Incredible restorations man... Hope you've gotten some more wheel time!!
What?
Did nobody read Nealio's post??
I am giving him credit for being the first one.
As to the years the body changed, '96 is the last year of the early version, '97 the first year of the late model.
That said, there are some body differences between the Renix years and the HO years, but AFAIK they are all minor things such as the header panel/grill and the roof racks.
Put me down as thinking your best bet is to get a new chassis/body and transfer things over. I will even go as far as saying that you should start with plating and a cage on the new chassis, then transfer parts over. Perhaps in the interim you can cut the roof off the old one and go topless for the summer, and call that motivation to hurry up and get the new chassis ready for the transfer before the weather changes.
Id hate to roll a topless jeep..
Thats a bummer dude, sorry for you. Id find a chassis to swap to. consider smog rules when swapping, changing the year motor in chassis can lead to smog and street legalness problems. In Calif Id likely need same year or earlier chassis for my current motor year, and even then, I may still need to have the swap "certified by the governor".
Glad there was no injury story to go with this, that is what really counts here. seatbelts?
ps my 1990 jeep looks much like yours did, but it is not as highly modified by far. there were factory twins maybe at on time!