Soul searching v. Cherokee vs. another Miata vs. "other"

Input is cool, laughing at me is also cool. A lot of this is musing out loud.

So, i have this super crazy rare XJ Cherokee that i like. It's been super dependable transportation since i bought it last October. It brings a smile to my face as i jam through the really awful and truck-y feeling gearbox every day on the way to work. The sloppy handling, the rough ride, the "accidental" burnouts (torquey motor) all make me happy in a weird way.

However, for me to LOVE it, at least in theory, it's going to take cubic dollars. As long as i own this thing, i'm going to want to add things to it until one day it looks like this:

Or this. (A Comanche is what i really wanted at the time, and i'm just dumb enough to attempt to do a transplant of every last mechanical/electric part on the Cherokee into an old Comanche.)

So that's "Option A." Keep Cherokee and slowly sink tons and tons of money into it and hope i don't get bored and lose my ass on it.

Option B: Ditch Cherokee, buy another Miata.

I fully realize how crazy this sounds, considering i already have a 93 and a 2000. Rationale: I'd aim to get $4000-$4500 out of the Cherokee due to unicorn status and general condition. This would put me in another nice 94-00 Miata.

Bonus package: Better gas mileage, and would also give SWMBO something sporty to drive during the warm months when i'd be driving one of my other stupid cars. Save me gas monies in winter, save SWMBO gas monies in summer. SWMBO also misses driving the E36 M3 out of the MSM we had every chance she had. She loves her Cherokee, but loves sports cars.

Option C: The "Boy you're stupid" option.

The Expedition Portal 25 year Import article got my brain thinking: Why not sell Cherokee and do a fly and drive next year for some 25 year old Japanese turbo diesel SUV? FJ60, FJ70, Prado, Patrol, Pajero, etc.

The main plus to that is having something super cool and in theory i'd be happy with any of those options in closer to "out of the box" form than what i'd strive for with the Cherokee. Potentially cheaper in the long run.

I don't know. Clearly i'm just bored.

The devil you know...

I've seriously considered a hard 12 month cutoff on 'fun' cars. Accept that cars will cost me money and purposely revel in the new. Give in to the dark side.

mazdeuce wrote: I've seriously considered a hard 12 month cutoff on 'fun' cars. Accept that cars will cost me money and purposely revel in the new. Give in to the dark side.

Probably is that we're talking about my DD here....

I'm pretty stupid. Both SWMBO and i are both daily driving XJ Cherokees. Doesn't bother me a whole lot, i will shortly have other cars to drive if i get bored during the warm months with it, but she won't. The part i'm most worried about is knowing how deep down the rabbit hole i'll go with the XJ if i keep it, and the knowledge that i could potentially give SWMBO something fun to drive during the warm months AND save money. (Gas money, plus money i'd save on modifications of the jeep.)

About option C:
Will you really drive and therefore drive to the point of enjoyment a 25 year old vehicle whos parts are not readily available?
For me, I would fear breaking it since it could be so hard to fix. For me, I think it would just become a garage queen that rarely came out.

JohnRW1621 wrote: Will you really drive and therefore drive to the point of enjoyment a 25 year old vehicle whos parts are not readily available? For me, I would fear breaking it since it could be so hard to fix. For me, I think it would just become a garage queen that rarely came out.

Eh... i would drive it. The trucks i'm looking into seem to be exceptionally long-lived, and in terms of suspension and brakes, they have equivalents that are easy to find in the US.

Even if i had to source stuff from overseas, not really a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. I rarely put 10k miles on a vehicle in a year (Number to go down drastically in the next 12 months as i transition to part time or full time work at home). I would not be against just doing a full suspension/steering refresh upon arrival and not having to worry about it for another decade, for example.

The motors are really the main thing that make what i'm looking at special. And body parts. Body parts are easy to find, just sucks to ship them. Motors... i'd only be looking at the historically reliable ones, then rolling the dice.

There's already parts i can't find for her Cherokee, and parts that are ridiculously hard to find for mine.

I left Option D out because even though i can make it sound reasonable on paper, it's still insane.

Involves an old Mazda 4x4 and a big turbocharger.

So I thought XJ's were incredibly capable if you DON'T screw with them (sorta like the miata...). seems like it would not be hard/expensive to take your stock XJ, remove the plastic fenders, add 2 inches of spring lift and a set of small knobbies for 95% of the result of a fully built XJ for 15% of the cost.

Personally, I love driving XJs, I had one for a few years. but right now I'm jonesing for a convertible.

rcutclif wrote: So I thought XJ's were incredibly capable if you DON'T screw with them (sorta like the miata...). seems like it would not be hard/expensive to take your stock XJ, remove the plastic fenders, add 2 inches of spring lift and a set of small knobbies for 95% of the result of a fully built XJ for 15% of the cost. Personally, I love driving XJs, I had one for a few years. but right now I'm jonesing for a convertible.

Oh yes that would be incredibly easy, and you just described exactly what i did to SWMBO's XJ. I'm just not wired that way, and only kept that one "sane" because she's driving it. (Though she tells me now that she would have been cool with a 5.5" lift and some 33s. Missed opportunity.)

Given the amount of money I just dropped on camera lenses, I'm not in the position to tell anyone to be reasonable with their purchases. That being said, while 10/10ths builds are cool they are obviously ridiculously deep money pits for massaging egos more than be actually functional.

I say slowly build the XJ, but keep it reasonable. Or find a Commanche to screw with and mess that up instead. BTW, what makes your Cherokee rare?

skierd wrote: Given the amount of money I just dropped on camera lenses, I'm not in the position to tell anyone to be reasonable with their purchases. That being said, while 10/10ths builds are cool they are obviously ridiculously deep money pits for massaging egos more than be actually functional. I say slowly build the XJ, but keep it reasonable. Or find a Commanche to screw with and mess that up instead. BTW, what makes your Cherokee rare?

The problem with "reasonable" is that it's open to interpretation. I'm really just talking about lighting, lift kit, wheels/tires, and some armor for the most part. Doesn't sound too terrible.

http://www.ironrockoffroad.com/10447.html

Would start with that, get whatever armor i like from there, grab some metal bumpers, some 17x10 wheels and some 33.5" Toyos. Etc etc etc.

Honestly, the overall money sunk into the theoretical build isn't outside my comfort zone. The problem is that the bulk of it would have to be done all at once.

That one i posted in OP would be the actual goal, just in 2dr form.

What makes mine rare is that it's a facelift (97-01) 1998, 2 door, 4.0, 4x4, 5spd. Super strange combination that pretty much nobody i've talked to has seen before. The elements themselves are rare, but all together, just about unheard of.

It's super strange, quirky, and surprisingly fun. I also feel like it's worth more to someone else than it is to me.

MR-S, because you'll want to until you do.

I wouldn't cut that thing up to wheel it, there's plenty of other beater XJ's out there that I would feel plenty fine taking a reciprocating saw to over what you have. An MJ would be sweet, but they've all but returned to the earth in this part of the country. If I were in your position, I'd ditch the XJ, take SWMBO's XJ, drive/mod that, and let her tool around in one of the Miaturds. Revive SF1, rice around in that thing, and wait a couple of years for something to be importable. My Dad's EASILY got $50k+ into his TJ, and it's not even that serious yet. Still on stock Transfer case, stock trans, stock engine, but literally almost everything else has been modified. He just can't bring himself to rip out a perfectly good driveline unless it breaks. It's probably a bit past the level of the XJ you posted, but not by much.

I've put my pile up for sale a few times, thought about taking out a loan, and just getting a driver. Doesn't make any sense to me, this car is MY outlet and what I use to express my thoughts and ideas on modifications. I'd REALLY like a daily beater with A/C and an slusher though. That's my next move. Beater, finally turn this thing into a slowass weekend 'racecar', and put away money for a couple of years to either buy a house or import some dumb JDM Honda.

beans wrote: Revive SF1, rice around in that thing,

Freudian slip?

Comanches are mainstream Jeep pickups, this is what you want to dump endless money, sweat, tears and blood into:

http://m.ebay.com/itm/171810892432?_mwBanner=1

In reply to beans:

I can't cut up SWMBO's XJ. It's her DD and she won't drive anything but it in winter. I also don't want to drive it. It's too loud. (She likes it.) Nothing is happening to her Cherokee. It's her baby.

SF1 will never be a year round daily driver again. It's missing things like.... HVAC. I'm reviving it anyways, it's not part of this equation.

SWMBO won't drive the purple Miata, and the other one has no driveline.

This is literally just "Keep red XJ or replace with one of these options?"

It's just mental masturbation put in forum post form, mostly. I may or may not do any of these options.

The $50k into your dad's TJ is what i'm afraid of if i keep this XJ, though.

captdownshift wrote: MR-S, because you'll want to until you do.

I agree, but that would be more of a replacement for SF1 or the purple Miata.

Just because you daily them doesn't mean they're not toys.
You want change. People always say the cheapest vehicle is the one you own. They're wrong. The cheapest vehicle is the one you're not pouring money into.

mazdeuce wrote: Just because you daily them doesn't mean they're not toys. You want change. People always say the cheapest vehicle is the one you own. They're wrong. The cheapest vehicle is the one you're not pouring money into.

Right. I feel like replacing it with another Miata is the cheapest option on many levels. Financially, it makes the most sense. I'd also be saved from dumping cubic dollars into it because i already have two, so i can get my fix on doing stupid stuff to those cars.

That's not to say i WON'T modify it, because i will. Because i dislike stock Miatas. But no forced induction, no motor swap, no crazy head build.

If i can't buy it off a shelf and install it in an afternoon in between a few beers, it will not be on the car.

Find yourself a rule set that boxes you in. Something like SR rallycross. Hardtop, newer shocks, snow tires and......you're boxed in. Current street class AX does the same thing but there are way too many other avenues for change in AX so that's dangerous.

When I linked that that Expedition Portal article I was hoping it would make somebody do something crazy and I was hoping it would be diesel based.

mazdeuce wrote: Find yourself a rule set that boxes you in. Something like SR rallycross. Hardtop, newer shocks, snow tires and......you're boxed in. Current street class AX does the same thing but there are way too many other avenues for change in AX so that's dangerous.

The rule would be "takes longer than an afternoon to install? Not happening."

I already know exactly what the build would be:

1) Hardtop w/ full soft top removal
2) FM Vmaxx coilovers
3) K&N intake
4) Whatever quietish exhaust i can find, i liked the roadstersport/cobalt combo on the 2000 base i briefly had
5) 15x8s of some sort, Federal 205/50 RS-Rs
6) NA seats (In case of NB1 purchase again)
7) Whatever to make lighting not suck
8) FM Frame rails
9) sound deadening and decent stereo

The end.

Brett_Murphy wrote: When I linked that that Expedition Portal article I was hoping it would make somebody do something crazy and I was hoping it would be diesel based.

This is mostly your fault.

That's not materially different from the track rat Miata is it? You need a C4 corvette or something? You're in a rut.

In reply to mazdeuce:

He needs a ND or Frisbee

mazdeuce wrote: That's not materially different from the track rat Miata is it? You need a C4 corvette or something? You're in a rut.

That's way different from the track rat. The track rat has spring rates i would never attempt in a daily driver, won't have power steering or a/c, will be hideously loud, no sound deadening, and just generally isn't as nice as what i have in mind. Also: Fixed back bucket seats in track rat.

And coming soon: 12.5:1 compression Swank Force Racing Special motor.