The ShiteBox

#1

THE JOURNEY
I admittedly did flounder a bit trying to land on a rig I was happy with this year but hopefully (no guarantees!) I’ve found one I can be happy with for a while. I cringe even making that statement- like I’ve jinxed myself. But so far….

  1. First I ditched the red 09’ JK which I was actually pretty happy with except for the fact that it was a manual.
  2. Then I picked up a Silver 08’ JKUR. The 3.8L was just fine in the prior Jeep and I convinced myself that stories of its weakness were overblown… until I drove it to a Rausch Creek trip. The hills on the way there saw me topping out at 30mph with OD off and my foot on the floor. I was so pissed by the time I got there that I posted it for sale that night from my tent and had a deal in the works before I got home again.
  3. Then there was the lime green supercharged 3.6L Jk. That thing was fast! But one full day spent trying to do something as simple as changing a broken serpentine belt (replacing a belt with the supercharger required pulling the front apart including pulling the radiator- F that!) and I ditched it at a dealership that weekend.
  4. Then I decided to go back to my roots and pick up an LJ. I started to build it but looking at the $ it was going to take to get it trail worthy at a Goat level became intimidating. I’m 3 years from retirement and have no business trashing a $20-30k toy.

I’ll be honest with you… at that point I was beginning to doubt whether or not this hobby made sense for me anymore. The choice seemed to be to buy a bare bones rig and not build it too much and therefore not be able to do much with the club, or “just empty every pocket” and sweat about pushing retirement out a couple years every time I was on the trail. I decided to take one last shot at wheeling on a budget and look for an old XJ to wheel in. They don’t cost much to start with. Their parts tend to cost a little less than other models, and you don’t have to spend as much to protect them because… who the fuck cares right ?!?
I thought I’d find a stock one for $1-2k and try to keep the total budget under $10k. I just happened to get lucky and found one that was mostly built for half my budget.

And so… enter the ShiteBox
She is a 2001 Cherokee with the 4.0L and an AT
JK 44 axles geared to 5.13
LS in the rear and selectable locker up front.
231 TC with an SYE and Adams driveshafts front and rear.
Currently running 37" ATs but will be switching to beadlocks and MTs soon.
Frame stiffeners welded in.
RC Long arm lift (I know…but I hear that they are not bad once you swap their joint with JJs)
JCR front winch bumper
JCR rear bumper (to be replaced with one that will take a tire carrier soon - I need to get the spare out of the back)
On order now:

  • step sliders
  • engine skid
  • tire carrier rear bumper

Needs based on running some trails at Big Dogs last weekend (mostly Blues)

  • I need to install a tranny cooler - it ran hot!
  • Stiffen the rear springs some - either replace the leaf pack or add a leaf
  • Hydro assist steering

IMG_5202 IMG_5207 IMG_5210 IMG_5224 IMG_5227

3 Likes
#2

Glad you got it dirty Dan! How did those ATs fair?

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#3

They did good nuff for now. Beadlocks and MTs are on the to do list.

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#4

Thanks for the explanation of the evolution of your rigs. I thought maybe you had some really bad ADHD or instant gratification syndrome but your analysis is spot on. No sense breaking the bank when you are this close to the finish line with respect to your retirement.

This JKUR that I have now will be my last crawler rig that I build. I’m far from retirement (spent too much money on boats in my 20’s/30’s and too much money on Jeeps in my 30’s/40’s) when I should have been maxing out my 401k so now that I am maxing it out… the JKUR is here to stay.

Solid plan, Dan! Glad your back into the game for a fraction of what most have invested.

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#5

I’m excited to see where this build goes. Do you need to tummy tuck these like the wranglers or is the trans already out of the way?

You might want to think about a cage too, since it is a unibody, if you flop it that’s a ton of work to fix.

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#6

I am happy to claim both of those maladies. I just hope to finally be making some intelligent decisions re Jeeps this time. If such a thing exists…

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#7

Nope - stuff is tucked up pretty high in these. Ill still mount an engine skid…but it seems almost unnecessary in these. Good call on the cage. Mike was actually talking about having one in his shop that a customer ordered and never claimed.

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#8

I do have one in the sea container for the XJ. $3500 installed for you Dan if you want it. Was going to sell it for $4500 installed to an Off Camber Crawlers member.

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#9

Might work! Who’s cage kit is it and would I still be street legal with that installed?

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#10

It’s only street legal if don’t put a dash V bar in the center because you cannot any obstruction of view out of the front windshield. Otherwise yes, you will remain street legal if you do a cage in the Jeep as long as you keep your OEM seat belts (to pass inspection) if you do add harnesses too.

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