Operation 'Basket Case MJ'

Other front end bits done. And I found the front splash shields at Detroit Muscle Technologies. They also have the main splash shield for early XJ and MJ as well as later XJ. I’m holding on that piece until I can figure out if it’ll work with some alteration after the big steering box brace kit and IronMan track bar brace go in.

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Rustoleum Colonial Red is a very very close match to what the last cheap paint job put on this rig.

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Exhaust mock-up: 55277 front pipe for post-Renix manifold, Magnaflow 94006 universal 2.5" cat, Flowmaster 70 series 2.5", Walker 46701 2.25" tailpipe. I may need to shorten the tailpipe at the head end 2-3" to make all the unions work. It'll still be a bit before I get to it though. I almost have a complete vehicle assembly staged with restored or new parts lol.

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My rig will be getting cruise control! I was convinced when an 89 XJ showed up at my local LKQ. My current column is non-tilt, no intermittent wipers and no cruise. I told myself I could live without these things but over time I wasn't convinced. Pulling all the parts together for cruise control online seemed a daunting task, and I'd missed the fact that a user on another forum was selling kits. My current wheel is very noticeably bent, and has other issues, though it would work. Duplicolor 1634 is almost perfect for the lower collar and bowl, and I'll probably live with a grey wheel for a while, and swap the horn pad and have the wheel wrapped in black at some point. Also grabbed the pitted 4x4 emblems off the rear quarters. I'll probably black those out to match the rest of the truck and do the recesses in (Rustoleum) Colonial Red. Open to suggestions for black 4x4 emblems.

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Section by section, bit by bit. Cleaning off a ton of welding boogers from the assembly line as I go.

Passenger side lower wheel house:

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Upper side:

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Got all the cancer out of the battery tray mount for now, I'll want to revisit and replace both layers of metal. Top layer is pretty much gone altogether.
 
This steering column rolled around in the trunk of my Accord for almost 2 weeks before getting a chance to play with it. First, I don't like chrome (blasphemy/ sacrilege, I know).
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Just like the one in my 94 Firebird Formula- I like a shorter tilt lever, in black:

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Same for the turn signal lever/ cruise switch:

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...and black lock cylinder. Just need to paint it black, wrap the wheel and keep an eye out for a black horn pad with the faux cap screw design.

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OMFG I've gotten so sick of endless scraping and wire wheeling and acetone baths... I'm within a hair of being able to slip the D30 under it in the next week. Then I can work on my back scraping all the crud from under the floor pan, prep for welding and get the floor patches in. Heck, I might be ready to start it by the end of May...

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After I do the lower cowl, my new labels from BoxyJeep are going on. One more little thing, but it'll be awesome.
 
One fender splash shield mocked up for fitment, fairly decent. Deciding where to draw the line on the frame for the supplemental undercoat. I think I know how I want that...

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Engine mount brackets and track bar brace are in...

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Undercoating done in the fender wells. I left the bottoms of the frame rails uncoated. I figure it's easier to deal with scuffs/ scratches/ scrapes in paint rather than a rubberized coating. If I change my mind about that, it's easily done.

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Frame horns painted up to the front plate, inside and outside. All that remains of paint on the front third of the rig is DE1635 on the front crossmember. (And the lower cowl...)

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And it's official... going 6 - 6.5" lift. OME 2934, ACOS, SOA with new leafs, 15x8 -19mm offset black wheels wearing 33s. RRO CA drop brackets are on the way. Everything else is in hand and ready except tires and wheels.
 
I bagged the idea of finding something else that would fit for the washer tank with the 96 XJ brake booster upgrade. One from a 2002 Crown Vic would have worked:

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A used 97-01 XJ tank at my local yard is like $13 so I grabbed one. Poked 2 holes to mount it and made the filler neck hole free-hand with a Dremel.

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