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Always love seeing another Grand build. If you're planning a lift and such anyway, you might as well wait until you figure out what you're doing for a lift/steering upgrades (1 ton steering, over-the-knuckle, whatever). The great news with the ZJ (unlike my WJ) is a lot of XJ/TJ stuff works...

Great write-up and transformation on the Gladiator. $31k for a brand new rig is hard to pass up, and you've done nice budget-friendly mods. I went sort of off the deep-end on my WJ build, and sometimes I wonder if I should have done something similar (of course, I already had the WJ with $...

If you're doing anything other than a stock motor in a XJ, there is no way it should be anything but a GM truck 4.8, 5.3 or 6.0 (all AL preferably). -TJ

The WJ has a lot going for it stock like nicer interior (depending on trim level) with fancy features like dual-zone climate, a nice factory stereo, auto-wipers and such. From a motor and drivetrain perspective you can get a V8 (more on that in a sec) and the tran behind the V8 is the 545RFE...

No doubt, the XJ is to off-roading what the Fox Body Mustang is to hot rodding. There are a million parts, form factory reproduction to wild and crazy. Probably "the best" platform to get started with. Apparently I like to do things the hard way, so I have a WJ. ;) -TJ

Not sure I know what you mean by "on the rail system." But I mean a more universal EFI setup from Holley like their "sniper" line: Sniper EFI - Holley Performance Products You can run a carb-style intake on the 4.0 with one of these self-contained units. You'll still potentially need to do...

You really shouldn't have any problems. It's not a bad idea to put better axle shafts in it "while you're in there" but on a 32" if you're not a super-aggressive driver I think even that is "overkill." -TJ

Why not build a stroker out of the 4.0 and put a much better EFI on like something from Holley?

Great thread, that has me thinking. We do some other camping (glamping) with RVs/trailers and all the luxuries of a nice hotel. I look to Overlanding for the opposite of that: simplicity and a truer connection to nature. Still, I'm a gear-geek and it's easy to let myself get carried away and...

Progress... -TJ

Some updates... Xero Fab Works has been keeping this moving forward nicely despite having a big order for some of their parts/kits come in (WJ owners be-broke yo... so tax returns and Covie-checks). Some things that have gotten done: Axles re-geared to 4.88 (recall, these were 2017 Rubicon...

This is great, great advice here. I get carried away in mods and "builds" but you can't forget the stuff listed up here. I kind of touched on maintenance and using the vehicle-specific forums to figure out and address the "weak points" in your rig, but JimBill makes it much more clear. I...

This. This all day. Go on the Ford Power Stroke Diesel forums and study-up on the 7.3. It's a GREAT motor, but there are common issues that should be addressed, as well as some nice budget mods that will wake it up and improve MPG as well as reliability. Otherwise, a lot of the...

I know it doesn't look like a ton of progress, but the builder got a ton of orders in for some of his custom parts (he builds WJ bumpers, the spring perches you see on mine, etc.) and that did slow things for a bit (which was part of our arrangement when I dropped it to him, not him putting off...

Some more progress... -TJ

They're JK axles, so they have wheel-speed-sensors out at the hubs that can be used directly on the WJ and retain ABS. One of the connectors on the pumpkins are for the E-lockers, the other I assume is a vehicle speed sensor, probably used for both the speedo but also the more advanced traction...

Coil buckets and some of the axle stuff getting done: -TJ

I agree, 195 is "better" but 210 going up a grade with the AC on in 4-Low for 15 minutes ain't bad! I'd call it a success, but like anything there is room for improvement, of course. I'm dealing with the same "small window" for tuning my fan control as well. I have a 180 t-stat but tried to...

Last year I ran (parts of) the Pardoe Trail with some friends. Looking at your Avatar you'll have no trouble with it, we had a bone-stock XJ (that finished the trail on a donut spare) and a bone stock 2-door JK Rubicon in the group. My WJ was only on a 4" lift (front long-arm) and ~31.6" tires...

Very cool XJ - great to see one getting saved instead of just trashed and thrown away. With that much rust, how were all the pickup points on the unibody for the suspension, steering etc? -TJ