Greetings, mighty forum!
I just took delivery of my first Jeep and I'm pretty pleased with my purchase. It's an 88 XJ Laredo with 82k original miles. That's not a typo - it was a one-owner car for 20 years, where it spent most of its time in a vacation home's garage and was well maintained when it was run. It had about 50k when it went to the 2nd owner (a friend), who also didn't drive it much and maintained it well. It had about 60k when it went to the 3rd owner (a close friend) who maintained it well, but put about 20k on it over 3 years of daily driving. Long story short, the Jeep is in great shape after 25 years and 82k miles.
Pics to make the thread worthy:
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/r...XDdo4csWLlg&startIndex=0&fid=dcb84c7bbac85115
It's an original Colorado truck that's been garaged for 20+ years, so the body has Zero rust issues. The interior is perfect in its 1980s AMC red plaid glory. The engine is solid but has seen better days: the valve cover is leaking and there's a small coolant leak up front. The rear leafs are flat, the brakes vibrate when used, and the tires are shot. The PO replaced the CPS, and the muffler and pipes look great, but the underside needs further inspection for other possible issues.
Although it's my 14th vehicle in 26 years (all of them DD and moto projects), this is my first Detroit iron, and I'm happy to see its simplicity - it reminds me of my ACVWs. I've been researching XJs for a few weeks now, and this forum has been a valuable tool for seeing what goes wrong and how to fix it, and for seeing how XJs can be improved with a little wrenching.
So the plan so far is:
Decent used tires (gift from PO) on original wheels to get thru summer
New HD rear leafs with 7" arch - ordered from Qtec
New Skyjacker Hydro front/rear shocks - ordered from Qtec
New front spring shims to match rear height
New brake shoes, pads, hardware, fluid bleed
New or turned drums/discs if necessary
New fluids and gaskets everywhere (oil, coolant, AT, diffs, TC. PS?)
Sand/blast & paint/powdercoat aftermarket wheels (see pics)
New 31" tires on aftermarket wheels
Drive it like it's stolen
Maintain it well
I'm also looking for a pre-91 AT shifter trim assembly (in the center console), as my "curtain" is gone.
In addition, I'm looking for a pre-91 instrument cluster with tach, for the swap shown here:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=921205&highlight=gage+cluster+swap
Thanks for a great resource in this forum - "Like Soylent Green, it's the people that make it tasty."
There are plenty of write-ups and threads about all of things I'm doing, so I'll be sure to search for all I need.
I'll keep you posted as I get to work.
Best,
Jason
-----------------------------
Past rides:
74 VW Beetle Hardtop
72 VW Beetle Convertible
73 Porsche 914 2.0
90 Mazda MX-5 (summer DD/autocross project)
86 Suzuki Samurai (winter DD/4WD beater)
87 Toyota Van 4WD
79 VW Bus pop-top camper
94 Mitsu Montero (200k miles)
07 Nissan Xterra (still miss the truck, don't miss the payments)
93 Toyota Previa (economy crash recovery vehicle)
82 BMW R65 moto
04 Kawi EX500 moto
87 Honda VFR700 moto
I just took delivery of my first Jeep and I'm pretty pleased with my purchase. It's an 88 XJ Laredo with 82k original miles. That's not a typo - it was a one-owner car for 20 years, where it spent most of its time in a vacation home's garage and was well maintained when it was run. It had about 50k when it went to the 2nd owner (a friend), who also didn't drive it much and maintained it well. It had about 60k when it went to the 3rd owner (a close friend) who maintained it well, but put about 20k on it over 3 years of daily driving. Long story short, the Jeep is in great shape after 25 years and 82k miles.
Pics to make the thread worthy:
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/r...XDdo4csWLlg&startIndex=0&fid=dcb84c7bbac85115
It's an original Colorado truck that's been garaged for 20+ years, so the body has Zero rust issues. The interior is perfect in its 1980s AMC red plaid glory. The engine is solid but has seen better days: the valve cover is leaking and there's a small coolant leak up front. The rear leafs are flat, the brakes vibrate when used, and the tires are shot. The PO replaced the CPS, and the muffler and pipes look great, but the underside needs further inspection for other possible issues.
Although it's my 14th vehicle in 26 years (all of them DD and moto projects), this is my first Detroit iron, and I'm happy to see its simplicity - it reminds me of my ACVWs. I've been researching XJs for a few weeks now, and this forum has been a valuable tool for seeing what goes wrong and how to fix it, and for seeing how XJs can be improved with a little wrenching.
So the plan so far is:
Decent used tires (gift from PO) on original wheels to get thru summer
New HD rear leafs with 7" arch - ordered from Qtec
New Skyjacker Hydro front/rear shocks - ordered from Qtec
New front spring shims to match rear height
New brake shoes, pads, hardware, fluid bleed
New or turned drums/discs if necessary
New fluids and gaskets everywhere (oil, coolant, AT, diffs, TC. PS?)
Sand/blast & paint/powdercoat aftermarket wheels (see pics)
New 31" tires on aftermarket wheels
Drive it like it's stolen
Maintain it well
I'm also looking for a pre-91 AT shifter trim assembly (in the center console), as my "curtain" is gone.
In addition, I'm looking for a pre-91 instrument cluster with tach, for the swap shown here:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=921205&highlight=gage+cluster+swap
Thanks for a great resource in this forum - "Like Soylent Green, it's the people that make it tasty."
There are plenty of write-ups and threads about all of things I'm doing, so I'll be sure to search for all I need.
I'll keep you posted as I get to work.
Best,
Jason
-----------------------------
Past rides:
74 VW Beetle Hardtop
72 VW Beetle Convertible
73 Porsche 914 2.0
90 Mazda MX-5 (summer DD/autocross project)
86 Suzuki Samurai (winter DD/4WD beater)
87 Toyota Van 4WD
79 VW Bus pop-top camper
94 Mitsu Montero (200k miles)
07 Nissan Xterra (still miss the truck, don't miss the payments)
93 Toyota Previa (economy crash recovery vehicle)
82 BMW R65 moto
04 Kawi EX500 moto
87 Honda VFR700 moto