I love a good sleeper. V8 4Runners, turbo charged jettas, those hurst-looking charger SRTs…I love ‘em. My grandfather had a super charged Buick from the early 2000s. That thing would scream! Anyways, I set out to build a sleeper. Not in terms of horsepower and speed, but off-road capabilities.
Black Beauty is a 1999 SE 4 banger. A hater’s wet dream. 13.8 hp, ax-5, no ABS, no lockers, 30/35…but what she lacks in amenities she makes up for in quality and efficiency.
When I began my search, I had a few quirks I refused to sway on.
• Zero rust! I mean 0!
• Full doors with no damage.
• Hard top
I lucked out with an Alabama, garage kept beaut! She had everything (see above) and she had nothing. Could not even drive it home. But I could fix that.
Loaded on the trailer at about 18 mph since the trans was shot. My buddy put her in 2nd and talked dirty to her at about 2k RPMs.

Side note: how about my buddies 1989 crew cab square body!

Once I got her home from a new trans install, the work began.
• Iridium spark plugs and wires
• Distributor button and cap
• Oil change/AC filter
• Diffs drained (looked great, pure luck), lube lockers installed, pinion seals front and rear
• Couple of u joints on both drive shafts
• Heater core flush. Gets replaced later.
• Factory spare carrier installed
• Parking brake lines installed
• Brake cylinders replaced on the rear
At this point I couldn’t take it. I had to drive my new Jeep. Everything was great. I had a vacuum leak so the AC only blew from the defrost setting. Nothing one of these bad boys couldn’t fix while I enjoyed the fruits of my labor for a few weeks.

As winter approached, my heat sucked so I parked it and began the dreaded heater core change. Opted for aluminum to avoid doing this again for a long time.


Now that I could combat the winter air, it was time for a trip to Winrock to see where to focus my energy next. Admittedly, I was amazed at the 2.5’s ability. So much more ability than I expected. Factory 4.10 axles bought me some time to build up my weak points before the axle swap.
• Winch and recovery gear.
• Full size spare.
It’s amazing how many folks skips these first two points. I always recommend riding to learn what to add to your build. Too many folks ask what to add to the build instead of just going riding and learning their rigs weak points.
• Led headlights and new tail lights
• Trim the front bumper
• Trim the factory flares
• Rear tire carrier


Some more rides under my belt and everything so far was great. But it’s time to bring the 2.5l to life. Found a d30hp and trussed 8.8 out of a XJ. Both have Yukon 4.88s, lockers, seals and bearings. The front has CV axles. Interested to ride these. The rear has a HD diff cover and discs.
The axle swap project tested my fabrication skills. My goal was to use the factory control arms, trac bar and sway bar. But I had a modular 1/4” truss from a leaf sprung XJ already installed on the 8.8. It became clear that cutting the brackets around the truss was not an option as I couldn’t manipulate the brackets into the space between the two upright axle plates. I chose to remove sections of truss, mount the TJ brackets, fabricate the removed truss sections in order to place them around the new TJ brackets. It worked! Slow and steady.



WHEW! Finally finished. Could not be prouder to have plan A get scratched and plan B come together! This project forced me to think and be patient to stick to the original end goal.
This where I’m at so far. Thanks for your time! Updates incoming soon!
Black Beauty is a 1999 SE 4 banger. A hater’s wet dream. 13.8 hp, ax-5, no ABS, no lockers, 30/35…but what she lacks in amenities she makes up for in quality and efficiency.
When I began my search, I had a few quirks I refused to sway on.
• Zero rust! I mean 0!
• Full doors with no damage.
• Hard top
I lucked out with an Alabama, garage kept beaut! She had everything (see above) and she had nothing. Could not even drive it home. But I could fix that.
Loaded on the trailer at about 18 mph since the trans was shot. My buddy put her in 2nd and talked dirty to her at about 2k RPMs.

Side note: how about my buddies 1989 crew cab square body!

Once I got her home from a new trans install, the work began.
• Iridium spark plugs and wires
• Distributor button and cap
• Oil change/AC filter
• Diffs drained (looked great, pure luck), lube lockers installed, pinion seals front and rear
• Couple of u joints on both drive shafts
• Heater core flush. Gets replaced later.
• Factory spare carrier installed
• Parking brake lines installed
• Brake cylinders replaced on the rear
At this point I couldn’t take it. I had to drive my new Jeep. Everything was great. I had a vacuum leak so the AC only blew from the defrost setting. Nothing one of these bad boys couldn’t fix while I enjoyed the fruits of my labor for a few weeks.

As winter approached, my heat sucked so I parked it and began the dreaded heater core change. Opted for aluminum to avoid doing this again for a long time.


Now that I could combat the winter air, it was time for a trip to Winrock to see where to focus my energy next. Admittedly, I was amazed at the 2.5’s ability. So much more ability than I expected. Factory 4.10 axles bought me some time to build up my weak points before the axle swap.
• Winch and recovery gear.
• Full size spare.
It’s amazing how many folks skips these first two points. I always recommend riding to learn what to add to your build. Too many folks ask what to add to the build instead of just going riding and learning their rigs weak points.
• Led headlights and new tail lights
• Trim the front bumper
• Trim the factory flares
• Rear tire carrier


Some more rides under my belt and everything so far was great. But it’s time to bring the 2.5l to life. Found a d30hp and trussed 8.8 out of a XJ. Both have Yukon 4.88s, lockers, seals and bearings. The front has CV axles. Interested to ride these. The rear has a HD diff cover and discs.
The axle swap project tested my fabrication skills. My goal was to use the factory control arms, trac bar and sway bar. But I had a modular 1/4” truss from a leaf sprung XJ already installed on the 8.8. It became clear that cutting the brackets around the truss was not an option as I couldn’t manipulate the brackets into the space between the two upright axle plates. I chose to remove sections of truss, mount the TJ brackets, fabricate the removed truss sections in order to place them around the new TJ brackets. It worked! Slow and steady.



WHEW! Finally finished. Could not be prouder to have plan A get scratched and plan B come together! This project forced me to think and be patient to stick to the original end goal.
This where I’m at so far. Thanks for your time! Updates incoming soon!
finally put it on the interstate with AC to see the difference. The 2.5 is alive!