XJ: Matts Build

[SJCXJeep]

Hey mate welcome to the forum... great site/reference for all things Jeep !!!

LIke your XJ mate... Looks great ! Like them wheels, looks awesome !!!!
heres a pic of mine, same colour as yours....

I painted the flares rear bumper black, am taking off the side moulding also... did you find it difficult ?





cheers

[SJCXJeep]

Originally Posted by MattG

Thanks hamsteh, yeah sliders are def on the cards - just haven't found any I'm happy with yet. Good stuff is available in the states, but postage on that weight is not feasible. I'll probably look at getting something fabricated.

Had mine done by my mate .. hes a fitter/Turner by trade and has done a fair bit of 4wd fabricating... As you stated awesome stuff in USA but freight can be a bit much ??? I Just had these installed before christmas...

[MattG]

looks good - go the chilli red jeeps!

I won't lie, the side trim is a royal PITA. Taking the trim off is easy, but the double sided tape underneath takes time and a fair bit of effort. Blisters on 2 thumbs and a finger (plus a six pack haha) later it's all good. I used a hairdryer to heat it up a bit as I read this was the go in other forums. Then I broke the hairdryer when I dropped it - needless to say the gf wasn't impressed with my innovation.

I did notice the paint was a bit different under the trim as to be expected, but it's pretty inconspicuous as it's on the angle there and that colour paint changes shades anyway depending on angle and light. A good wash and polish helps with this as well.

[MattG]

Next was headliner repair - apparently this is pretty common in xj's. I'm quite tall, so it was sitting around my ears! Real annoying and looks crap. I did a bit of research on a home fix job (one bloke used a staple gun haha) and decided to have it done professionally by all car interiors. They did a great job! I was tempted to have the visors done as well as they aren't quite a match but you don't really notice it unless you go out of your way to look
before:


after:

[SJCXJeep]

ok thanks for info... Am on hols so have got stuck into removing the... hell ya not wrong about the d/sided tape under them side mouldings.. its crap to remove.. but its coming off in this heat ok... Looks so much cleaner.

What year is your XJ..? I seem to have a moulded type velour head liner (2001 XJ) !! still in its original position with no hint of dropping !!!! But they did a top job of fixing it....

[MattG]

My latest addition has been spotlights and a lightbar. I went with IPF 968's with the 100W bulb upgrade, they get a good writeup and are fairly slim which suits the detours litebar. I like lightforce, but they were too deep.

I also removed the bumper end plastics and gave them 3 coats of forever black after prepping with the pre-wash and alcohol wipes (I had previously armoralled them to death). I'm not completely happy with the finish up close - though it's certainly a lot better than it was. I'll wait and see how they weather.

I gave the jeep a full paint treatment - wash, chamois, claybar and polish. Used meguires stuff which is pretty good.

The mudflaps went back on as I park on gravel and regularly have rocks stuck in my tyres (read windscreen missiles). I might look at some removable action.

[MattG]

Originally Posted by SJCXJeep

ok thanks for info... Am on hols so have got stuck into removing the... hell ya not wrong about the d/sided tape under them side mouldings.. its crap to remove.. but its coming off in this heat ok... Looks so much cleaner.

What year is your XJ..? I seem to have a moulded type velour head liner (2001 XJ) !! still in its original position with no hint of dropping !!!! But they did a top job of fixing it....

mine's a '99 but the head liner has been going for ages

def looks cleaner, it's not too bad once you get a roll on