Project Eileen

[The_XJ_Eileen]

Well folks I thought I would get to avoid doing my floor pans till next winter but my jeep here has other plans..
I'm looking forward to this project still!
But I will be set back a few weeks with this now! 🙄

I'll post some updates as I go along. I'm really excited to get this jeep out on the trails but she's got 36 years of neglect to attend to!

[xaza]

Jeeps have a way of demanding their attention. Looking forward to watching this as it unfolds.

[TjMike]

How many times did you put your foot through the floor? I like those new floor pans.

[a1gemmel]

Those are just port-holes for self-spotting rocky obstacles.

Rust repair is a lot of work, looking forward to seeing the results!

[The_XJ_Eileen]

How many times did you put your foot through the floor? I like those new floor pans.

Surprisingly not once! The carpet is surprisingly thick and actually a lot of the missing steel is attached to the old carpet! 😅
I thought the hole on the driver side was about 3" to 4" wide and maybe 6" long... I was way off! 😂

[The_XJ_Eileen]

Those are just port-holes for self-spotting rocky obstacles.

Rust repair is a lot of work, looking forward to seeing the results!

Thanks man I was hoping to avoid doing this now but 36 years of neglect needs to be addressed sooner than later unfortunately. On the bright side If done correctly I won't have to do it again for another 30 years!

[The_XJ_Eileen]

Here's an update for the floor pan repairs on my Jeep xj.
So I tore out the rest of the interior (the rear hatch was actually boat carpet and not the OE carpet and it was full of sand.)
I found 2" of standing water in the passenger rear quarter panel so I drilled a hole to drain that. And I got the driver side almost ready to fully install the new floor pan and started working the passenger side a bit. I was warned this was a lot of work and those were wise words. I am enjoying the results so far and properly repairing this jeep was always the intention so I'm happy to be doing this project and honing my craft and skills!

I really love the fitment of these floor pans and I hope I'm able to weld them in well enough. I am learning to weld through this project as well and I'm hoping to make the welds more attractive as time goes on but the flap disk helps a lot in the meantime. 😅

[The_XJ_Eileen]

I have been hard at work on this Jeep and let me tell you these floor pans are doing just as much work on me!
It's coming along though! I'm really excited to get this thing out of the garage and see all these upgrades in action.
I'm also excited to have these repairs completed so it's in tip top shape so we can explore the world!
I have a lot of pictures to upload but they don't organize very well on here so I'll just post a couple. It's all on Cherokee forum if you want an expanded explanation

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/project-eileen-272466/#&gid=1&pid=32

I'm so exited to see this project come together and start testing it's limits for future upgrades! I complain the whole time but I do love this hobby and I can't wait to see my work in action.

I also got some new fog lights to replace the old black cats it came with. I'll be keeping the old lights still as I don't think you can get them anymore but I am excited to see them installed and working!

[Ol Blue]

Wow that is quite the project, looks good! Need to do this on the driver's side of mine but really don't want to haha. I covered up the rust hole with fiberglass a few years ago and it has held up surprisingly well.

[TjMike]

You've come a long way on this project and looking good. Keep up the work and don't cut any corners. You will be that much more happy with it.
Can't wait to see it on the trails!

[The_XJ_Eileen]

You've come a long way on this project and looking good. Keep up the work and don't cut any corners. You will be that much more happy with it.
Can't wait to see it on the trails!

I appreciate that advice man it is something I keep in my mind when I start to feel like rushing this project to see it on the trail sooner. I would be pretty bummed out to come all this way and feel like I didn't take the time to produce a quality product!

[The_XJ_Eileen]

Sorry it's been awhile everyone!

I've been hard at work on this Jeep but with only 1 day a week it's going slower then I was hoping.
I'll throw in some pictures but to give a quick summary I have all the parts I need now I believe aside from some odds and ends I'll need to wrap it up.
I've got the new axle installed with the custom length Adams drive shaft.
I've cut and folded the rear fenders with some success but I don't love the way it looks compared to the front fenders. I was able to cut those more carefully and sand them down.
I'm updating some of the front end.
Coming up I'll be fishing the new fenders and buttoning up the front end I did get the new KC lights installed.
Then I'll be getting back into the interior to finish the new floor pans and installing the sound deadener and new carpet.
I need to re-weld the rear axle perches as I didn't get them very good the first time and made the rookie mistake of painting it and installing it before I realized it..

Anyways here are some pictures to update you all on the build process!

[The_XJ_Eileen]

I am also going to make custom inner fenders with some old mudflaps to keep things from rusting out.

[The_XJ_Eileen]

Lots more to come

[Jim]

Progress!

I see your spring-over suspension and realize it has the benefit (I worked with U-Bolts yesterday) of the nuts not being on the low side, hitting rocks and either messing the threads or breaking off.

[TjMike]

Quite the project and making good progress for only working on it one day a week. Looks great!

[The_XJ_Eileen]

Progress!

I see your spring-over suspension and realize it has the benefit (I worked with U-Bolts yesterday) of the nuts not being on the low side, hitting rocks and either messing the threads or breaking off.

This is how the XJ is set up already but I do prefer it especially when dropping the rear axle. Super easy with spring over.
This is a swap kit from Iron Rock Off-road that added an additional.5" to .75" of lift. I just need to weld it on better and the rear axle is completed! I do have to run the brake lines and plug in a vent tube but otherwise we're looking sweet!

[The_XJ_Eileen]

Thank you! I was hoping to be closer to a shake down run but I don't want to slap anything together when I'm this far into it! I'm not building a SEMA jeep here but I'd like to impress my future self with the craftsmanship!

[xaza]

nice work. good looking axle. I like how the shock mounts are moved up getting rid of that terrible low spot. I did that on my XJ and it helped a lot on the trails. I had to get shorter shocks.

[The_XJ_Eileen]

nice work. good looking axle. I like how the shock mounts are moved up getting rid of that terrible low spot. I did that on my XJ and it helped a lot on the trails. I had to get shorter shocks.


That's a good point man I didn't even think about how much higher these mounts are then the stock ones!

[The_XJ_Eileen]

This week I focused hard on getting the front end put back together. I needed something I could take some pictures of and feel a sense of accomplishment. So I got the new KC fog lights installed and wired up and finished the fenders. I clearanced them a few weeks ago and had to replace the driver side as it has been badly damaged since I got the Jeep.
I will post pictures of the switch panel I got for this Jeep next time as I'm still getting it fully installed. I am very excited about this part of the project and very happy with how it's coming together. So much to do still but this week I'm finish welding the rear axle again since I did it incorrectly and I will be buttoning up the odds and ends from the front end part of the project. Next weekend will have all my attention on the interior to wrap up the floor pans and hopefully get started on the bed liner on the rear hatch area. This is all taking so much longer then I'd like but I'm trying my best not to rush the jobs so I am happy with the product once it's on the road. Lots to learn and lots to do!!

[The_XJ_Eileen]

Spent this weekend getting new battery terminals installed with a the new battery tray. This battery tray is from a local company called mountain vista fabrication.
Got all new ends on the wires to make it all look neat as I could.
Cleaned up some rust and sprayed it with a self etching primer. I'll go through with the POR-15 another time to kill off the rust but that'll do for now.

Also pulled apart the rear axle again to reweld the axle perches. They're much more secure now and I'm not worried at all about them holding up to abuse and time. Of course I need to re assemble the axle and tie up some loose ends but this part is nearly complete.

Also installed the new switch panel. This was super exciting to me finding something that uses a stock location makes a very clean look.

Next week it's full steam ahead on the interior.

[a1gemmel]

Nice work! Project jobs aren't always glamorous but you'll never regret the time you spending painting and rust-proofing. Welds on the perches look great.

[The_XJ_Eileen]

This weekend I was able to get 2 of the 3 floor pans welded in place. They are about 90% done I need to grind down the welds so they are more smooth and apply steel reinforced bodo on some of the rusty spots that can't be welded too and I don't have the skill set to fabricate lots of little patches. Of course I'll be doing POR-15 on all the rust I can find before I do the bondo extreme.
Then I'll do seam sealer on all the new seams top and bottom before I finally throw down some fresh primer and a quick coat of paint then I'm doing sound deadener on the floor then lastly I'll install the new carpet. At some point in here probably after I lay down paint on the passenger area.
I'm doing raptor liner in the rear hatch area lol this is all taking so long but I know I'll be so happy to have done this all the way I wanted the first time.
This is about 1,000 tack welds and only a few fine beads where I was able to make it work.
Also smoked my transmission wiring harness while welding but I think it's only for the reverse lights which never worked.
Oh and I got a new tool box that I am very proud of. My tools were all stolen about 5 years ago by my childhood best friend. About $12,000 in snap on and matco tools were all lost.
I've finally built up a new tool box and although the tools aren't snap on I am still extremely proud of myself for getting this box together again!

[Jim]

Good work - nice to see it coming along.

[The_XJ_Eileen]

This will be a bigger update since I haven't done one in some time.
Since my last post I've finished welding in the new floors and patching rusty places with fresh steel.
I also got the rear brake lines built and installed.
Currently I'm working in the engine bay installing a new intake and exhaust manifold gasket with new bolts and repairing a broken stud.
At the same time I am installing the new "Dave's custom designs" brake booster, master cylinder, and manual adjusting proportioning valve.
This marks a huge upgrade in braking power for me which was the original issue I set out to fix!
That issue lead me to everything in this thread. 😅

[The_XJ_Eileen]

I also re-did my oil pan gasket and gave it a fresh paint job. I did this and the rear main seal a year ago and haven't driven the Jeep since but in the few times I ran it it was leaking.
So I'm hoping I fixed that.
The oil pan skid plate is from Barnes 4WD.
Next I'll be finishing the intake and exhaust/brake job and then I'll be building the new exhaust.

[The_XJ_Eileen]

Finally got to build my exhaust over this long weekend.
This is a cat back exhaust and only me second one every. I'm pretty proud of this and it sounds fantastic!
I still need to install another hanger for the rear section and clean up some of the weld spatter.
Also need to mount the exhaust tip.
Jeep runs great but I found a vacuum leak at the injectors. O-rings are shot.

[TjMike]

That exhaust looks great! Looks like you're getting close.

[Jim]

Nice to see the progress!

[The_XJ_Eileen]

Today I did new fuel injector o rings to fix a vacuum leak hoping to create enough vacuum to operate the new brake booster.
The o rings went on perfectly although I have 3 different fuel injectors for some reason! Then upon testing I still only have about 13.5 inches of vacuum at the booster and I need a minimum of 18 so now I'm shopping for an electric brake booster vacuum pump. Looks like another $200 to solve this issue but after that she's good to go mechanically!
The oil leak stopped on its own I think having a full heat cycle helped seal things up.
Any ways here's a few more vanity shots to keep the love going! 😂