the front snout off of my AX-15, so I was delayed for a week or so trying to get parts all back in. I used this time to source a good used radiator to replace the shot unit with. It went back together quickly and easily enough and for the 60ish miles I’ve put on it since putting it all back together it seems good. Unfortunately the rear shaft was damaged in the parts yard so I haven’t been able to highway test it due to a vibration at higher speeds. Getting a shaft made this week since I’m pretty sure the only 5-speed ZJ in a parts yard in the state was the one I got. Otherwise it’s pretty good! Driving it like a granny during the clutch’s break-in period and other than a non-functional radio, it’s been perfectly fine (Sidenote: I do still have the fogs and they do work, I removed them because I need to find lenses for them so I don’t accidentally damage one of the bulbs. IMG_0957.MOV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted November 8, 2022 Share Posted November 8, 2022 ah, the joys of old Jeeps. feels good driving down the road knowing your own blood, sweat and sheer will made it happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dickinson County Comanche Posted November 9, 2022 Author Share Posted November 9, 2022 On 11/8/2022 at 11:08 AM, Pete M said: ah, the joys of old Jeeps. feels good driving down the road knowing your own blood, sweat and sheer will made it happen. Yeah, I can’t wait until I get my shaft back so I can actually go down the highway faster than 60mph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dickinson County Comanche Posted January 16, 2023 Author Share Posted January 16, 2023 Figured I’d give it a bit of an update: got a radio from a late 90s Dodge Avenger (93-95 ZJs have rare radio mount, 96-98 share it with almost every single Mopar product, caravans, cars, trucks, etc) Clutch is all broken in now and I’ve put a good 2,000 miles on it since the swap and it’s been good, minus what I think is a dirty heater core cause I have no heat (which on a 20° day, is not fun) and a pretty good oil leak at the filter adapter, but other than those little things it’s been pretty good all things considered, I actually really like the ZJ. No complains with it other than just age-related things that can be fixed, and it’s much better than the TJ I had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 high end Jeep luxury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The86manche Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 There's a 95 zj sitting in alocal yard if you wanted a correct radio I could have a look for it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dickinson County Comanche Posted May 30, 2023 Author Share Posted May 30, 2023 Was helping a friend in North Carolina look for a Grand Cherokee (he has an 80 series Land Cruiser, but was having trouble so I was showing him a good 4WD SUV) and came upon a ZJ being parted out with a set of splash guards, and since I have no self-control, I bought them. I like the way they look, and I also like how it holds on my corner piece of cladding so I no longer have to fix the rust underneath it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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