Tweet
Little by little I've been picking up parts for the XJ project. I picked up this stock '88 XJ for $500.
Ain't it sad?
Near the top of the list was ditching the "closed system" radiator with that of a later model. I found someone parting out a built XJ and ended up buying a whole lotta parts off him.
Anyway over the weekend I went to work on the Rad' swap. It was horrifying to pull the lower Rad' hose and have nothing come out. Not even a drip!!! (I'm glad I towed it home & I've only run the engine a few minutes at a time!) The ATF fluid did drip once or twice, but it was mostly empty too.
So I get everything bolted in and put back together and start re-filling the Rad with coolant... what's that noise? Sounds like someone taking a leak on my floor?!? CRAP!!!
Coolant is leaking from under the engine, really bad thoughts race through my mind. Cracked block, blown head gasket... Fortunately I find that it's leaking from a freeze plug. <PHEW> I can deal with that.
What now... Well Tha Mrs did give me the green light to make mod's to allow better flex and clearance... GRINDERS FULL SPEED AHEAD!
I removed the fender flair, cut a few inches away, then redrilled & installed the flair a few inches higher than stock. I also cut the front of the sheet metal, level with the bottom of the front clip for better approach angles.
I still need to clean it up some, but it's not lookin half bad.
I picked up this front pedistrian crusher, cheap and it's WAY better than the stock bumper. Shown below it's just placed on there for a picture.
Looking at the stock "Before" picture I've gained nearly a foot on the approach angle!!
I've also started gathering suspension components. It's going 6" but I want to get the engine and bodywork semi-sorted before getting into suspension.
Stay tuned for more Project XJ when we hear our hero scream "FIRE!"
Ride'on,
~CRASH!~
Ain't it sad?
Near the top of the list was ditching the "closed system" radiator with that of a later model. I found someone parting out a built XJ and ended up buying a whole lotta parts off him.
Anyway over the weekend I went to work on the Rad' swap. It was horrifying to pull the lower Rad' hose and have nothing come out. Not even a drip!!! (I'm glad I towed it home & I've only run the engine a few minutes at a time!) The ATF fluid did drip once or twice, but it was mostly empty too.
So I get everything bolted in and put back together and start re-filling the Rad with coolant... what's that noise? Sounds like someone taking a leak on my floor?!? CRAP!!!
Coolant is leaking from under the engine, really bad thoughts race through my mind. Cracked block, blown head gasket... Fortunately I find that it's leaking from a freeze plug. <PHEW> I can deal with that.
What now... Well Tha Mrs did give me the green light to make mod's to allow better flex and clearance... GRINDERS FULL SPEED AHEAD!
I removed the fender flair, cut a few inches away, then redrilled & installed the flair a few inches higher than stock. I also cut the front of the sheet metal, level with the bottom of the front clip for better approach angles.
I still need to clean it up some, but it's not lookin half bad.
I picked up this front pedistrian crusher, cheap and it's WAY better than the stock bumper. Shown below it's just placed on there for a picture.
Looking at the stock "Before" picture I've gained nearly a foot on the approach angle!!
I've also started gathering suspension components. It's going 6" but I want to get the engine and bodywork semi-sorted before getting into suspension.
Stay tuned for more Project XJ when we hear our hero scream "FIRE!"
Ride'on,
~CRASH!~
Comment