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dagr8tim
10-05-2011, 04:44 PM
Here's my build thread from another forum. I hope it makes sense, as I'm just copying and pasting the posts.

I picked up my 97 XJ SE in March of 09. I had been searching for and XJ for about 6 months. I was specifically looking for a 97 - 99 with manual windows and locks. I found this one on Craigs List about an hour east of here for 2 grand. Originally, my 97 was a fleet vehicle from Kentucky and had zero rust.

When I got it, I planned on ripping the carpet out and bedlining the interior. The interior reeked of menthol smoke, so I found the interior out of a wrecked 2000 XJ Sport.

I call it the War Wagon because I'm pretty sure it was a parks Jeep (carfax just says it was a fleet) and during the Civil War, most army wagons were just modified farm wagons. So from humble beginnings my XJ came.

Here's what my next project will be. It's not going to make my jeep go faster, stop better, or better on the trails. But I am still very excited.
http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/int_swap/IMG00101_20090425_1030_800x600.jpg

I scored most of the interior out of a 2000 Sport XJ. Thus far I have the front buckets, rear bench, center console, carpet, and sun visors. I'm going to try to go back for the dome light assembly (with map lights), the oh shit handles, and the leather steering wheel (which is nicer than mine).

Here's why I'm swapping:
http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/97cherokee/DR_Font.sized.jpg

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/97cherokee/PS_Front.sized.jpg

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/97cherokee/Back_Seat.sized.jpg

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/97cherokee/Rear_Cargo.sized.jpg

The new interior is as nearly mint as a 10 year old interior can be. No burns, rips, holes, or stains.

dagr8tim
10-05-2011, 04:45 PM
I've got the rear carpet in and the rear seat. I still need to yank the front seats, console, and carpet (the easy part). I cheated a bit and cut 2 small slits 90 degrees off for the rear tie down's. I was able to pull the tie down through the carpet and tuck it under the tie down assembly. I also took the lazy route out and cut a slit in the carpet, rather than remove the rear seat belt torx bolts.

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/int_swap/IMG00104_20090426_1644_800x600.jpg
I still need to wire the lights (my old visors didn't have lights).

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/int_swap/IMG_0296_450x600.jpg
Here's the carpet installed, and trim waiting to be installed.

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/int_swap/IMG_0298_800x600.jpg
I trimmed the carpet alittle & was able to get the cargo tie down's pulled through. Then I was able to tuck the carpet under the tie down.

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/int_swap/IMG_0297_800x600.jpg
Waiting for the rear seat.

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/int_swap/IMG_0295_800x600.jpg
Me taking a break before the final push.

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/int_swap/IMG_0302_800x600.jpg
Everything back together.

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/int_swap/IMG_0301_450x600.jpg
Much better than the original rear seat (see above).


I hit one out of the park with this mod. When I showed my girlfriend, the first thing she said is "As good as the interior is, it will look even better when you paint the Jeep flat green.". I can't wait to get the front half of the interior in, but most likely I'll hold off until next weekend. I was considering pushing through and finishing tonight, but it's really hot and I was starting to get sick from the heat.

Here's the full gallery:
http://buckeyejeeps.com/gallery/int_swap

dagr8tim
10-05-2011, 04:46 PM
The UPS man brought me some odds and ends for my interior project.

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/int_swap/IMG_0423_800x600.jpg

Fullsizexj fabbed these up for me and gave me an awesome price. I'm very happy and I can't wait to get them installed.

I stole the ideas from smccollamjr's build thread.

dagr8tim
10-05-2011, 04:47 PM
I got the rest of the interior swapped. It's not something I want to do again. Removing the old carpet was the worst, and took about an hour. Infact the whole disassemble took twice as long as putting it back together. Here are the pictures of what I got done today. I still need to mount the piece for the rear cargo pocket.

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/int_swap/IMG_0462_800x600.jpg
I got the mounting plate that FullsizeXJ fabbed for me to check for fit. I still need to pull it and drill holes for mounting a radio up there. I'm pushing for this small uniden CB I have, my girlfriend thinks I should put a 2 meter ham radio up there.

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/int_swap/IMG_0460_800x600.jpg
I had a hell of a time getting the old console out. I ended up just saying f*ck it and broke out the saw.

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/int_swap/IMG_0458_800x600.jpg
I discovered why my front seat seems to flex when I lean. The bolt is broken off flat with the floor.
http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/int_swap/IMG_0459_800x600.jpg
This is the underside of the bolt. I figure a can of PB Blast, a pair of vice grips, & a trip to the junk yard should fix that.

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/int_swap/IMG_0463_800x600.jpg
Here's the new carpet installed. I found out the flat bracket that holds duct work that goes through the console is cracked, so I need to snag one of those at the yard too.

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/int_swap/IMG_0464_800x600.jpg
http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/int_swap/IMG_0466_800x600.jpg
Everything Installed

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/int_swap/IMG_0472_800x600.jpg
http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/int_swap/IMG_0473_800x600.jpg
I had played with different ideas to mount my Mag Light, and finally settled on this. I'm very very happy with it.

Here (http://buckeyejeeps.com/gallery/int_swap?page=2) you can see the full gallery of the swap.

dagr8tim
10-05-2011, 04:53 PM
I started on my tinted glass swap last night & finished up the rear doors today. The pictures are crappy, but you an tell the difference in real life. My 97 had the factory "tinted" glass that may have had a slight blue-ish tint. My 98 had the factory smoked glass. I swapped the rear door glass today. I hope to swap the quarter glass this weekend, and recover the hatch glass for professional installation soon. This is one of those projects that if I didn't have the replacements, I wouldn't have really been searching for the tinted glass to replace it. I can't wait to get the rest replaced.

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/int_swap/IMG00034_20091102_1106_800x600.sized.jpg
http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/int_swap/IMG00036_20091102_1140_800x600.sized.jpg

I had already had the rear glass pulled from my 98. That took about an hour and a half. 1 hour for the first one, and like 20 minutes once I figured out the fastest way to get the glass out. Installation was 2+ hours, mainly due to me trying to install the driver's side glass in the passenger side and not being able to figure out why the glass didn't roll up all the way. Once I realized it was the wrong glass, finishing up the passenger side and doing the driver's side was maybe 45 minutes. Knowing what I know now, I could probably pull the glass from a donor and swap it in less than an hour and a half.

dagr8tim
10-05-2011, 04:55 PM
I decided to take today off and be productive. Somehow I didn't get as productive as I thought. I wanted to get my front recovery hooks installed, steering brace (which I don't think I need now), mount my front skid plate, and paint my front bumper.

I had ordered a HiCountry set of Xtreme tow hook brackets with D ring brackets, because I had heard great things about them. Personally, I'm not impressed with them. The instructions were worthless. The pictures in the instructions are for a different that the product they are for. The instructions also didn't mention the minor parts you had to remove to install the brackets. They also sent me the wrong hardware pack, so I'm waiting on them to mail me three 7/16th bolts and I had to reuse a bunch of bolts from my XJ's to get the installation done. I also had a heck of a time remounting the steering box. I'm glad it's done.

I discovered that the Rusty's (Rugged Ridge) steering brace I have won't work with the HiCountry brackets. But it looks like I won't need it. The HiCountry brackets seem to do a fine job of acting as a steering brace.

I didn't even get started on the skid plate, but that should be pretty quick/easy. I did get the bumper painted, I just need to paint the bumper corners. I used the same flat black I used for my rims and afew other trim parts.

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/Front_End_Work/2010_05_24_09_55_52_800x598.sized.jpg
All torn down and ready for work.

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/Front_End_Work/2010_05_24_10_06_00_800x598.sized.jpg
Brackets mocked up.

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/Front_End_Work/2010_05_24_13_20_11_800x598.sized.jpg
Bumper Painted

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/Front_End_Work/2010_05_24_20_38_54_800x598.sized.jpg
As she sits.

dagr8tim
10-05-2011, 04:57 PM
http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/Front_End_Work/2010_05_29_19_09_40_800x600.sized.jpg
http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/skid_plate/2010_05_29_19_20_45_800x598.sized.jpg

Got the painted grill & trim back on, finished installing the recovery hooks, and got my skid plate on. The skid plate required some trimming. I ended up trimming a bit too much, but I don't think it will matter.

dagr8tim
10-05-2011, 04:58 PM
It looks like I forgot to post a pic of the finished product from that round of mods.
http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/Front_End_Work/2010_06_05_19_54_07_800x598.jpg

Today, I decided to dig into another thing from my pile of parts. Last week I was downstairs and noticed that my rock rails had some surface rust on them. At that point, I decided to move this project up the list.

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/skid_plate/2010_07_04_11_11_15_800x598.jpg
This is how they looked when I pulled them out of the basement. Luckly most was surface rust that came off very easily.

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/skid_plate/2010_07_04_11_30_49_800x598.jpg
All cleaned up. All it took was a wire brush on my drill and about 10 minutes worth of work.

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/skid_plate/2010_07_04_11_41_59_800x598.jpg
Starting to prime.

http://buckeyejeeps.com/albums/skid_plate/2010_07_04_18_04_22_800x598.jpg
All Primed.

I went through about a can and a half of primer. I have half a can left for touch up. It's going to be hot and dry for the next few days. I want to let them sit in garage for about a week, then next weekend spray them with bedliner.

dagr8tim
10-05-2011, 04:58 PM
I got my rock rails installed today. It as a bit of a PITA, but not as bad as I thought. I ran into 2 problems. The first is that my pinch welds are buggered and I can't get the rails to line up to bolt them up. The second, and something I want to resolve is I stripped that last self tapper when I was tightening it. I'm debating if I should find the biggest self tapper that will fit through the plate on the rail and use it, or try to fish a bolt through the subframe rail.

If I go the bolt route, I wanted to do something like aftermarket receivers do for installations without the nut strips. I'm just at a loss as to how to keep the bolt from spinning when I try to tighten up the nut. Lock washer in the inside of the frame next to the bolt head? Any suggestions?

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs189.ash2/45259_10150247343210131_886005130_14308441_4658007 _n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs254.snc4/40040_10150247343705131_886005130_14308463_5761968 _n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs392.snc4/45563_10150247343450131_886005130_14308448_2000612 _n.jpg

dagr8tim
10-05-2011, 04:59 PM
It seems I forgot to mention the steering 'upgrade'. I went with a V8 ZJ tie rod when I replaced the drag link and the other worn TRE's on my XJ. Here are the Moog part numbers:

Moog Parts:
DS-1312 - Tie Rod
DS1238 - Drag Link
ES3096L - Tie Rod Ends
ES2079S - Sleeves

Draglink + Tie Rod
1 - DS1312
1 - DS1238
2 - ES3096L
2 - ES2079S

Tie Rod (without new drag link)
1 - DS1312
1 - ES3096L
1 - ES2079S

Next step is I want to rebuild/upgrade my steering box.

dagr8tim
10-05-2011, 05:00 PM
Got tired of my nasty tore up steering wheel. I had some paracord laying around and I gutted it and wrapped the steering wheel. Not 100% happy with it, and will probably rewrap it tomorrow based on today's experience. From the picture you get the idea.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/318464_10150767481410131_886005130_20306972_461157 0_n.jpg

Took me an hour or two to do it because you constantly have to feed the extra cord back and forth through the steering wheel. Next time I'll probably make up a spool that I can wrap the cord on and then pass that through the steering wheel. Should speed up the process, and not damage the steering wheel. I have some wear marks on the steering wheel from pulling the cord back and forth through.

And this is how she sits...

Joliet Johnny
10-05-2011, 05:11 PM
I put one of those "one size fits most" covers on mine but I thought about wrapping it in red 550 cord. I think your way would have been easier than mine.

dagr8tim
10-05-2011, 05:15 PM
I put one of those "one size fits most" covers on mine but I thought about wrapping it in red 550 cord. I think your way would have been easier than mine.

The only I can give you is to pull it tight. Pull it as tight as you can and then pull it tighter. Also fab up a small spool to wind it on. Otherwise you will be endlessly pulling it back and forth through the steering wheel. Because this is nylon, it will stretch, so you need it as tight as possible. I picked up 300' of paracord at the surplus store for $20. If I had to guess, I'd say I used 50 - 75 '.

Mine is one continuous piece. It starts on the left side right above the cruise buttons, goes along the top, then is tucked behind the cruise button on the right side, then down around. It's tied off below the cruise button on the left.

Mudderoy
10-06-2011, 01:18 AM
I love posts like this. I'll have to come back to fully digest this post. :popcorn:

bigjim350
10-06-2011, 01:35 AM
Hmmm a 3 tone inteiror nice :thumbsup:

XJ Wheeler
10-06-2011, 02:13 AM
Wow, what a difference on that interior. I like those shackle brackets too.

dagr8tim
10-06-2011, 07:16 AM
Hmmm a 3 tone inteiror nice :thumbsup:

How do you figure? Original was Tan & Black. I've added Gray & Black Elements. I've got the gray lift gate trim, and 4 gray door panels in the garage. If I scrounge around I can find all of the rest of the interior trim from my parts XJ. Plus I've got 5 yards of digital camo for a headliner recover.

When I'm done, the tan will be gone.



Wow, what a difference on that interior. I like those shackle brackets too.

Those things are beef. The attach to the subframe through the 3 bolts for the steering box (passenger side has the same 3 holes for RHD), the hole behind the steering box bolts, and the 4 bolts on bottom for the sway bar & front skid. It also replaces the steering box spacer with one a larger one that uses 1/8 steel and also incorporates the hole behind the 3 steering box bolt holes. No way my steering box is pulling away from the frame.

bigjim350
10-07-2011, 01:22 AM
I didnt mean to offend you. I really liked all the colors in there

dagr8tim
10-07-2011, 08:17 AM
I didnt mean to offend you. I really liked all the colors in there

It's cool. I never planned on doing as much as I did. I did the carpet & seats because they stunk. When I pulled them from a wrecked 2000, I snagged the lighted visors too. The grab handles were an impulse thing at the yard one day. The dash trim was from my 98 XJ. I found a smoking deal on a set of doors that were manual and that's where the door panels came from. The hatch panel is also from my 98.

I never planned on converting the interior. It just sorta happened.

bluedragon436
10-07-2011, 08:43 AM
The interior is looking good.. I think the darker interior looks better than the tan anyways.. That is why I am glad that mine had the gray interior.. but I would like to pick up the darker interior to swap out one day.. would really like to add the overhead console.. but that isn't high on my list of mods... I really like those shackle brackets... If I was looking at picking up a front bumper w/ shackle mounts on it already.. I would def. pick up a set of those brackets for front recovery points..

dagr8tim
10-07-2011, 08:54 AM
The interior is looking good.. I think the darker interior looks better than the tan anyways.. That is why I am glad that mine had the gray interior.. but I would like to pick up the darker interior to swap out one day.. would really like to add the overhead console.. but that isn't high on my list of mods... I really like those shackle brackets... If I was looking at picking up a front bumper w/ shackle mounts on it already.. I would def. pick up a set of those brackets for front recovery points..

The company that made the recovery brackets went out of business. They made a great product, just everything else they did was crappy. From personal experience they sent me the wrong installation instructions, and the wrong hardware kit. They had to send me several nuts and bolts that I needed to complete the installation after the fact.

bluedragon436
10-07-2011, 08:57 AM
Ouch that is no good.. What company was it that made the brackets?? They def. look quite stout that is for sure...

dagr8tim
10-07-2011, 09:14 AM
Ouch that is no good.. What company was it that made the brackets?? They def. look quite stout that is for sure...

I think it was HiCountry or HighCountry Offroad. Last I heard they were selling candles with the domain. I can't seen to find their website anywhere.

Great brackets that were under $100 with shipping. And that was getting the D ring brackets. I had to buy the D rings separately, but I got those from JCR who had the same thing for quite a bit less.

bluedragon436
10-07-2011, 09:18 AM
Yeah I was looking at picking those brackets.. but could never find a website to order them through... guess it was because they were going downhill... Looked at the brackets from Rusty's..

dagr8tim
10-07-2011, 09:27 AM
Yeah I was looking at picking those brackets.. but could never find a website to order them through... guess it was because they were going downhill... Looked at the brackets from Rusty's..

The product it's self is great. It's the people who were running the company that was the problem.

Not only are they great recovery points, I like knowing the fact that my steering box is not likely to pull off the frame. Their inner bracket replaces the stock steering box spacer with something that is a million times better.

Had I of not bought the HiCountry ones. I would have bought this:
http://www.ironrockoffroad.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=IROR&Product_Code=IR-XTHM

Only problem is they don't promise skid plate compatibility.

bluedragon436
10-10-2011, 02:53 PM
Yeah that IRO tow hook setup is the one I was looking at picking up, had I not found the bumper I am going to get.. It not only allowed me two front recovery points.. but would also have stiffened up the front end some...

dagr8tim
10-10-2011, 02:56 PM
Yeah that IRO tow hook setup is the one I was looking at picking up, had I not found the bumper I am going to get.. It not only allowed me two front recovery points.. but would also have stiffened up the front end some...

If I would have gotten it, I was seriously thinking of having it modified with a 2 inch receiver in it.

bluedragon436
11-19-2011, 10:54 PM
I have a friend who has a hitch for the front end.. I had thought about picking it up, and then picking up the Class 3 Recovery (http://detoursusa.com/c3r.php) kit from Detours..