What to do next

Quite possibly, yes. Once I get the radiator put back together and full, then I'll start working my way through the engine checking lines.

Good thought.

Maybe a plug wire was mixed when the plugs were reinstalled.

Coil rail on the 2001's - no plug wires.

Ooops.

I have a turn-key truck ready to go. Let me know. LOL.

Don't forget Tyler in Chattanooga for tube work. He's built a lot of functional cages and exo-cages.

Plumbed up the radiator and got the radiator mounts attached and reattached the fans and shrouds. Fired it up and it still ran pretty rough. Lots of stuttering in the engine and "putt-putt-putt" noises and smoke coming out of the tailpipe. Lots of forced hot air coming out of the tailpipe also. Figured maybe the innards of the cat let go during the roll and clogged it up. I did go through the engine and couldn't find any issues with vacuum tubes or connections being loose or off.

Out came the sawzall and I took the cat off, then just did a patch pipe directly to the muffler. It ran considerably smoother than it did, but still some stuttering and it felt like it was shifting kind of late also. I was able to get it up to about 30 MPH in the parking lot and that was a milestone.

Also, fittingly on the day I spent working on the XJ, I got my newest t-shirt in the mail this afternoon:

[/url]Untitled by Dirk DeYoung, on Flickr[/IMG]