Post edited 9:26 pm – March 30, 2010 by SchlingBlade

Greetings!  Just started to get back into offroading, and found this group online.  I'm in Rockford, IL, originally from southeastern Indiana (all hail Haspen Acres).  Moved to Rockford from Colorado, and got to go out on trails in the mountains a couple times when I owned an '84 Chevrolet K5 4x4 Blazer (with the 6.2L diesel).  Sold the K5 years ago, can't wait to get back into this hobby/sport.

My pile is a rotted out '89 Cherokee, 4.0L, AW4, NP242, 3" lift on 31" tires right now.  Just bought it last fall and started working on it a few weeks ago.  Was a lot of fun this winter in the snow!

I had to replace the power steering pump and high pressure line, still need to replace the harmonic balancer and rebuild the front axle (steering, ball joints, axle ends) and get an exhaust on it.  The rear floor is pretty much gone on the passenger side behind the back seat, so I'm also in the process of ripping out the interior starting from the back of the front seats to the rear hatch.  I'll weld in some new flat sheet metal to replace the floor, and start thinking about an interior cage.

No, it's not going to win any beauty contests, but it'll be fun on the trails.

I think I've seen you post on some of the other boards, Moparboy.  :-)  I forget where, though…  I've been reading a lot lately, trying to figure out which direction I want to go with the XJ.  I definitely plan on meeting up with some of the locals, just don't know when I'll have the Jeep up and running and ready for the trails.

Thanks!  I won't have a chance to work on it for a while, kids have spring break next week and we're super busy.

I won't be able to make the April 10th meetup (end of spring break, ugh), but I should be able to do the one on the 24th.  Hopefully I'll have the Jeep ready by then, but that might be cutting it close given I'd like to make the rear of the Jeep somewhat water-tight.  I'll have to get some pics tonight and post them here.  :-)

I live NW of downtown, work in Rockton.