this is my 99 jeep xj named Annie

[Rial.owens]

My little jeep has been through hell and back. Annie was passed around from owner to owner claiming to fix her after she was totaled and well no one ever did. my dad ended up purchasing her and taking a 2wd xj and used its fenders and core support to repair the damage etc. my dad is a 30-year body tech doing heavy collision. I was a little kid and wasn't involved much around six years later I was given Annie as a super early graduation present because my dad had no use for it as he has his built CJ and we sold our RV so there was no use for the xj as our flat tow toy/ family vehicle. after having it for a while I being a stupid teenager rolled it over on my way to school drifting. and this was the true beginning of my story with my little xj. I loved her before the rollover and was heartbroken over it. my dad ended up having me fix it and over six months i repaired and even upgraded her fixing all of her rust and little issues.


After driving her for another six months i pulled the cylinder head to rebuild it and to fix a long-standing misfire that from the beginning was there but didn't affect anything which ended up being a leaky valve on cylinder 3.
pulling the head we found severe rust pitting from a leaky valve and constant sitting from before we had it.

which lead to a crate engine that I installed and then a few months later found that a cam bearing prematurely failed. now today the warranty engine just started and the first part of the break-in procedure is done.

https://youtu.be/uWcO1qUIqTk

video of some pictures

 

[Anak]

That is quite the reconstruction project.

You should know your XJ quite well now.

Good job.

Working on a project one-handed poses an extra challenge. I did an engine rebuild with my left hand in a cast. It did make a convenient piston mallet though.

Welcome to the forum. There are a handful of us in Idaho.

 

[Tim_MN]

Great looking Jeep, and a fabulous looking shop. I paid for all my Blue 2000 XJ Cherokee modifications by scrounging Jeep parts at the junk yard, and buying/fixing/flipping wrecked and non-running XJ's. I did all my repairs and welding work in a two car garage attached to my house. The only job I had done for me was the paint.


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[Evan03]

Holy dang thats quite the build thanks for shareing and being part of the small idaho group.

Sent from my SM-G781U using Tapatalk

 

[cherokeecrawler]

My own dad and I had to weld my roof skin on due to it being replaced in 2003 and held on with only panelbond glue? That was no small task so I can't imagine redoing the entire structure! Thanks for keeping one more XJ on the road!

 

[Rial.owens]

ohh yea thank you guys the new engine is running strong with good oil pressure