Why an XJ?

[xj287]

We each have are own reasons for driving what we do, often very personal, sometimes kinda funny, but always unique...So why do all of you drive XJ's?

My reason is simple......COMPROMISE!
I bought my first jeep in '90, an '88 comanche with about 6400 miles on it, loved it kept it a little over 10 years, drove it 468,000 miles! I'd still have it, but got stupid and traded it in on a newish F150. Which I lost in a divorce 3 months later :mad: I spent the next 8 years trying to find another one, could not find one anywere! When I had finaly had more then enough of the pile of crap I was driving by that point (92 4runner :thumbdown:) I was lucky enough to work out a deal with one of my parts suppliers to trade a junk car that was abandoned at my shop even for a rust free '88 XJ with only 173,000 miles on it. Now 2 years and 50,000 miles later I'm happy as can be!

For me it's not just a trail rig, but it's my work truck and daily driver all in one. Gota love an XJ!:thumbsup:

[Art]

main reason... its a jeep that is cheaper than a wrangler!

Before I bought this cherokee i had a ZJ and loved it. So when I knew I wanted another jeep 4x4, and this time I got an XJ. I have lots of wheelers give me shit for not having a frame, but most of the time I can out wheel them sooo i guess i win! haha

[DETOURS]

Cheap, Disposable, Easy Parts Transfer To Your Next One.

Wheelbase.......Better than Wrangler for wheeling, but vision suffers.

Family.......More room, bring the kids & the gear.

Dependable.......All round great, cheap to own vehical.

[xjjeepthing]

Looking at Wranglers, Solar yellow to be exact. My daughter was born at the same time and decided not enough room in a Wrangler for the family vehicle thing. Then I found a yellow XJ. Perfect

[4.3LXJ]

Good compromise. Owned lots of spartan 4X4s. I was living where it gets real cold in the winter and hot in the summer and driving long distances in it. The XJ was perfect for that because I'm a wuss

[alwaysxj]

well it was four years ago i was trying to get a 85 4runner locked with duals bla bla bla. we went to look at it and my wife did not like it so she would not let me get it. i was so mad at her. so the first thing i did was look in the paper and i found a 94 xj lifted nothing really done to it but a lift went to look at it and she said she liked it so i got it. and i have never looked back i will get a toy truck for a couple of months and then i miss the hell out of the xj so i will trade the truck for another xj happened twice now. with in the last four years i have owned 3 xj some more built then others and two toy trucks. but i think im stuck with the xj for good now i always go back to the xj it is good for the fam and all of the gear i think i will always have a xj to drive.

[Mudderoy]

I think everyone knows the story. I went down to the local Jeep dealership. I was all set on a black Wrangler "TJ" with black hardtop, 4.0 with standard transmission. Went and got the wife so she could have a look, we had both wanted a Wrangler "seperperly" for many years.

They had a pretty "XJ" in the show room, 4 door. Our two girls were about 3 and 4 at the time. Red is our favorite color, and this thing was REALLY red. I talked the wife into getting the XJ and told her in a few years we will get a Wrangler.

Yep we're still going to get that Wrangler, but it will be her primary vehicle.

[bassackwards]

it was cheap and i don't see that many 2 door xj's around here

[BlueXJ]

Like Mudderoy, many have heard my story. I have had a Jeep in one form or another almost all my life. Dad had a Jeep station wagon when I was born. In my teen years the family got a CJ2A for farm use which I ended up driving to High School. I had a CJ5 after that.
Long story, short, I got an XJ when my grandkids came along and have owned over 6 different ones. Most were Renix era, so I learned all I could about that small group of XJs. Now back down to 1 and it is the first one I purchased, a '90.

[GT MOTORSPORTS]

My story is typical I guess. Me and a highschool friend always raced quads.Then it was lowered trucks, custom build classics. One day he decided to get into 4 wheeling. Life has a way of distancing us from our friends. So for about 2 years we talked but didnt hang out much. We decided to get Quads to trail ride. I was still drag racing and he was still building 4x4's.Well He got his Cj-7 built and was having great fun. One weekend he told me to come alongand ride in a few friends' jeeps in KY. I went,but being skeptical at his" its the most fun going slow youll ever have"quote. What can I say-I was hooked. Drag car went into the shop and I went looking for a topless jeep. I started looking into what style I liked. It was then,while researching lift kits I saw SkyJackers red XJ. I was floored with how cool it was. I found my self changing gears and finding XJ's instead of C/Y/TJ's. I traded a 1 ton front dana 60 chevy axle for an 89' In went my pieced/fabricated lift and welded the spiders in both axles and away we went. I rolled it over in a dried creek bed on the same trail I first went wheeling on..Back home with a slightly smashed roof and windshield I went looking for another XJ,Sold the 4.0 and transmisson to a YJ guy(who now has over 300,000).Thats when I picked up my 96' now known as "Whitey" My girlfriend(at the time soon to be fiancee') liked wheeling. Then later we found out she was prego. So being that my first XJ went 286,000 with out cracking a valve cover,the hunt was on for another XJ so that we could have rock soild reliablity and 4WD for the winter.We ended up buying a 95' ZJ that only has 89,000. We eventually split up but still to this day we joke around about how I turned her into a jeep person as she bought a 01' WJ. I of course still have my 2 99's im building into one nice daily driver. And as of last night I just bought another,A 94' 4 door,4.0 auto XJ. I guess im like a junkie needing a fix as Im in the middle of stripping Whitey down for a full tube chassis and have nothing to wheel.

Thats why I have cherokees.....reliablity,solid foundation,straight axles, Kid friendly and mother approved!!

[Mudderoy]

My story is typical I guess. Me and a highschool friend always raced quads.Then it was lowered trucks, custom build classics. One day he decided to get into 4 wheeling. Life has a way of distancing us from our friends. So for about 2 years we talked but didnt hang out much. We decided to get Quads to trail ride. I was still drag racing and he was still building 4x4's.Well He got his Cj-7 built and was having great fun. One weekend he told me to come alongand ride in a few friends' jeeps in KY. I went,but being skeptical at his" its the most fun going slow youll ever have"quote. What can I say-I was hooked. Drag car went into the shop and I went looking for a topless jeep. I started looking into what style I liked. It was then,while researching lift kits I saw SkyJackers red XJ. I was floored with how cool it was. I found my self changing gears and finding XJ's instead of C/Y/TJ's. I traded a 1 ton front dana 60 chevy axle for an 89' In went my pieced/fabricated lift and welded the spiders in both axles and away we went. I rolled it over in a dried creek bed on the same trail I first went wheeling on..Back home with a slightly smashed roof and windshield I went looking for another XJ,Sold the 4.0 and transmisson to a YJ guy(who now has over 300,000).Thats when I picked up my 96' now known as "Whitey" My girlfriend(at the time soon to be fiancee') liked wheeling. Then later we found out she was prego. So being that my first XJ went 286,000 with out cracking a valve cover,the hunt was on for another XJ so that we could have rock soild reliablity and 4WD for the winter.We ended up buying a 95' ZJ that only has 89,000. We eventually split up but still to this day we joke around about how I turned her into a jeep person as she bought a 01' WJ. I of course still have my 2 99's im building into one nice daily driver. And as of last night I just bought another,A 94' 4 door,4.0 auto XJ. I guess im like a junkie needing a fix as Im in the middle of stripping Whitey down for a full tube chassis and have nothing to wheel.

Thats why I have cherokees.....reliablity,solid foundation,straight axles, Kid friendly and mother approved!!

I never had the money to build something that would really beat anything around, but going fast and straight is fun. I had a 1972 Chevy Nova with a 327. Stock heads, automatic and stock rear end. It was good for 6.7 0 to 60. L60s and bright yellow traction bars. Headers with glass packs stuffed into the collectors. It was an awesome ride. I stopped going straight and fast before I killed someone. I, of course, was indestructible. lol

[GT MOTORSPORTS]

Iknow the feeling Mudd. I used to street race every chance I had.I had a 355" with dart sportsman 2 heads. 3" flowmaster muffs and 4:10 gears. my car would run 12.50's all day..I eventually added nitrous and wehn I was testing the spray..melted 2 pistons..sold the car to a guy who was looking for a camaro. I was one a first date with my daughters mother and saw the car on the way to the movies.. I wheeled into the parts house and went in and asked..who wons the blue nova..i started hounding him with questions and asked for the keys..I ended up buying the car back. now its just a driver that is in line to get its chance at being redone..

[Mudderoy]

Iknow the feeling Mudd. I used to street race every chance I had.I had a 355" with dart sportsman 2 heads. 3" flowmaster muffs and 4:10 gears. my car would run 12.50's all day..I eventually added nitrous and wehn I was testing the spray..melted 2 pistons..sold the car to a guy who was looking for a camaro. I was one a first date with my daughters mother and saw the car on the way to the movies.. I wheeled into the parts house and went in and asked..who wons the blue nova..i started hounding him with questions and asked for the keys..I ended up buying the car back. now its just a driver that is in line to get its chance at being redone..

You are lucky. I sold this and wish I could get it back...

http://xjtalk.com/images/special/Tonys_Old_Truck.jpg

[GT MOTORSPORTS]

Wow thats nice.Ill have to post up some of my old trucks..

[prerunner1982]

Mudderoy... that is a SWEET Square body... my other love!

I had an 82 Chevy that I cracked the frame on... then I had an 87 GMC that got totaled when some girl pulled out in front of me. I fought with the insurance company for 4 months and had no vehicle. When I finally got the money there wasn't a lot of choices, so I settled with a Jeep since they were my other love, though I would have preferred a CJ. Of course if I would have known then what I know now about the XJ I got I would have moved on, but hindsight is 20/20.

[muddeprived]

I drive the xj cuz it says "jeep" on the grille. Nothing else but a jeep.

[LostSoul]

I wanted a 4x4, so I asked this guy that I worked with what he would get. I was hoping he knew where a scout was for sale. He had one of the coolest scouts I have ever seen. He said you don't want a scout, the parts are way hard to find and they can be a lot of $$$. So he said last time he was in moab a friend just bought a xj and it went almost every where he did. So I went home and Look on the internet about jeep Cherokees. Next day at work we was talking about xjs and a co worker said my bro has one and its for sale. I said bring it in, I wanna look at it. Two weeks later he showed me a 93 white about a 3inch lift 31 9.50 15 tires. He said he wanted 3000.00. I knew this price was too good to be true. Stock 93 were going for about 5000.00. I went to the bank after work and got a loan. Next day I showed up with the money. He told me he talked to his dad and the price was too low. So he then wanted 7000.00.
I said nope and told him I had two other Xjs I was looking at and ill give him 4000.00 for his? He said no. That weekend I test drove about 50 xjs. I found a 91 red xj. drove like a dream. lower miles than all the others, plus I would have enough to buy a lift. So spring of 2005 I bought my first xj and still have it. :driving:

[93gc40]

I have an XJ, because I wanted a Jeep. I have had YJ, TJ,2-ZJ and now the XJ. When I was shopping last time I wanted AC, Hard top and hard doors, Good condition, less than $5000. Looked for almost 4 months, drove about 30 rigs, found my XJ on craiglist, never been happier whith any other Jeep. At the time my preference was a Wrangler, Glad I couldn't find one, that fit my requirements.

[cantab27]

the wife told me to buy it

[Indiana Jeep]

The first time I remember seeing a Cherokee XJ was one of the Jeep commercials in the early '80s. Where some Native Americans were walking through fog and a XJ appeared. I've always liked Jeeps and loved the look of it. When I was finally able to afford a decent vehicle and not a piece together clunker I picked up my first Jeep. A used 1999 Cherokee Sport with I think about 30,000 miles on it. I got it in October of 2000 and it's the only vehicle I've owned since. Replaced the radiator, alternator, starter, water pump, and have done a few mods, but I have over 212,000 miles on her and have never regretted getting it. I'm doing everything possible to keep this Jeep running til the day I die ;-)

[Rysam]

My mom came home with a brand new 87' and I've been hooked since then. that POS is still running around town, just saw it an hour ago. one day I'll get it back.
Combine that with a few years of state paid vacation in the mid 90's where I worked at the motor pool maintaining the state of Nevada's fleet of XJ's. I learned tons about jeeps there.

[XJ4IV]

This is my 3rd XJ and the reason I opted for XJ was a funny story... I used to own a 2000 TJ I called it "Y2KTJ" I had it for about six months and I got a call from Ford Credit asking me If I was gonna make a payment on the jeep... Basically long story short thats how I found out the wife-at-the-time wasn't making the payments but rather she was blowing money left and right... anyhow I had to either surrender the jeep or pay 3500 to catch up and pay penalties... well HELLO I did not have that kind of money so I let it go back.... I really enjoyed that jeep though I broke everything on the thing. but about two weeks prior to having to give up the TJ I found a lady who lived in the hills out in CA where I used to live who had an 88 pioneer XJ for sale, the ad was for 200 dollars
so I called the lady up an arranged a meeting with her and she said the only issue was that we could not start it up on the hill as it had a bad fuel leak at the injectors and she didnt want the gas on the hills...(big grass fire area, fully understandable) so my brother and I dragged it down to the bottom and fired it up and sure thing it ran great tho-ugh it was really lean cause of the leak... So I left the XJ at the bottom of the hill and brought the cash back to the lady and asked her why so cheap... she said simply "my brother gave it to me cause I used to need 4x4 to get up this hill in the rainy season but now I have a subaru forester with AWD and I really dont need the jeep anymore so I figure 200 bucks to get it outta here fast" I gave her the cash she signed over the title and we parted ways.
I drove the thing from california to texas and all I did prior to the trip was new plugs wires and a set of JY injectors and new cap and rotor I drove it all the way with NO issues.
few months later the wife-at-the-time and I split and I kept the XJ and it just became who I was, I ended up getting in a pretty bad wreck with it and it was totaled out but I bought it back for a buck but I also bought a newer dodge durango and then let the XJ sit in a storage yard for like 6 months then the guy offered to buy it from me so I gave in.
Two years later I bought another XJ with severe issues on the engine but I got a good deal on it for 500 I started the tear down immediately however I was unable to complete it prior to having to relocate to dallas from houston so I gave it toa neighbor for free.
This XJ I got from a Craigslist ad for 1000 dollars and I was in need of a vehicle bad and this was the best deal around, I called the guy within 8 minutes of him posting the ad and I was at his house 75 miles away within an hour cash in hand.
Took it for a test drive and it did great so I took it When I got it it was completely stock even down to the laredo 5 spoke ugly wheels. Since then I have lifted it to 5 inches installed a winch front locker 33 inch tires stereo roof rack lights everywhere rear bumper and a full rear cargo tool storage area including OBA I have always liked the offfroad excursion vehicles and this is mine.
I LOVE XJ'S

[troys96xj]

Real Jeeps have uni-bodies.And why not an XJ? Ilove mine. It goes where alot of others can't and it looks sweet.