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my 1996 XJ El Guapo


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well i traded my 10 Bears Comanche for an XJ trail rig. andย  after seeing it in my drivway for awhile was not happy with it. The previous owner cut a rustfree 88 2dr for tire clearance. so i sold all 3 of my XJs, the 88 2dr, 87 2dr, and 2000 4 dr, and was Jeepless for about a week. i finally found a southern rustfree 2 door pre 97 XJ in moss green pearl with light tan interior and an automatic trans!!!๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜. iv wanted this combo for a long time, i had given up finding one when i bought the 10 Bears Comanche. So here is my new project along with the first couple mods ive done so far. i swapped in my country woodgrain dash bezel, and i installed some long forgotten TJ wrangler Hella driving lights off an LJ i owned 10 years ago. soldered the wires to the factory harness and viola! they work! i installed 2 way switchback LED bulbs i found on Ebay. i love it so far, i still have all the parts i stockpilef for the comanche so next is the new 4.5" Zone\Rusty'sย  hybrid lift ive put together with Fox2.0 IPF shocks and Rustys off road front lower arms and rear leafs. i have Comanche eliminator wheels ill be running with some good used 31-10.5-15 BFG a\t'sย  to start and if theres room, 33s or 35s down the road. but i will not remove the flares or cut this jeep. ok so here is Elenor

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here's the XJ country trim level woodgrain dash, i also added factory 2 switch bezel next to the steering column where it was originally a single switch. all the faded factory switches will be replaced with new Carling style switches as i add lockers, lights etc.

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got a few little things done today. new window crank handles and a new shifter knob. also got the ZJ console armrest in with the rear cup holders. ill paint the armtest to mach with SEM interior paint. i picked up some nice used BFG 31s for 100$, for decent rollers after the lift is installed, i can't wait to get the Comanche Eliminator wheels on it. i like the shifter, but its too flashy, so ill paint it trim black when the weather is warmer.

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  • 1 month later...

no more hard knock life for this one, first time ive parked my daily in the garage in 8 years, lol. first it was our camper, sold that and had a boat. then i had the 87 holy grail XJ 2 door in there for 4 years, Christopher Mitchell picked up the 87 today. i hope to see it restored some day. I'm now down to 1 XJ, and it actually kinda feels good๐Ÿ‘

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this SuperClean cleaner is awesome. squirted it on the wheel and tire, let it soak for maybe 1 min. a light scrub with a brush is all it took. these wheels are gonna clean up nice when i really put some elbow grease to them. got the 31s mounted and balanced today.

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You reminded me that I need to fix my head knocker.. ย early on in my project, I grabbed some Liberty struts from the JY not even researching lengths etc. ย they are too shortโ€ฆ. I did buy some new ones just been lazy..

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I like the round fog lights. ย I was going to get some KCโ€™s until I found out what they cost. ย I only wanted them for the retro look ๐Ÿ˜

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my shifter knob is similar, but no button, you just push down on the knob itself. ย It hasnโ€™t come off but thereโ€™s nothing holding it on. ย I want to put a set screw or something in it..

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lookin good, canโ€™t wait to see it with the tires!

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 5/9/2023 at 11:02 AM, Greenjeans said:

You reminded me that I need to fix my head knocker.. ย early on in my project, I grabbed some Liberty struts from the JY not even researching lengths etc. ย they are too shortโ€ฆ. I did buy some new ones just been lazy..

ย 

I like the round fog lights. ย I was going to get some KCโ€™s until I found out what they cost. ย I only wanted them for the retro look ๐Ÿ˜

ย 

my shifter knob is similar, but no button, you just push down on the knob itself. ย It hasnโ€™t come off but thereโ€™s nothing holding it on. ย I want to put a set screw or something in it..

ย 

lookin good, canโ€™t wait to see it with the tires!

thank you, some times you can find the stock TJ wrangler fog\driving lights like those cheap on market place๐Ÿ‘. my shift knob does have a set screw and if i thought about it i would have painted it today, lol.ย 

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i picked up a gently used Ares fab true 1 ton steering set up for 150$ off marketplace from a local fellow XJ owner. well today i broke out the dawn dish soap, Super Clean cleaner, and a brown scotch brite pad and knocked the grease, dirt, rust, and old black paint off em. then i repainted them satin silver and gloss black on the TREs. I'm ready for my lift install day on June 15 at Mumbly's off road. i can't wait๐Ÿ‘

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  • 1 month later...

just a sneak peak, shes not ready for the full reveal yet, i have a few more things to do, and a really good cleaning. but I'm liking it so far. 4.5" of lift with great control arm angles and all quality made in USA parts (mostly made in Michigan actually) ๐Ÿ‘

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  • 2 weeks later...

well here she is, the 31s are a little small, but theyll do till the fall or next spring. i also made my own export turn signals for under 20$ for both, they are 45$+tax each new from Quadratec. so far i love the way it rides, its like an extra dampened stock suspension. its not at all a rough ride or like a horse buggy like my 3" short arm lift with bilstiens was on my 2000 4 door. can't wait to restore the interior over the next winter, and have the body repainted next year. still lots of work to do๐Ÿ‘

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  • 2 weeks later...

image1-4_kindlephoto-90285763.jpg.4ed8c0b8c72ecdcafcd358776b64c279.jpgimage0-3_kindlephoto-90311886.jpg.9e8e49cc8a964af81800dba943915270.jpgthe deeper i dig into this XJ the happier i am. the undercarriage and unit-frame are unbelievably clean and rust free, even the HP Dana30 housing is incredibly rust free. i figured i would have to remove a bunch of rust scale to repaint and make it nice but it looks like just a scuff and repaint to look like new again. super happy that i can spend money on the fun stuff instead of rust repair and rehab.

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sorta.ย  it has to do with how a camera saves the orientation of the photo.ย  it's been explained to me and... it's complicated.ย  :(ย  I've found that if I rotate the image, than rotate it back and resave, it usually uploads properly.ย 

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15 hours ago, motownXJdad said:

lol, i did try that. I figured id outsmart it if i rotated them upside down and saved them, and then when i upload them here, it stays upside down lol. Oh well

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are you using a phone or laptop to do that?ย  whatever program you're using isn't overwriting the original orientation tag.ย  :(

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i got my A-pillar lights installed. they are highly rated Nilight 3" cubes from Amazon with some super cool KC covers i had lying around in my garage. i like the look. next on the list is to install my NLA tube bumper from ORFab๐Ÿ‘IMG_0681.jpg.88646c208553bded60fe335808e1be1f.jpgimage0-4_kindlephoto-690033268.jpg.20ad977de1bba36e9ba1a869ba23c2cc.jpg

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  • motownXJdad changed the title to my 1996 XJ El Guapo

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