Mercedes Powered Cherokee

[gmentavlos]

Building another XJ......... Pics and info on the way soon.

 

[gmentavlos]

Here is the tire wheel combo I will be running. 15X8 OE replica wheels. They look awsome, was a little worried about a replica type wheel but the quality is amazing. The tires are 33X1050 BFG's. More to come soon....

 

[adamk]

what trans and tc are you matching with it? When I first read the title of the thread and thought you had a true factory diesel XJ and was gonna ask how you got so lucky to find one in the states haha

 

[95flexj]

awesome build man I run the 33 15.50 on my ranger they will look cool as hell on the jeep

 

[gmentavlos]

I bought some really nice fender flares from Notch Customs. I really like the way they look and the amount of clearance you get. The only downside is they are complicated to install. It took me about 4 hours to get the 1st one mounted. They require a lot of fitting and re-fitting, sheet metal cutting, and you also have to trim the flares some too. They are made of fiberglass and don't fit completely flush with the body so it took a lot of trimming to get them to fit flush. Ride height will be about 2 inches higher than in the pics. I am trying to keep the jeep a reasonable height. I also plan to have the flares painted to match the jeep once I get them all fitted.

 

[Andy J.]

Those flares are awesome. Just try not to smash them into a tree on the first trip!

 

[gmentavlos]

I will do my best, they are sturdy. I think if I did hit a tree the whole fender would come off with the flare...

 

[95flexj]

Those flares are sick coming along good. Did you paint it yourself if so if you don't mind me asking how much did it set you back my 96 need a new white paint job

 

[gmentavlos]

I can't Remember for sure. I had a few door dings removed a well. I think I paid about 650.00. I still have to take the flares in to get them painted too

 

[sammi_davis]

I love how the Notch flares look , but everything I have read mentions how much of a pain it is to mount them. Its going to be fun to watch this build.

 

[gmentavlos]

Thanks. The flares are really time consuming to install but the looks are what sold me

 

[gmentavlos]

Almost done with another flare....... Been busy working on a Comanche as well. Trying to be carefull to perserve as many pinch welds as possible on the rear. I will have to cut through and re-weld the inner fender but don't want to cut any more than I have to. So far I am happy with this build. The jeep almost looks like a "Hot Wheels" car.

 

[sammi_davis]

Looking good !

 

[TeamSpatula]

I've been thinking about the Mercedes diesel swap into a Cherokee myself, would love to see more details & info on that aspect of it - the adapters, mounts, and any other issues that come out of that...

 

[frankenyoter]

Looking good. Ive considered the Benz swap on my cruiser. Those engines are really over engineered and strong. You can turn a few screws and jump the power a good bit. Looking forward to seeing this progress.

 

[gmentavlos]

I'm going to back track a bit here. This is a pic of the donor car I bought several years ago. The car was very clean. It did have a bad transmission and the dash was cracked from the son pretty bad. I bought it for 1250.00 and was able to drive it home. I pulled everything under the hood I needed and then I parted the rest of the car out. This was much cheaper for me than trying to buy a motor on ebay plus I was able to get everything under the hood I needed as well.

I will have some more updates soon just been busy and haven't had time to take some pics

 

[billybob535]

Glad to someone else doing a Mercedes diesel swap. I am going to be swapping a little larger Mercedes diesel into a much larger Cherokee (OM606 into an 83 4 door Cherokee). Waiting for the weather to improve.

Good luck.

 

[gmentavlos]

Finished installing JCR Off Road roof rack with Pro Comp lights. Gave the jeep a much needed bath. The jeep has not seen the outside in a long time... Pressure washed the underside in preparation for under-coating it. Also got my gas tank back from powder coater. Lastly- I swapped out my 4.56 gears for 4.88s. I have ben doing some research and I think the 4.88s are the better choice.

 

[Atla]

I think I just clicked like on 5 or 6 of your posts. I love a nice clean white XJ.

Good looking build!