I had an '88 MJ with the 4.0L auto, loved that thing. It was the exact drivetrain and shortbed I was looking for, and even scored one with a sunroof and buckets. 5.5" of lift, regear to 4.10 with an Exploder 8.8, and I was real happy. That is until the day I sold it. Hated to see it go, but couldn't justify keeping it. Barely get to drive the YJ the way it is.
My old MJ is being built even more by its new owner, you can see that build
here.
Tough to find a good solid 4wd MJ, they're getting more rare all the time. 4wd conversions are easy with abundant XJ parts, so finding a solid 2wd MJ isn't out of the question.
Here's a before and after the 5.5" RE coils and a SOA: