I’m a disabled Army vet kinda struggling to get by right now. I will definitely become a patron member as soon as I get back on my feet. My last surgery for my knee replacement is on Aug 4 probably hopefully be back to work by September 15. Then I will definitely become a member. I really appreciate all your videos and am building a 98 Cherokee xj clasic so yes they are so very helpful. This is my 5th Jeep. Hope to get back at it in September. Take care
The 4.0 straight six is a great engine. Reliable ,not horrible on gas mileage and makes plenty of torque for a heavily geared rock crawler. The only engine i would replace a 4.0 in a jeep is with a four cylinder diesel like the 4bt 3.9 Cummins. I look forward to future videos on the completion of the cage, especially the hard to weld sections on the back side of the pipes against the body. I remember how much of a pain in the butt it was on my cage. Your rims look awesome.
I know you're probably not concerned with this but I think a good finishing touch would be a custom headliner from an older model Cherokee(no speaker bar) I'm very impressed with all of your work. Not just the scorpion. Bleepinjeep is destined to have its own TV show in the near future. Maybe something like a Netflix original series. Would be huge! Keep it up!
I've watched many of your vids but this one is the first i've seen with this particular jeep... Just wanted to say this thing is looking Tuff! The front end bar work is some of the best i've ever seen. Can't wait till it's done!
all I did the first 4 minutes of the video was stare at the notch and bend on the short piece of tubing in front of the hood and think how long it would've taken to do that steep notch. awesome job!
This build is looking great. I really like all the fab you have done so far and am looking forward to see the finished product. For a while now i've had a vision of building a full tube crawler with XJ specs. This is very similar to what i would like to build and has given me lot's of ideas.
Before you make that drive train permanent, consider the 5.2 or 5.9 out of a grand Cherokee, Durango, or Dakota. You can get it all pretty cheap at a pick n pull half off sale which usually occurs on holiday weekends. And you can pull matching transmission, T case, and engine... Just a thought.
I know you have a lot of work yet to do ,but 4 wheel steer would be killer!!!! . great job and very brave those kinds of modifications are not for the weak hearted ,Cant wait for more.
I don't know if it has already been figured out but for the rear seat, a wrangler (tj) rear seat should fit well.. I think some of the older models had narrow ones as well. but depending on placement that could be a great option. unless you want 2 separate captains chairs...
I love this build. Keep it up! I was hoping yall would do a video of the different systems and how they work just like the one you did on the cooling system. Idk i just loved that video thanks!
You should see if you can find pod lights that would fit into the corners of the front of the roll cage just to look like eyes. I don't know about you but I think it would be badass
+BleepinJeep Well....I don't travel much and can only vote on what I've seen around here! Probably Hafta have ton running gear to be Pirate 4*4 material worthy though. ;)
Please wear a full face shield when grinding, I have seen enough safety videos of people that weren't wearing a face shield , I love your work on this jeep! Great exocage!
Matt - I think it would look cool if you could trim down the front fenders to make an insert to fit inside the cage just rear of the front tires. Looks great so far. Nice job :)
HA! Maybe some day I could become a partner! I have a Jeep Liberty CRD I hope to tear into this summer, but we'll see. I have some other things to wrap up first, and I need to hone my fab skills too. You know you have my support on keeping the 4.0L ;) Love the wheels.
Hey Matt, have you thought about constructing a scorpion tail/stinger coming from the rear and curling over pointing toward the front end, possibly constructed with bent/cut and welded tube?? Or perhaps constructed with a material more light weight? @therealbleepinjeep I think it would look badass if it could be done without causing too much weight and center of gravity issues, that would limit the scorpion crawlers handling and off-road/trail capabilities, just a idea though. Keep up the awesome work this jeeps coming together beautifully!
enter the jeep in top truck challenge 2016 or 2017 if you can get it finished in time! That would be awesome you dont see many jeep crawlers. Looks really good i have an 84 jeep cherokee 4.5 inch lift 5 spd manual tranny. And i want to do something similair to this, good videos!
Hey, I like your bend tuber. Dont want to go thrue all comments. What bender and followers do you use and what tube size do you use. Plz send me links if you have where to buy. Thank you....
so is your plan just keep it light as possible and keep your right foot out of it as much as possible? i think the axles will hold up for awhile if you do. soon as you start bouncing rocks off the rev limiter is when they break lol
I've broken 35 spline 4340 rear full float shafts with my 4.0 and hard old 39.5 tsls. My prediction is you are going to go through some serious growing pains with that XJ 44 rear. Maybe look into putting a Jantz Dana 50 ring gear kit and 35 spline shafts if you're dead set keeping it.
have you thought about dimple die gusseting?its light and yet strong.mainly in the corners,especially in the cab area. if yeah have good onya.seen every vid ya hav made.yer doin dam fine job.
Just curious why not start with a Grand Cherokee ZJ rather than put all that work into doing coil over conversion for the rear? Where I live XJ's are big $$$ just because they're XJ but I'm looking to build a ZJ instead. Please lemme know your thoughts. Awesome vid Matt!
are you leaving the motor and tranny completely stock ? with the added weight of the rig your going to be working that motor pretty hard I would at least put a good intake and a performance exhaust on it to it can breath with the extra hard working its going to do. that ads a little power, gas millage and it's cheap too. I would tie in a roof rack to the exo cage as well up on top for extra gas cans , tires and maybe a air compressor. good luck with the build can't wait to see that on the trail.
+ostynn cotton That's what gearing the axle's down is for. Is a trail only rig so he can run pretty high ratio's in the axles. Roof racks usually add weight pretty high up, then adding a 39.5 tire and other things can make it a little more top heavy as well. They look nice but not really good for a true trail rig. Compressor can be built in or even use the old AC as an air compressor with tanks hidden somewhere.
I think you should get some Adventure tube doors and just make custom door mounts (probably reuse the old door mounts) because you know your going to get sick of crawling over and busting your balls on the cross bar or whatever you want call it. I think it would look good!
hey you could buy some lexan make a mold shape that you like out of wood pop it in a microwave and it should take the shape of your mold witch then you would have costom 1 off lights just thought I would help out awsome vids keep up the good work
Who ended up tuning the ORI’s on scorpion and do you recall the pressures for the upper and lowers that finally worked best? Also what anti rock did you use on the rear? I have an XJ on 04 super duty tons with 14” ori fronts and 16” rears and suffer from body roll currently and haven’t been able to tune the struts properly yet. Any help would be appreciated.
What do you estimate the cost of the tubing has been, so far? inline 6: it'll be more than fine with all the chopping. Just removing the tail gate is such a weight loss! Sound system: hope this one doesn't jam the CD in. ;) Shop: count your blessings, I'm working out of a 2 car garage with 2 XJs and a Kia in it. :)
Just curious. But it looks like you only have maybe 20% of the original vehicle...that being the case why not just fab the whole thing from scratch??? Wouldn't it have been more adaptable if it was 0% purpose built from the beginning???
Matt this jeep is going to win awards. I don't care what anyone disagrees with you on about this rig, you're doing it very well. Those wheels too! Damn. Looking so good. My question is what gears are you going to run? If this has been answered ignore the question and I'll catch up in the comments or a later video.
I just got a jeep yesterday it's a 1989 jeep Cherokee XJ for $1,200 I'm fairly new to this jeep thing but my dads going to help me out on this . I would like to make videos with you guys as well. Names Mark from California
Love the project Matt! Keeping tubes tight to the lines of a Cherokee is no easy task and you have absolutely knocked it out of the park! By far the best looking CheroBuggy I've seen yet. Do you have plans to have it finished for Dixie Run this year? And, I know you don't have a rig right now but will you be coming to TrailFest in April?
This may be a stupid question, but maybe road rules are different in your state- Will the Scorpion be able to be registered and driven on the street, or will you trailer it to the trails?
I feel like an ass now that I read all the hate on your NAXJA post. Like you said, so what if they break! Then you build it bigger! It's not like this is your daily driver and you need it to get to work on Monday! Wheel the piss out of it!
that is one of the cleanest looking front ends I've ever seen on an xj
I’m a disabled Army vet kinda struggling to get by right now. I will definitely become a patron member as soon as I get back on my feet. My last surgery for my knee replacement is on Aug 4 probably hopefully be back to work by September 15. Then I will definitely become a member. I really appreciate all your videos and am building a 98 Cherokee xj clasic so yes they are so very helpful. This is my 5th Jeep. Hope to get back at it in September. Take care
The 4.0 straight six is a great engine. Reliable ,not horrible on gas mileage and makes plenty of torque for a heavily geared rock crawler. The only engine i would replace a 4.0 in a jeep is with a four cylinder diesel like the 4bt 3.9 Cummins. I look forward to future videos on the completion of the cage, especially the hard to weld sections on the back side of the pipes against the body. I remember how much of a pain in the butt it was on my cage. Your rims look awesome.
Moving right along Matt thank you for taking the time to show us your progress! You are a talented fabricator.
+peerless-d6r thanks!
I know you're probably not concerned with this but I think a good finishing touch would be a custom headliner from an older model Cherokee(no speaker bar) I'm very impressed with all of your work. Not just the scorpion. Bleepinjeep is destined to have its own TV show in the near future. Maybe something like a Netflix original series. Would be huge! Keep it up!
I know it's an older video, but this is the one that convinced me to chop my H3 to pieces. Thanks.
I've watched many of your vids but this one is the first i've seen with this particular jeep...
Just wanted to say this thing is looking Tuff! The front end bar work is some of the best i've ever seen. Can't wait till it's done!
awesome video matt. planning on helping support the channel as best i can. by far my favorite parts of the week are watching bleepin jeep videos
all I did the first 4 minutes of the video was stare at the notch and bend on the short piece of tubing in front of the hood and think how long it would've taken to do that steep notch. awesome job!
+Jacob Aaron it was a pain, plus it was in a bend which means you cant use the notcher.
Once I get back from Italy I will have to remember to do the patrion thing. Bleepin jeep has helped me plenty of times
Thanks, I appreciate it
Thank you for taking the time to make the videos. I know it adds a lot of time to the project. The progress is amazing. Keep the updates coming
This build is looking great. I really like all the fab you have done so far and am looking forward to see the finished product. For a while now i've had a vision of building a full tube crawler with XJ specs. This is very similar to what i would like to build and has given me lot's of ideas.
Amazing approach angle @ 8:10
that front tube work looks bleepin great...well done
Before you make that drive train permanent, consider the 5.2 or 5.9 out of a grand Cherokee, Durango, or Dakota. You can get it all pretty cheap at a pick n pull half off sale which usually occurs on holiday weekends. And you can pull matching transmission, T case, and engine... Just a thought.
Can't wait for the custom dash!
I know you have a lot of work yet to do ,but 4 wheel steer would be killer!!!! . great job and very brave those kinds of modifications are not for the weak hearted ,Cant wait for more.
I just started watchin today. These videos are really good. keep them coming, love what you do bud.
That looks awesome. Keep up the good work. Cage looks great for your first one. They are not easy to fab.
I don't know if it has already been figured out but for the rear seat, a wrangler (tj) rear seat should fit well.. I think some of the older models had narrow ones as well. but depending on placement that could be a great option. unless you want 2 separate captains chairs...
worthy of the sema show as it sits. would love to do that to my zj.
Nice Wheels Matt. I have the same ones in black with aluminum rings.
that is like a dream jeep I would love to build something like that in the future
I love this build. Keep it up! I was hoping yall would do a video of the different systems and how they work just like the one you did on the cooling system. Idk i just loved that video thanks!
Those invisible axles are AWESOME!!!!
i ran 38 inch swampers on a 29 spline 8.25 for awhile and a built hp 30 lol it went pretty good i just tried to crawl mostly everything and it did.
Naaaaiiiiiiiice!!!!! Bleepin Jeep, none of the boring stuff ;-)
Looks awesome! Best Cherokee build ever. Keep it up.
You should see if you can find pod lights that would fit into the corners of the front of the roll cage just to look like eyes. I don't know about you but I think it would be badass
you should do some led's in the triangular bits up front where it looks like headlights would be. That would look super aggressive!
So dope Matt! I love where this is going love your videos!!! 👍🏻
awesome work dude, been binge watching since i got my first XJ in January lol. i love the wheels, wish they came in 15" :(
Amazing jeep, love watching the build
I think it might look really cool to put lights in the spaces in the front exoskeleton. Right between each little bar and the the front bar.
Would be cool but I don't think anything will fit
Extremely nice work Matt!!! Probably going to be the nicest XJ in the Southeast!!
Only the southeast? Damn!
+BleepinJeep
Well....I don't travel much and can only vote on what I've seen around here! Probably Hafta have ton running gear to be Pirate 4*4 material worthy though. ;)
Please wear a full face shield when grinding, I have seen enough safety videos of people that weren't wearing a face shield , I love your work on this jeep! Great exocage!
Matt - I think it would look cool if you could trim down the front fenders to make an insert to fit inside the cage just rear of the front tires. Looks great so far. Nice job :)
I gave them away but I did so too early and I need to find another set
damn this is one of my favorite builds yet!
HA! Maybe some day I could become a partner! I have a Jeep Liberty CRD I hope to tear into this summer, but we'll see. I have some other things to wrap up first, and I need to hone my fab skills too. You know you have my support on keeping the 4.0L ;) Love the wheels.
Could do a rear radiator setup to get that bumper in even tighter for a 0 approach angle
Hey Matt, have you thought about constructing a scorpion tail/stinger coming from the rear and curling over pointing toward the front end, possibly constructed with bent/cut and welded tube?? Or perhaps constructed with a material more light weight? @therealbleepinjeep I think it would look badass if it could be done without causing too much weight and center of gravity issues, that would limit the scorpion crawlers handling and off-road/trail capabilities, just a idea though. Keep up the awesome work this jeeps coming together beautifully!
front end looks amazing. Is this your first time doing tube framework?
Yep
Looks Bleepin Good
Random idea... some linear led lights along the grill would look pretty awesome
enter the jeep in top truck challenge 2016 or 2017 if you can get it finished in time! That would be awesome you dont see many jeep crawlers. Looks really good i have an 84 jeep cherokee 4.5 inch lift 5 spd manual tranny. And i want to do something similair to this, good videos!
why would he do that, so he can destroy his awesome jeep for no reason? Matt probably off roads for fun not for money ..
+John Smith or just repair the damage and that why he's got a rollcage
kinda reminds me of an axial wraith :) looking super awesome Matt!
I would like to see a complete ground up purpose built tube chassy with an LS or even a Cummins in it. With all those same Goodies
Hey, I like your bend tuber. Dont want to go thrue all comments. What bender and followers do you use and what tube size do you use. Plz send me links if you have where to buy. Thank you....
Oh, forgot: any paint plans? Is that why the exo cacge is tacked, or just for convenience while working, to be fully welded at the end?
so is your plan just keep it light as possible and keep your right foot out of it as much as possible? i think the axles will hold up for awhile if you do. soon as you start bouncing rocks off the rev limiter is when they break lol
I need more Lincoln . Please make that an intro thing.
I've broken 35 spline 4340 rear full float shafts with my 4.0 and hard old 39.5 tsls. My prediction is you are going to go through some serious growing pains with that XJ 44 rear. Maybe look into putting a Jantz Dana 50 ring gear kit and 35 spline shafts if you're dead set keeping it.
+gravesdiggerxj I just looked over your thread on NAXJA. I'll post over there.
greatings from Jeep Club Romania! following your vids for a long time,the rig looks great, I m looking forwoard for the end product!
That looks badass!
have you thought about dimple die gusseting?its light and yet strong.mainly in the corners,especially in the cab area. if yeah have good onya.seen every vid ya hav made.yer doin dam fine job.
looks great, good job!!
so i was thinking you could take the fins out of the grill and put mesh instead. just an idea.
one awsome rig matt, great video godbless
Would fiberglass or carbonfiber. To cover be better or the terain beat them up
Hell yea Matt. Awesome brother !!!
Thanks
This is really impressive work. I can't help but wonder how much it costs to transform a Jeep like this.
All I know is it costs over a year of your life, blood, sweat, and tears.
Just curious why not start with a Grand Cherokee ZJ rather than put all that work into doing coil over conversion for the rear? Where I live XJ's are big $$$ just because they're XJ but I'm looking to build a ZJ instead. Please lemme know your thoughts. Awesome vid Matt!
are you leaving the motor and tranny completely stock ? with the added weight of the rig your going to be working that motor pretty hard I would at least put a good intake and a performance exhaust on it to it can breath with the extra hard working its going to do. that ads a little power, gas millage and it's cheap too. I would tie in a roof rack to the exo cage as well up on top for extra gas cans , tires and maybe a air compressor. good luck with the build can't wait to see that on the trail.
+ostynn cotton That's what gearing the axle's down is for. Is a trail only rig so he can run pretty high ratio's in the axles. Roof racks usually add weight pretty high up, then adding a 39.5 tire and other things can make it a little more top heavy as well. They look nice but not really good for a true trail rig. Compressor can be built in or even use the old AC as an air compressor with tanks hidden somewhere.
Is there any way to number your videos to keep them in an order. I watch two then realized I watch them back words
THanks fellas. you are awesome!
I'd like to know who made the custom dash
are you going to cut the super swampers
will you be making a video on how to mount the bead locks?
Yep, coming soon!
BleepinJeep AWESOME! I've always been curious.
holy cow, that's awesome
Are you going to close off the openings in the new rock slider?
Yep
I think you should get some Adventure tube doors and just make custom door mounts (probably reuse the old door mounts) because you know your going to get sick of crawling over and busting your balls on the cross bar or whatever you want call it. I think it would look good!
+Logan Marston I probably will get tired of it but its not about looks... It's all about safety
hey you could buy some lexan make a mold shape that you like out of wood pop it in a microwave and it should take the shape of your mold witch then you would have costom 1 off lights just thought I would help out awsome vids keep up the good work
how big is your shop ?
How much do you think this whole project will cost you not counting the price of the jeep before the build
hey love the channel and swag but I'm a big guy are you going to get the periodic table of jeeps in a size 5x? stay cool.
+Kirk Parkinson sorry, 3x is the biggest I can get.
Who ended up tuning the ORI’s on scorpion and do you recall the pressures for the upper and lowers that finally worked best? Also what anti rock did you use on the rear? I have an XJ on 04 super duty tons with 14” ori fronts and 16” rears and suffer from body roll currently and haven’t been able to tune the struts properly yet. Any help would be appreciated.
90psi in lowers and fill uppers to ride height. For me that's about 400 or so. You will still do better with a away bar, this one is a 36" universal.
Might be a stupid question, but are those rims offset? If so by how much?
What do you estimate the cost of the tubing has been, so far?
inline 6: it'll be more than fine with all the chopping. Just removing the tail gate is such a weight loss!
Sound system: hope this one doesn't jam the CD in. ;)
Shop: count your blessings, I'm working out of a 2 car garage with 2 XJs and a Kia in it. :)
I spent a grand on tubing, probably another grand on other metals.
Where is the shaved 14 bolt? I thought that axle was for the scorpion crawler?
+joelmacleod17 nope, not my axle.
Just curious. But it looks like you only have maybe 20% of the original vehicle...that being the case why not just fab the whole thing from scratch??? Wouldn't it have been more adaptable if it was 0% purpose built from the beginning???
Any plans for paint yet? I'd fully rhino-line that baby!
+perfect aesthetic protocol ya, black and green
What size and back spacing are the wheels also what tire size u running
Thanks Dan
15" 3.25" 40"
Matt this jeep is going to win awards. I don't care what anyone disagrees with you on about this rig, you're doing it very well. Those wheels too! Damn. Looking so good. My question is what gears are you going to run? If this has been answered ignore the question and I'll catch up in the comments or a later video.
+Jimmy T 5.13 GOOD DEAL ...
how is the rear going to clear that tubing in the rear, won't it limit flex, how wide is your axel?
Stock width axles, but the tires still clear and the rear end sits between the tires.
I just got a jeep yesterday it's a 1989 jeep Cherokee XJ for $1,200 I'm fairly new to this jeep thing but my dads going to help me out on this . I would like to make videos with you guys as well. Names Mark from California
what is your current daily driver set up? the truck?
I've got my 90 dodge and my 74 dodge
بصراحة عمل رائع انت أستاذ تستحق التقدير شكرًا للك
Love the project Matt! Keeping tubes tight to the lines of a Cherokee is no easy task and you have absolutely knocked it out of the park! By far the best looking CheroBuggy I've seen yet. Do you have plans to have it finished for Dixie Run this year? And, I know you don't have a rig right now but will you be coming to TrailFest in April?
Thanks, ya I'll be at both but probably won't have my rig done for trail fest
Why not make tube doors?
Support from KSA
looks awesome as always Matt. Are you going to run an atlas? And those huge wheel wells are begging for some sick rock lights!
No it's a Tera low.
+BleepinJeep oh that's right I watched the vid, my mistake lol
Good job
This may be a stupid question, but maybe road rules are different in your state- Will the Scorpion be able to be registered and driven on the street, or will you trailer it to the trails?
No, it will be trailered.
you said that you wouldn't have doors, with your fab skills, could you not build some nice tube doors on hinges?
Hinges, latches, and doors don't hold up well when you're cartwheeling down a hill.
I agree with you keep the 4.0l engine in it
I wanna do something like this to my xj, I just need a place to work, and tools......and money. Colorado is an expensive place to live.
what about making tube doors with hinges and latches !!
+Mohamed Ossama Yehia this buggy will not have doors for safety reasons
You mention the back seats will be tight. Why not cut out the old inner wheel wells and give yourself a ton more room??
The tires still stuff into the wheel wells .
Any worry of axle durability with 44's and 40's? Rig looks awesome! Keep it up!
+Ronin Off Road yes of course, but thats why I went with huge trusses and lifetime guarantee axles.
I feel like an ass now that I read all the hate on your NAXJA post. Like you said, so what if they break! Then you build it bigger! It's not like this is your daily driver and you need it to get to work on Monday! Wheel the piss out of it!
+Ronin Off Road its cool, I got hate for my D30 on my last crawler and wheeled the snot out of it anyway
ily, Thanks for the series! I will get a shirt for the rag bin ,.... where they mostly end up anyways.. hahahahhaa