dasbulliwagen

At this point, just finding a clean unabused, unmodified xj should be your only criteria. If you find a nice one, the year won't matter that much.

I got the new to me header panel fitted and installed. I had to loosen a few of the right fender bolts to get it to line up. I guess they got pushed out of whack during the impact. I got all the wiring setup, new clear lenses, LED bulbs, daytime running lamps and turn signal built into the headlights. I'm really liking it. I'm on the fence with the chrome grille and headlight trims though. I think they might look better black. I put a set of black ones on my Christmas list, so we'll see if that happens next year. I still have to figure out my bumper but at least I can legally drive it again.

It's awesome seeing you get into this swap. As you know, I had planned on doing the same thing you are with that Camaro into the 86 I had. I really glad you're seeing this through and that I get to follow along. I'm sorry to hear about the injectors, but I guess it's to be expected for as long as it sat. I'll keep a closer eye on the build now that you're this deep into it. Keep up the awesome work!

I built mine to ride good with lift. I did spring over in the rear on my 2wd springs with longer shackles and Bilstein 5100's. The front I went with 5.5" Rubicon Express springs, RRO drop brackets, and adjustable Core4x4 control arms and track bar with Bilstein 5100's. It rides almost as good as stock. The Bilsteins are a touch firm so that is probably part of it, but it really isn't bad. I'd rather it be firm than too soft and wallowy. The control arm angles are a huge part of ride feel especially if the angles aren't corrected with drop brackets or the use of a long arm setup. Shocks are a close second, and Rough Country has a bad rep for their terrible shocks. If I were you, I'd change shocks first, see how it does, and if you're still not happy, save up for drop brackets or long arms. Good luck.

Now that I'm repairing it, this might need to move to the repair and modification section instead of the pub. I pulled the old header panel today to assess it and start the repair. The right frame horn was bent over to the right a little. I think if I didn't have the Curt front hitch and my light bar, the damage would have been worse. I got it straightened out and set the new header panel on and saw that the right fender is pushed outward a little. I'm sure it was worse before I started straightening but it's close enough that it won't be an issue pushing it in to where it belongs to match the header. I noticed that the front lighting wire harness has a different connector than the late model one they gave me. That's fine though, as they cut all the lighting pigtails from the harness when they pulled it so I think it may be easier modifying the original than to repair the one they gave me. I need to order LED bulbs for the light housings too. Here's a few pics.

I sold this truck in late 2024/ early 2025. The new owner said he was going to build it into a mud buggy.

I too was thinking that if you have stock springs, there's no way they're too stiff. I'm not sure you'll ever be in a place to make this happen, but try taking all of your shocks off of the truck, then go for a short drive in a parking lot. It's really scary! The continual bouncing, and huge amounts of sway make it downright dangerous to drive like that. It just highlights the amount of work shock absorbers actually do and the effect they can have on how your ride feels. I set mine up with Bilstein 5100's, which some people say run a little firm. But I like it like that. Before the Bilsteins and the 6 inches of lift I installed, I ran slightly modified black JK Wrangler takeoffs. They rode great without feeling too firm. They are about an inch longer than stock MJ shocks so worked good with a slight lift.

The one from Krusty is well made and worth the price. You'll need to paint it, but that's no big deal.

I did a junkyard one from a V8 ZJ. It's 2 1/2 turns lock to lock, compared to the stock 3 1/2 turns. I haven't had any issues with it over the last 10 plus years. I know this probably doesn't help much, other than the steering ratio if that matters to you.

Shocks are a big contributor to ride feel as well. What shocks are you currently running?

I won't throw it away, I'll eventually sell it as parts.

I've gathered all my parts, and now I just need to find the time to work on it. I ended up getting a used header panel. It's nowhere near perfect, I guess not even good enough for the junkyard to want to charge us (the dealership I work for) for it, so they just let us have it. But its solid enough and usable. Two of the mounting studs were twisted out of it, so I'll have to use some through bolts, and the wiring harness for it is cut up, but I have all the pieces, so I can make it work. I also have some new LED headlights, and clear turn signal and marker lenses to add LEDs to. I'll add more pics when I get to fixing it.

I got an offer last Thursday, $1300, for parts and about 6 hours of labor. If I can get a pick-n-pull header assy, Ill do ok on this. Having worked in dealerships service depts so long, I had no idea how low body shop labor rates actually are. Our small town dealership service dept rate I think is in the $160-$180 range, but avg body shop labor rates are about $60 hr! I guess thats what dealing mostly with insurance companies gets you. Ive looked at a couple U pull yards and there seems to be a few good XJ's within about 1 1/2 hr from me if they still have what I need. It will get fixed one way or another.

I remember seeing it on mine, but I don't remember if I put it back in.

The adjuster for the County's insurance company decided that they are going to cover me, and sent out an independent appraiser. I asked him if he had much experience with classics, and he said he hadn't, but that he'd be talking with someone else who did. I too saw the Hagerty page with the values and comps, which of all the places I looked had the highest values of anywhere I looked. The worst was Edmunds.com which after I put in my info, it gave me a value of about $2200. I know my truck isn't perfect, but $2200 is just insulting. I hope you get a good resolution for your truck. It will be a slow process. I'm just over a month since my accident and I still don't have a number for what they're going to cover for me. And there's still a possibility that they'll want to total it. Which would mean screwing with the title, buying it back, and still fixing it, but then having a salvage title. Not that I ever plan on selling mine, but still. Good luck with yours, hang in there.