Topic: Converting an XJ into a 4 door pickup

[swatsniper1s1k]

i've been looking at getting a midsize 4dr 4wd pickup for the last couple months, and since i can't really find one up to par after looking at dakotas, tacomas, s10/colorado, frontier, (i hate fords so no ford ranger). and since i'd rather not sit there and have payments i have to make every month on a vehicle that isn't entirely what i want, what do you guys think about taking an xj and chopping off the enire rear end after the back seat and capping it off with the tailgate and then welding on a frame, extending the wheelbase and dropping on a short pickup bed? i've seen the guys that just lop off the rear windows and i think it looks pretty stupid. in theory and in my head it makes sense how i would do it, and i photoshopped a picture just to have an idea of how it should look. so i guess i just want an opinion what you guys would think about it, since the mj never came in a 4 door, so long or shorter bed?

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[swatsniper1s1k]

i know it will be a lot of measurements, welding, cutting, time and money, but i can always put it on a back burner if money gets tight.

[FourbangerYJ]

Keep in mind that the XJ are a unibody so they don't have a frame. Not sure what can be done to make it stronger after cutting to add the bed.
Sounds like a cool project!

[swatsniper1s1k]

yeah i knew it's a unibody, so to strengthen it up a little, i'm gonna weld flat steel in a U shape around the structural framing underneath and carry that from all the way forward to the very back. i would relocate the gas tank and also put the spare tire underneath the bed or carry it on a roof rack if i use a full size O.R. tire. in effect i would basically be dropping the whole xj onto a frame...altogether it should work pretty well and not look too bad. i just hope i'm not shooting myself in the foot  so what looks better? longer bed or short?

[neale_rs]

 I vote for longer.  A lot of work to go through for a nearly useless short bed.  Longer is not the best for off road but it all depends on your intended use.

[swatsniper1s1k]

i'll probably do mild offroading with it, no rock crawling or crazy $h!t. i'd like to put a lift kit and bigger tires on it once it's done, but it's mostly for normal pickup use. throwing stuff in the back for either the house or the yard, and i do some shipping work for my job when it's too small of an order to warrant paying freight costs. but i wanna have the 4 doors to throw kids/groceries/dogs in the back seat. i'd also probably use it as a tow rig to pull my yj longer distances to go offroading. my yj won't do highways well and the closest orv park is 100 miles away.

[neale_rs]

Sounds like the longer bed would work better for you.  Good luck with the project.

[swatsniper1s1k]

thanks, now i just have to find an xj 

[chardrc]

i know someone (aka manufacturer that you can buy from) makes a kit that attached to the uni body to give it something that resembled a frame.. you could probably find some pics on that and use that as insperation for your strengthening and bed attachment.

[swatsniper1s1k]

thanks chardrc, i'll def look into that.

[swatsniper1s1k]

what would you badge the truck as? as a cherokee or just get the letters and badge it an XJT?

[st.chevrolet]

You need to go here:  www.naxja.org

[sharpxmen]

what would you badge the truck as? as a cherokee or just get the letters and badge it an XJT?

xjt is a good one, i was thinking XUT but i think i like your's better

[Jeffy]

I wouldn't bother trying to reinforcing the Unibody.  You're gonna end up with a deathtrap if you're ever in an accident on or offroad.  If you really want to cobble an XJ with a MJ, it will involve a lot of splicing.  The rear of the cab is going to have to be the MJ since the XJ's got the lift-gate.  That will give you the bed in the back without it being attached to the rest of the cab.  To keep the B-pillar you'll have to use the XJ which will give you the rear door opening.  Although, you're going to get a wheel well arch in the rear door unless you really want to reskin the door which would be a PITA.  In that case you'd have to cut out the arch and weld in a filler piece or just cut the door in half then piece it together with the rear half of a front door.  That would at least give you the matching seam for the rear half of the cab.

Now about the Unibody, forget it.  You'll want to build a complete frame and cut out the unibody.  I would also highly recommend adding a full cage inside.

Photoshopping is easy and you can make the impossible work.  Getting it to actually work is another thing.  You're going to have to do a lot of fabricating.  Loads of welding and cutting.  Keeping the body straight would be complicated unless you made a jig which would also require more time.  Unless you have a lot of money saved up, I think you're going to end up with a cut up XJ and a cut up MJ that you'll be selling in a few years.

[swatsniper1s1k]

I wouldn't bother trying to reinforcing the Unibody.  You're gonna end up with a deathtrap if you're ever in an accident on or offroad.  If you really want to cobble an XJ with a MJ, it will involve a lot of splicing.  The rear of the cab is going to have to be the MJ since the XJ's got the lift-gate.  That will give you the bed in the back without it being attached to the rest of the cab.  To keep the B-pillar you'll have to use the XJ which will give you the rear door opening.  Although, you're going to get a wheel well arch in the rear door unless you really want to reskin the door which would be a PITA.  In that case you'd have to cut out the arch and weld in a filler piece or just cut the door in half then piece it together with the rear half of a front door.  That would at least give you the matching seam for the rear half of the cab.

Now about the Unibody, forget it.  You'll want to build a complete frame and cut out the unibody.  I would also highly recommend adding a full cage inside.

Photoshopping is easy and you can make the impossible work.  Getting it to actually work is another thing.  You're going to have to do a lot of fabricating.  Loads of welding and cutting.  Keeping the body straight would be complicated unless you made a jig which would also require more time.  Unless you have a lot of money saved up, I think you're going to end up with a cut up XJ and a cut up MJ that you'll be selling in a few years.

well a full cage was a definite, and as for tons of work and time, that was kinda the point. I'm going to the police academy in january, and once i graduate, my shifts will be 4 days on, 4 days off, so i need something to keep me busy other than the tv. and my neighbor down the street has an 89 mj just sitting in his back yard, and is willing to give it to me for super cheap. the local boneyard has about a dozen cherokees to pick from/off of, so the rear door arch shouldn't be too much an issue. as for keeping it straight, i'm planning on thousands of measurements and calculations before i start to cut anything, and i'll probably end up making the jig. gonna work with stress rates of different setups and do it so it won't just snap in half as soon as i drop in some mulch or launch it off the line. i was planning on a detached bed as well, but didn't include that in my original description very verbosely. it's gonna be a tough project, but that was the full intent, because in the end it will be a greater reward...i think...