quadrcr87
Well-known member
Same hear, I miss my old 1989 that was my first car. I had a lot of fun in that little Jeep.
Rebuilding a rusty XJ
- Thread starter ed_
- Start date
Bit off a bit more than I could chew tonight. I thought I'd have enough time to sand and scuff the quarter panel and passenger side door jambs but I found a lot more spots that needed touching up than expected so I settled on at least getting the quarter panel sprayed.
Two coats of primer (still wet).
I also gave the lower backside of the quarter a quick spray since it's had some bare metal spots for a few months now.
It'll prob take two more nights to finish up the door jambs. I kept finding small things like welds not fully ground down, weld splatter, and dried primer drips, that ate up more time than I anticipated to properly take care of.
I also need to spray the underside of the 2x6 and the backside of the B pillar. Once all that is taken care of the doors can go back on.
Two coats of primer (still wet).
I also gave the lower backside of the quarter a quick spray since it's had some bare metal spots for a few months now.
It'll prob take two more nights to finish up the door jambs. I kept finding small things like welds not fully ground down, weld splatter, and dried primer drips, that ate up more time than I anticipated to properly take care of.
I also need to spray the underside of the 2x6 and the backside of the B pillar. Once all that is taken care of the doors can go back on.
Finished prepping the passenger door jambs and I was able to get them sitting in primer.
Primed.
It's hard to get good pictures on this side since the XJ is close to my shelf.
Back of the B will be next. I'm trying to get the XJ to a good pause point because I need to shift focus to finishing up a motor I started building and all of the dust I'm making isn't going to pair well with that.
Primed.
It's hard to get good pictures on this side since the XJ is close to my shelf.
Back of the B will be next. I'm trying to get the XJ to a good pause point because I need to shift focus to finishing up a motor I started building and all of the dust I'm making isn't going to pair well with that.
stinkity stoink
Well-known member
I need to be as motivated as you!! Keep up the great work and progress!!
Back of B pillar and underside of the 2x6 are sitting in primer.
I did most of the sanding on the pillar last night so the final prep wasn't too bad.
The bottom of the 2x6 had some surface rust since it's been sitting exposed for about two years now. It wasn't bad at all to sand down though since the shop stays pretty dry.
Primed.
I pretty much sprayed this while laying on my back on the ground lol.
In hindsight I should have done the back of the pillar and bottom of the 2x6 before spraying the jambs because some overspray got on them but that's not a big deal since this is just an intermittent coat of epoxy.
Tomorrow I'll touch up any spots as needed and pop the doors back on so I can get that motor built. I'm hopeful the motor won't eat up too much time since I'm just trying to get the cylinder head on the block but the head needs paint, valves clayed, cams degreed so maybe a week or two? Who knows.
I did most of the sanding on the pillar last night so the final prep wasn't too bad.
The bottom of the 2x6 had some surface rust since it's been sitting exposed for about two years now. It wasn't bad at all to sand down though since the shop stays pretty dry.
Primed.
I pretty much sprayed this while laying on my back on the ground lol.
In hindsight I should have done the back of the pillar and bottom of the 2x6 before spraying the jambs because some overspray got on them but that's not a big deal since this is just an intermittent coat of epoxy.
Tomorrow I'll touch up any spots as needed and pop the doors back on so I can get that motor built. I'm hopeful the motor won't eat up too much time since I'm just trying to get the cylinder head on the block but the head needs paint, valves clayed, cams degreed so maybe a week or two? Who knows.
I don't think I've seen a 6 door Cherokee yet lol. Truth be told back when I first started this thread I spent several weeks researching and debating with myself I I wanted to turn this into a Crewmanchee or a stretched XJ (I wanted to extend the wheelbase by elongating the rear doors and use 2 door rear quarters / windows).You should have made it a six door, probably wouldn't have added much time since you are already building it from scratch.
Crewmanchees look pretty legit.
stinkity stoink
Well-known member
On some of the body panels have you ever rolled on epoxy instead of spraying ? I have never done it , but I always hate cleaning the spray gun after using it.
I've never rolled it but I have tried brushing it. It flowed out decently but took a lot longer to dry since it went on thicker vs spraying.
I was trying to save time because I was tired of cleaning my spray gun so much and I feel like it just didn't work out in my favor brushing it.
I guess I lied about pausing on the Jeep, I couldn't resist doing a little more work today.
The rear pass wheel well had some sound deadening that I had been wanting to remove.
Done.
I had also added some sound deadening to the roof awhile back so I figured it was time to remove that too.
Then I made a new stopper for the gas door. It's printed out of TPU. (The circle in the top right)
And last but not least I prepped the inside of the pass quarter for primer.
Primed.
The rear pass wheel well had some sound deadening that I had been wanting to remove.
Done.
I had also added some sound deadening to the roof awhile back so I figured it was time to remove that too.
Then I made a new stopper for the gas door. It's printed out of TPU. (The circle in the top right)
And last but not least I prepped the inside of the pass quarter for primer.
Primed.
Made a little more progress tonight. I welded in some extra bracing because I'm paranoid about the body shifting (again) and I wanted to remove the windshield.
Then I used one of those cheap piano wire tools from HF to remove the windshield. Great little tool, it came with enough wire that I've now removed two windshield and one rear window with it and still have plenty left.
I still need to remove the leftover windshield butyl but for the most part I don't see much rust up by the roof on the pillars which is nice. However there's some rust on the bottom of each pillar that looks deep and I am kinda worried about.
My concern is there's not gonna be an easy way to get in there short of splitting the seam apart and potentially removing the windshield cowel as I know there's even more rust down underneath the cowel. I don't plan on investigating any further yet as I'm still focused on finishing the rear driver side and hatch first.
Last steps before I pause for that motor will likely be to pop the pass doors on.
Then I used one of those cheap piano wire tools from HF to remove the windshield. Great little tool, it came with enough wire that I've now removed two windshield and one rear window with it and still have plenty left.
I still need to remove the leftover windshield butyl but for the most part I don't see much rust up by the roof on the pillars which is nice. However there's some rust on the bottom of each pillar that looks deep and I am kinda worried about.
My concern is there's not gonna be an easy way to get in there short of splitting the seam apart and potentially removing the windshield cowel as I know there's even more rust down underneath the cowel. I don't plan on investigating any further yet as I'm still focused on finishing the rear driver side and hatch first.
Last steps before I pause for that motor will likely be to pop the pass doors on.
I feel bad saying this but I'm not sure I want to finish the XJ.
I've come to realize that I really need a pickup for the projects I want/need to do and a second XJ isn't going to address that issue. A pickup is better for buying large things for DIY projects like interior doors or wood boards and a truck would open up the door (heh) for towing things too.
If I get a truck it's going to be something old that'll need work but the XJ is hogging my garage space so I can't start any new projects. I've also got that RSX sitting around and I've got an absurd idea I want to explore but again I need garage space.
Thoughts?
PS, I finished that engine I mentioned back in February in 3 weeks but I didn't account for the time I'd need to install it and get the car back on the road so that's what I've been up to. Here's a pic of it:
I've come to realize that I really need a pickup for the projects I want/need to do and a second XJ isn't going to address that issue. A pickup is better for buying large things for DIY projects like interior doors or wood boards and a truck would open up the door (heh) for towing things too.
If I get a truck it's going to be something old that'll need work but the XJ is hogging my garage space so I can't start any new projects. I've also got that RSX sitting around and I've got an absurd idea I want to explore but again I need garage space.
Thoughts?
PS, I finished that engine I mentioned back in February in 3 weeks but I didn't account for the time I'd need to install it and get the car back on the road so that's what I've been up to. Here's a pic of it:
XJSuperman
Well-known member
You really need to finish it whether you are keeping it or not. Someone will gladly buy a really nice restored XJ. There are a couple companies already doing exactly that.
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
A xj can tow a trailer with more space capacity than any pickup available. I get the convenience of a truck, thoughI feel bad saying this but I'm not sure I want to finish the XJ.
I've come to realize that I really need a pickup for the projects I want/need to do and a second XJ isn't going to address that issue. A pickup is better for buying large things for DIY projects like interior doors or wood boards and a truck would open up the door (heh) for towing things too.
If I get a truck it's going to be something old that'll need work but the XJ is hogging my garage space so I can't start any new projects. I've also got that RSX sitting around and I've got an absurd idea I want to explore but again I need garage space.
Thoughts?
PS, I finished that engine I mentioned back in February in 3 weeks but I didn't account for the time I'd need to install it and get the car back on the road so that's what I've been up to. Here's a pic of it:
If I finish it no way I'm selling it lol.
I'm not sure the XJ would have quite enough tow capacity for what I want. Eventually I'd like to get a small car trailer for hauling my eg civic or parts cars.
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Small update, I've done a lot of considering and I'll continue on the XJ.
I realized if I buy a roof rack for my daily XJ I can haul larger items like interior doors up top and that'll solve my immediate needs so I ordered a low profile JCR rack.
In terms of getting something to tow a car trailer I can stick with bribing my buddies with trucks for now. Realistically it's not something I need to do often enough to warrant having a dedicated rig yet. A utility trailer and an XJ would be more than enough for 95% of the things I want to move.
I realized if I buy a roof rack for my daily XJ I can haul larger items like interior doors up top and that'll solve my immediate needs so I ordered a low profile JCR rack.
In terms of getting something to tow a car trailer I can stick with bribing my buddies with trucks for now. Realistically it's not something I need to do often enough to warrant having a dedicated rig yet. A utility trailer and an XJ would be more than enough for 95% of the things I want to move.