Project AllOut: a moderate 2door build (pics warning)

[snail]

well ive finally bitten the bullet and decided to acquire and build an xj of my dreams. i was torn between keeping my other xj (2" BB on 32s) as a beater and most likely buying a 04-05 STI and putting my xj endeavors on hold. but instead i found a nice 2 door with the goodies and have some big plans

heres the day i brought her home. 97 4.0 AW4 231 with 90K all stock

my first problem was a leaky windshield so i got to the bottom of that

some nice rust and such. it turned out there were some decent sized holes eaten through too. a little JB took care of that

used an angle grinder and wire wheel to clean it up and gave it a nice coat of paint

 

[snail]

had a new windshield installed (my buddy accidently gave the original one a nice big ol crack as we were taking it out :greensmok). later on i turned to trimming the fenders

pulled out that washer bottle. i plan to relocate a later year bottle under the hood

eh i used a cutoff wheel for the whole thing...a little sloppier than i wanted, not my best work although this is the third rig ive done this on. took the trusty dremel and a grindwheel to clean up the edges

items for rust prevention

im going to put Protekto molding on the edges so i just brushed on some layers of primer and gloss. sprayed it into a cup first :confused1

 

[snail]

pick up an xj D44 with a full detriot from a guy who runs a gear/axle shop. had him swap in 4.88s for me cause it was most cost effective this way. (plus i have no gear/axle experience)

the drums that are on it are kind of beat up so im debating on whether or not to just swap in discs. i really need to do some more research on that first though as i dont want to just shell out bills for the teraflex kit

 

[Veeb0rg]

oi, the fisheye lense is giving me vertigo.. Jeep looks good though.

 

[5spd_xj]

So what are your longterm/overall plans for it? Looks like you've got a nice starting point.

For the disc setup on the rear 44, just get Explorer backing plates/calipers and 2 driver side (I believe DS, might be PS but I can't remember for sure) soft lines. Use ZJ rotors, same hat height etc, but the center hold is larger than the explorer rotors and they fit on no problem. For the backing plates, it's pretty self explanatory once you hold them up to the mounting flange on the axle. Just gotta open up the mounting holes a bit on the backing plates. You'll need the spacer between the seal/retaining plate on the shafts, and those spacers can be ordered direct from Teraflex. HTH

 

[snail]

oi, the fisheye lense is giving me vertigo.. Jeep looks good though.

haha yeah same here after awhile. its my only camera (GoPro Hero) so have to make due with the built in fisheye

So what are your longterm/overall plans for it? Looks like you've got a nice starting point.

i plan to make it a streetable wheeler that ill eventually take out west/midwest . 35s with the RE 5.5 longarm and 4.88s all around. ill just keep the D30 as i wont be wheeling toooo hard. also plan to herculine the interior and add the JCR stage 4 winch bumper for the front and some sort of tire carrier for the back (leaning towards AJs cause i like the wrap around on the quarter panels. also the JCR one looks a little too boxy on the ends but the price isnt bad. yeah im picky haha)

thanks for the pointers on the discs. ive been trying to soak up as much info as i can from the multiple disc swap threads.

 

[snail]

what do you guys think about these stress cracks near the front bumper mounts? should i definately have them welded up since ill be throwing on a winch bumper? i dont have access to a welder nor the skill

 

[Veeb0rg]

you sure they are cracks in the metal and not just cracks in the paint from the rust?

I'd hit it with an angle grinder and get it down to fresh bare metal and see if the cracks are still there.

 

[Begster]

First, remove the fish eye lens from your camera.

pulled out that washer bottle. i plan to relocate a later year bottle under the hood

You mean earlier year bottle, because that bottle was present in the XJ from '97-'01.


I agree with Veeb0rg, use a wire wheel and get all the paint off of that spot. It does look like it is just the paint cracking, as that is not normal locations for the unibody to crack.

 

[kastein]

X3 on the wire wheel, clean that up and see if it's actually cracking. You probably want to grind/cut that cancer off anyways, and if you do stiffeners cleaning up the metal will be the first step.

 

[snail]

First, remove the fish eye lens from your camera.


You mean earlier year bottle, because that bottle was present in the XJ from '97-'01.


I agree with Veeb0rg, use a wire wheel and get all the paint off of that spot. It does look like it is just the paint cracking, as that is not normal locations for the unibody to crack.

as i said before, the fisheye is built into that camera so i would remove it if i could.


yup that was just a typo, i meant earlier year washer bottle


ill be sure to double-check the cracks, thanks everyone

 

[crimsondragon]

Any info on the spyder?

 

[snail]

Any info on the spyder?

it belongs to a girl i go to school with. all i know is that its manual trans, soft top convertible that sometimes leaks in the rain, and has a nice exhaust leak right before the muffler lol. very fun to drive though

 

[nhrocker]

Definitely a nice find for the build! There have been times I wish I had started with a two door.

About "the cracking" though. Maybe it's just the fish eye playing games with me, but has it been in a front end collision? If it's not bubbling paint from rust, then it looks to me like that whole area has been "adjusted" with a BFH to get it back to their idea of flat to remount a stock bumper. As has been said, time with a wire wheel will help to figure that out.

 

[snail]

I chipped away some of the paint with a screwdriver and so far it just looks like paint/rust cracking and flaking. I didnt realize the factory caked it on so thick! it was about 1.5mm thick in some of the spots, thats why i jumped to thinking it was cracked metal.

ill still take a wire wheel to it once this rain clears up. anyone know if the JCR front bumper and frame tie-in requires the removal of that sorry excuse of a 'support bracket' (that one thats visible in the last two pics of the 'cracks')

it doesnt appear to have been in an accident, everything seemed straight. will find out for sure though once the rust is cleaned up in that area

 

[snail]

i had no idea how "raw" the metal was that they used in the factory. theres tons of filler material that they coat on to smooth it out. i chipped and ground a bunch of it away and didnt find any cracks in the actual metal. that one distorted oval looking hole up and to the right of the welded nut was all full of filler so its okay that it's there?

in the near future i will be putting on a JCR bumper with the tie-ins. so heres what i think the options are: should i use bondo to smooth the area back to how it was and paint over it (that way the tie-in plate will fit flush). should i hit the bare metal with a coat of paint before the bondo or just bondo right onto the bare? is there a more appropriate material other than bondo?

 

[nhrocker]

I may be off here, but I've worked on the front end of a lot of XJ's. This is just my opinion, so take that for what it's worth.

It looks to me like it was in an accident and repaired. The "frame" of XJ's were stamped out of flat, clean sheet metal. Not "raw" material like you put it. And there should not be a hole through the metal like that. If you look from the front of the rig inside the rail the frame rail should all be flat and smooth (minus the normal rust, debris, etc. that builds up). I'm guessing on yours it is not flat and smooth, but somewhat resembles the topo-map looking exterior you found under the body filler (which would not have been used there from the factory, no need for it when the sheet metal is freshly stamped and flat).

The pics still make it hard to tell, but the damage looks like it was in a front passenger collision, hard enough that it buckled the frame rail. The area under where the stock bumper mount was was sort of reinforced by the mount, keeping it somewhat intact. Directly behind the mount becomes the weak point, where it would buckle in. That lines up with the worst of the "raw" look, and where the hole is. Look closely at that "raw" section from both the inside and out, keeping an eye out for signs of hammering (some of what you cleaned looks like marks from a ball peen hammer), welding, etc. That would be more of an indication of a repair job.

I would avoid body filler if possible, since most versions of it don't remain flexible and will end up cracking/coming off like what you had on there. It also would add a "cushion" between the bumper mount and the actual metal of the frame, allowing movement (which can weaken the frame more, fatigue the mounting bolts, etc.) If the mounting plates from your new bumper will cover most/all of the affected area (hopefully they extend well beyond the damaged area) I would just apply some form of silicone, RTV, etc sealer under the edge of the mount if you're worried about moisture and more rust under the new mounts. I would highly suggest plating the rail if possible.

 

[warrior]

I agree, Looks like it took a hit in the front. A body shop covered the damage with bondo to smooth it out. What's the other side look like? I would grind the rust at the top and get all the bondo out, prime and paint and maybe undercoat before installing your new bumper.

 

[snail]

thanks guys, especially nhrocker. i had thought it was really odd that the surface was so pitted and such. definately a repair job. im going to clean out the rest of that filler in those deeper parts and check for more cracking.

on the topic of plating, how feasible does welding the bumper tie-in plate to the frame rail sound? (and also using the hardware). wouldnt that help shore up the area?

 

[gambit4000s]

IMHO Welding a tie in plate to the factory material would be worse than leaving it alone an bolting the assembly on. If you really want the strength and are dead set on welding, plate the frame, then weld your bumper plates to the plate