New member needing advice

[Darren5531]

Well I have been looking for a cheap 4x4 summer project so I can do some mudding and off roading with my friends who have nice lifted trucks. My main goal is to be able to get through almost anything while having it be very cheap. I am trying to stay around $500-$700 for a lifted 4x4 with decent tires. I know it will be a miracle to find but bare with me. Thats just some background info.

The reason I am here is becuase I found a 1981 jeep cherokee with a 360 v8 for $400. It has some decent tires at least that is what he says and from what I can tell in the pictures, I haven't looked at it in person yet. The problems with it are the gauges don't work, needs a new radiator, and the horrible mpgs. It is painted completly camo which I think is nice, but has some rust but nothing major. Would I be able to lift it around 4" for pretty cheap? I'm not looking for something that will be amazing so it can be just thrown together for cheap as long as its safe and won't break often if at all. I would also perfer to chop the top off and have it look more like a truck becuase I find that look to be more appealing, but haven't decided if its worth the hassle.

Would this be what I am looking for or what should I be more looking for? Any opinions?

Thanks for your time,

Darren

[aerocorey]

What kind of lift are you interested in? A new 4" Skyjacker lift runs like $1200. Is it a W/T? If it is you can get slightly bigger tires under it than a Waggy without much lift. For $400 I would trim the fenders, stuff the biggest tires I could fit on it and wheel the crap out of it.

[fulsizjeep]

Welcome Darren! Does the investment of $500-700 include the cost of the Jeep? If so, you may be looking at that much to have a runner. 81 is a good year for Cherokees. The gauges in the instrument cluster are fairly common problems, especially the fuel & amp gauges. A lot of the time it is wiring problem for gauges too. A radiator could run you $50 for repair or $180 or so for a new replacement depending on what's wrong. Bad mpgs... heck most FSJs are. All I can say is tune it and see. 2" add-a-leafs are reasonable and make a difference but if you are looking to play off road, you may as well shop out a 4" lift. They show up used on the For Sale forum from time to time. If it is a wide track Cherokee, you won't have to lift it much to fit decent tires of 33" or more. If it is a narrow track, then you have to go 6" of lift to clear 33s unless you liberate some sheet metal with a sawzall. Good Luck on the FSJ Hunt!

[joe]

Originally Posted by Darren5531

my friends who have nice lifted trucks.
I am trying to stay around $500-$700 for a lifted 4x4 with decent tires.

Ask your friends what $$$ they have in their rigs...vehicle costs, mod costs and tire costs and then ask yourself if you can realistically buy a workable and "reliable" 25 year old offroad rig to do what your buds do for $500-$700? Reliable is the key word. Keep in mind if your buds are constantly having to drag your sorry dead beater home...they won't be your buds for long. Ya wanna play with the big dogs ya gotta buy the good chow.
Just a good set of tires will cost you $500-$700 at least.

[1977cherokeechief]

i have a 77 cherokee with the stock lift and i am able to run 33's with no where near rubbing in the front or rear, but my rear fenders have been trimmed by a previous owner also. my front finders are still there (thank GOD) but you cant complain about a free 4X4

is your chero a WT or a NT? does it have fender flares? that is what will make all the difference, its only about 6 inches from what i have heard.

[bigun]

You also could do a spring over and get quite a bit of lift that away. My original NT cherokee ran 32X12.5 X 15 with a 2.5 lift. Of course till I got it most of it's time was on the street.

[Darren5531]

Thanks for all of the replies. I am not sure if it is a narrow or wide track I'll try to find out. Well the seller is wanting to get rid of it fast because he needs the room so I could probably get the vechile for $200-$250 maybe less depending on how much interest he has had in it. I'm planning on buying as much as I can from junkyards and/or used for price reasons. I've been reading up on lifts and I think the cheapest way to lift the back would be a shackle flip+larger leaf springs from a 1 ton truck. I'm not sure about the front yet. The spring over axle looks pretty hard to do and to make work well becuase of the steering.

Could I just get a radiator off of a bigger truck as long as it was the same demensions? How about leaf springs?

Well it has decent tires on it right now so I would just get it lifted and tuned up and see how that works. I'm mainly concerned with lifting it. I know I could fabricate some blocks pretty easily, but I don't know what will work and what wouldn't. I'm not really sure what they have all spent but one recently bought a 80's k10 with a 4 inch lift, almost brand new tires, completly running, flowmaster exuasht, and even a small system in it all for $1550.

Thanks for all the replies so far. If I was only going to run 31's how much would I lift it or could I just get away with trimming the finders? Would it be pretty easy to high center in mud with doing this?

Thanks again,

Darren

[aerocorey]

If it's a W/T you should be able to run 31s with no modifications. If it's a N/T you MIGHT need to trim a little, but if the back isn't sagging you might try them out to see what rubs before you trim.

[Darren5531]

I want to know if I just run like 31"s when I go mudding/trailing will I high center it pretty easily? What options on lifts do I have? Looking for the cheapest method. Can you tell if it is a narrow or wide track from the ad? Also need to know if I can take a same size or close to the same size radiator off a truck or suv?

http://desmoines.craigslist.org/car/343357120.html

[joe]

That's the WT model. If the stock spring's are good you should be able to run 33x9.5's with no rub and 33x12's with some rub offroad. I've run 33x9.5's on both my J-4000's.

edit: ya cant' beat a running WT Chero for $350. Go for it!

[Jeepstress]

Before you go spending a whole lot on mods to a vehicle you don't know yet...... You might just buy the jeep and get it tuned right and running properly. A decent FSJ will hold it's own against a lot of modded rigs. Depends on what you really want and how much you are willing to spend.

[shepherdskeep]

Originally Posted by Darren5531

I want to know if I just run like 31"s when I go mudding/trailing will I high center it pretty easily? What options on lifts do I have? Looking for the cheapest method. Can you tell if it is a narrow or wide track from the ad? Also need to know if I can take a same size or close to the same size radiator off a truck or suv?

One beautiful thing about FSJ's is the awesome breakover angle - nothing hangs below the frame rail in between the front & rear axles (most trucks & baby Jeeps have a transfer case, skidplate, etc hanging down....and these tend to get hung on obstacles without lifting the suspension). You should be okay, just don't expect an FSJ on 31's to run the hardcore stuff like trail 2 at Tellico. Be mindful of where your front & rear pumpkins are at as you travel over obstacles, so they won't get hung up.

[710 Burner]

Originally Posted by Jeepstress

Before you go spending a whole lot on mods to a vehicle you don't know yet...... You might just buy the jeep and get it tuned right and running properly. A decent FSJ will hold it's own against a lot of modded rigs. Depends on what you really want and how much you are willing to spend.

Although what the goddess of Jeepdom says is true, I don't believe there is a cheap, off-road vehicle that won't break at some point. That being said, you are considering one of the most capable vehicles ever built. It should do well on its own merits. Welcome to IFSJA.