Gjeep Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 Sun visors ready for install. Installed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvagedcircuit Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 On 1/7/2026 at 5:34 PM, Gjeep said: I split the difference between the new and the old-style seals, using a 3M weather stripping near identical to the ‘97+ XJ cowl to hood seal. It fits well and looks OEM. Excellent work! If you have a link to the 3m weatherstripping you used on the a-pillar, that would be excellent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted January 10 Author Share Posted January 10 Went with the 97+ XJ windows on this MJ also. I prefer the cleaner look/ less complexity. The lower window trim is the first gen with long long ago purchased Beijing XJ window wipes as I could never find in the States a supplier of this style wipe that you could buy in bulk length or anything close that would fit. Believe me, I looked. The first gen 2-dr wipe is unfortunately too short...and I don't like the 97+ style wipe/ trim piece. This MJ gets power exterior mirrors also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 Getting the interior back together… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 Center console is in, complete with under the lid BT hardwired aux connectivity/ phone charger combo. Lower dash panel also in place. Chemical Guys Satin Shine Protectant on everything. No doubt there’s many better functioning cupholder setups for the first gen console these days thanks to the 3D printing world, but this one looks right. And I’ve never had issues with canned drinks. One thing I’ve always done since my ’86 XJ back in high school is put door edge guard around the middle area the hand brake comes up as I don’t want to gash up the new ebrake assembly should I use it. Finally, upcoming project is disassembling and refreshing the console gear select bezel. I have 3 of them to cobble together one good one. After that, door panel installation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 Door panels are reassembled and vinyl conditioned prior to install. This is passenger side. I use channel lube to put under the inside mirror cap and inside the rubber channel the door panel hangs on in the hopes of if I ever need to remove it doesn’t get stuck (risk of vinyl tearing). This brand lube is hands-down best as it’s not oily/ runny. Toyota and Honda use it during their factory assembly and I’ve had good luck with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Mistress Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 Nothing beats clean XJ Black interior ! Electric Chief stitched door cards ... yummy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 I was deciding between chrome and black door handle/ switch bezels… Going with black to keep things sinister. While going through parts, I unearthed these assemblies I put together back in 2001. Forgot all about them. Originally planned for these to go on my red MJ. Crazy how long ago that was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 Getting there... Jeep should have kept the black interior throughout the Renix years at least. Cordovan, Navy, Charcoal, and Tan interior colors were all good and unique colors that worked well on MJ/ XJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted January 17 Author Share Posted January 17 Black Mesa fabric seats are going in. These are XJ variants of the buckets, as they don’t have the upper strip of carpet as factory MJ seats do. I prefer this style with the full vinyl surround. As for the flooring, I went with Husky slush mats as they come molded in black and fit well. Some pics of Pioneer compact sub under the passenger seat. Fit is perfect and sounds great – not competition thump but rounds things out very well. The front of it has about 1/8” before touching the seat bracket mount backside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted January 17 Author Share Posted January 17 From 2 to 1… Drilled out, cleaned and refinished. Always takes a little bit of doing. Fun fact: the very very early assemblies were screwed together and much easier to disassemble (but difficult to find). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvagedcircuit Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 Top notch work right there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted January 24 Author Share Posted January 24 Moving forward after a week away… Black leather Omix-ADA steering wheel is in with XJ Renix era horn hub in place. Just looks better than the HO era smooth hub. Has character. With the airdam in place, it was time to install the tow hook assembly. It’s rare when installing factory tow hooks that a drill is not needed on the front crossmember holes to get them to line up to the reinforcement bracket. This Jeep was no exception. The passenger side was for the most part lined up but driver side top was off. Since this Jeep will be my daily driver, I opted to refinish a straight factory front bumper versus running a new one. Keeping with that theme, I chose Crown end caps instead of NOS Mopar. I was impressed with how easily it installed and to proper shape the passenger side end cap was (pic below). As I moved to the driver side I was thinking – wow, the aftermarket parts have come a long way in fit/ finish. Then the top hole of the driver side was a whole 1/4” off, while all else lined up. Easy enough to carve back the top-side hole but would take much to get it right in production. Lights on! Factory TJ fogs have 5700K LED bulbs installed to match the (arriving this week) Holley RetroBright 5700K headlights. I’m currently running these RetroBright’s on my ’97 XJ and am amazed at how bright they are. My wife and I went from an overly lit city of San Jose, CA to a town that has no street lights on rural roads and highways for the most part. And we’re on the outskirts. I know there are plenty brighter LED fog light options out there, but I just don’t like the look – trying to keep it as close to Jeep factory as possible. Time to finish up the front suspension and align it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted January 26 Author Share Posted January 26 Got the front suspension finished up, complete with alignment. Still need to break-in brakes, adjust the parking brake, put engine splash shield and fender liners on. Grand finale will be Chief graphics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89 MJ Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 Getting close! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatslug87 Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 Looking good! What alignment jigs are those? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted January 26 Author Share Posted January 26 https://offroadanonymous.com/product/diy-toe-alignment-tool-plates/?attribute_extension-wing-kit=No+Thanks&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23168474619&gclid=Cj0KCQiAvtzLBhCPARIsALwhxdpYcFrmS9raiMa7l_JHI9_I8IjSivGUi2NSr1u2frqvCn74ohVs6VYaAn7FEALw_wcB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted January 26 Author Share Posted January 26 Not NOS but pleased with the aftermarket quality of these front fender liners. Much thinner than factory but made of a plastic-ish material that will likely not get brittle for a very long time. Teamed with these are the liner extensions made by Detroit Muscle. Inside the center console is the hard-wire connectivity if desired for the BT set up. And to keep things from rattling around, trimmed an insert for the bottom side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Mistress Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 On 1/25/2026 at 7:31 PM, Gjeep said: Got the front suspension finished up, complete with alignment. Still need to break-in brakes, adjust the parking brake, put engine splash shield and fender liners on. Grand finale will be Chief graphics. Chief Graphics :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted January 27 Author Share Posted January 27 Got the Holley RetroBright’s installed. For those thinking about going this route – two thumbs up. Crazy bright – I went with the 5700K option and followed up with matching 5700K bulbs for the driving lights. I also have these on my red ’97 XJ and for those who aren’t familiar with the ‘97+ XJ, the headlight buckets are a different design than the first gen. The later XJ buckets (red paint pic below) allow the Holley headlights to mount up properly; for the older MJ/ XJs the first gen buckets aren’t as deep so the Holley’s sit 1/8” forward. Don’t really notice it visually. The flares are mounted only temporarily as I'm still test fitting the other MJ custom graphics on this truck. Flares will come off again soon to then install Chief graphics on this MJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsalagi Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gjeep Posted 3 hours ago Author Share Posted 3 hours ago Comanche on the road! Always a bit nerve-wracking to test drive a build… especially these days as my neck of the woods is 2 lane with ditches on either side. You break down and you’re pushing to the nearest driveway. Fortunately, the drive went well. Took it to town and all around. Brakes need to be bled again as a pinch spongy, but other than that all is well. Graphics, emblems, and only little things left. Can’t help but notice the MJ does look good withOUT graphics. Fairly sure I’m going to go Chief, just need to get them on there and see how it looks. Hopefully not too busy looking. Will see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89 MJ Posted 3 hours ago Share Posted 3 hours ago Looks good! I think graphics will help it stand out though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now