I was looking for a new daily driver to replace my 97 Grand Cherokee. It was one of my sons first vehicles and he beat it pretty hard. ( including some trips to the bottom of the susquehanna river ) When he bought his Miata I bought it from him to use as a daily/DJ equipment hauler/Shop Truck. Over time it has gotten less and less reliable and has now moved on to new home.
I looked at a lot of different replacements, but then I found a rough but decent 1988 Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited for sale about an hour away for a decent price. It ran well, but was reverse delete. It has a little rust and needs a good cleaning/servicing... but it was a good base to start from and Hell, I've always wanted a 5.9. Its rare enough to have unicorn status, but not to hard to find parts for. Seems like a good combination. So I made a deal and drove it the hour home with no issues.
The Z88Z Grand Cherokee Limited 5.9 was the fastest Production SUV back in 1998 and are where the very idea of an on-road-performance-oriented SUV began, so my plan is to stay true to its heritage.
Its going to get cleaned and serviced, to start with. I'll also address the rust as well. It will need a passenger side outer and inner rocker and a hole or two patched up, nothing too horrid. From there, it will be lowered all around. Not Slammed, just a tasteful couple of inches to close some of the fender gap. As bushings get replaced they will go to Poly, and I'll add some decent shock as well. Wheels will be 17" wrapped with good A/T tires.
Driveline wise, I have a line on a fairly low mile rebuilt transmission for cheap from a rusty parted 5.9. I also am planning on long tube headers, a 3" high-flow cat and a 3" exhaust.
That should be a good start and get it back on the road. As time and money allow, it will get body and paint work done.
But for now, here are some pics from when I picked it up along with a few progress pictures:
She is a dirty dirty girl....
These fit like they were made for it...
Just a little added lowness