I used to not care for the 2 door Cherokees but the more I watch these videos I'm starting to see how unique and badass they are. Excellent specimen. Thanks for posting.
Hubba Hubba Hubba ! ! ! I am the second owner of a 97 white 4 door Jeep Cherokee sport 71,000 original miles perfectly straight no dents no damage excellent paint not a speck of rust. I put a 4in lift on it with some nice mud tires and locking front and rear axles w/ARB and I re-geared it to 4:11 front and rear. 32 inch tires. Such a perfect ride. BDS Long arm lift kit. I love mine.
I bought a 97 XJ back in june of this year. One owner, 4 door, never been off the road, . It has 26000 miles on it but it needs a lot of new parts, fuel pump, alternator, muffler, 4 tires, 4 shocks, brakes on the front, I put a 2"lift on it. I drive it everywhere Oh I stole it for a $1000. I love it.
Just bought a 99 two door 4.0 five speed 4x4 Power mirrors and manual windows. Keyless entry. Has a little rust but the interior is great. 235 on the clock with a rebuild at 165k Got a pretty good deal on it. 3500 and the guy threw in a aluminum utility trailer. My new camping and fishing ride. It's my first Jeep and i love it
Very cool Jeep, my friend. I'm glad there's a growing group of us guys who love to keep these as close to original as possible. Great find. Happy for you.
I just bought a 1995 2 door manual, Clutch, Jeep Cherokee 6.0, 5 peed, last June. Never driven a Manual. It originally came from Florida, so it had sand rust on the rims and was sold here in ohio. I bought it for $1750. No rust anywhere else. Just need a new Hazzard button and driver door pull handle. I'd like to get peddle extensions since I'm 4'10 1/2. I used diablo wheel spray and it removed the rim rust. Same color green. Mine came with fender flares. Mine could use being buffed ... but I've never buffed a vehicle before
Love the XJ, keep it how it is. I have a 93 I'm the 2nd owner my mom was the first, it has 301k miles on it original engine with an ax-15 as-well (4 door). I was young and dumb and beat on it like every other Cherokee owner did now that I'm older I fell bad all the things I did to it so I've been restoring it believe it or not it is still in good shape but I've been putting lots of work into it and doing it correctly.
I also lucked out a year ago and was able to get a 95 with the same two-door specs and color for 7 grand with only 89,000 miles. I'm a delivery driver and with it being a 25-year-old car, the only thing that has gone out was the starter and water pump. Awesome to see another one of these.
I had a 99 TJ a couple a years then switched to an XJ i had 2 kids and dogs. Didn't regret it road great and durable. That is a sweet time capsule you got.
I have a 1989 2 door 5 speed 4.0L 4x4 XJ myself but not nearly this nice! That thing is gorgeous and makes me want to pretty up my beat up old project. Hell of a find, fellow Californian!
I have owned 4, one saved my life by crumpling as it was designed. I love them but I had two issues, first was the Wrangler tires, they have no grip on wet streets and the hydraulic clutch linkage sucks, it will fail with no warning. The english Gurling hydraulics are junk. But, great looking Jeep, my 2nd was the same color and I could give kids in their little beemers fits, stop light to stop light. Good find and worth the money, thanks for sharing.
Yeah dude. Nailed it. i have a 98 Limited in Moss Green (best color IMO - and relatively rare in XJ's) , it's a 4 door automatic and in amazing condition. Needs a new hood or a repaint. Paid 3500 with 180k miles, had several delivery drivers, ups guy etc offer me as much as 5k just seeing in the driveway. Has 220k miles now though. I like to drive it! Congrats, super super cool jeep bud.
I have a 97 in this color.. I've always wondered what the actual name of it was. My key tag says "hunter green" but, I guess it's moss!! Mine is super clean also, but I would love to have the paint gone over by a detail shop and bring the clear coat back to life. Mine has the factory CD and cassette player as well as the NP 242 transfer case. (Extra 4x4 setting for on the road)
I found a 95 all stock with a 5 speed. Green like yours! 94,000 when I picked it up for $1700. It's in excellent condition, but not to the level that yours is. But for the price, I couldn't pass it up. But then again, that 1,700 bucks was in Tennessee dollars. With what they pay here, I probably ended up with a $40,000 Jeep ☹️
Great find. Back in February I picked up a 1995 2 door 4x4, 5spd, 4.0L, Black with grey interior, plus the vent windows on the rear glass. I got it off Craigslist for $2,000 cash from the 3rd owner, so I'm #4 now. It's stock height with those 90's rims as well with a beefy set of 235 75r 15's on them. I'm not planning on lifting it stupidly either knowing how rare these are. I added a quadratech brushguard and an Amazon roof rack for functionality for driving it here in Wyoming.
I like the Club! 🤣 I had a red one that I used for my '86 XJ, '98 XJ, & '01 WJ. It was the "Members Only" of anti-theft devices in the '90s. I think that is the holy grail XJ.....everything you mentioned; especially the manual trans. IMO, '95 & '96 were their best years.
My 92 two door looked like this about 8 years ago now 8 years later long arm front and rear sitting on 37’s with a 9 inch lift and a shit ton of other stuff done and I wish I never touched it
Oh yeah, that one is a cream puff. I like the 2-doors as the B-pillar is then further back. Nice for tall people. Many years ago my Dad had a red 2-door 4x4 4.0L new. Except it was right hand drive and he delivered mail with it out in the rural countryside.
Great looking Jeep. I have almost a twin of this. Bone stock 97 4 door 4x4 4.0 5 speed same exact color configuration as yours, green with the tan interior and I love it. I recently put some brand new grabber ATX tires on it. Every single thing on the Jeep is factory including the radio and the rare fog lights. It’s a really great car and I love driving it compared to my 4Runner.
Nice jeep bro I have a 96 2 door sport 4.0 4x4 5speed with fold out side windows in the back it's the first one I've ever seen with the fold out windows it's in decent shape not beat up just needs a few things I'm the 3rd owner she has 174xxx I gave 2500
I have a 1989 jeep Cherokee Laredo 2 door 4x4 and I stole it for 1500 it wasn't in this good of shape because I got it in California and it pretty much had no clear coat so I decided to put some money into making it an off-road vehicle but still has no dents or dings for now at least.
I have that same xj it’s identical just a country edition and it’s a gray interior with 85k!! She has a little rust but other than that it’s clean the rockers are all intact! I picked it from a field for 600 bucks is hasn’t been on the road in 18 years I checked fluids threw a battery’s her and she started right up!!
A buddy of mine had one here in Illinois it was rotting out behind the wheel wells if you look inside the tail light housings down inside their there will be a absorbent pad try to get that out of there or replace it with a new one because that's where his started rusting look inside the tail light housings down towards the wheel well
So I have been collecting Jeep XJs, ZJs, WJs for about 5 years now. I have owned over 400 in that time and have done extensive research into the rare options and models. "Holly Grail" your is not, but an extremely clean example of a fairly high production base model sport package. But, when compared editions such as Pioneer Olympic Edition, Wagoneer and Wagoneer Limted(Significant because they had 4 headlights and a horizontal 7 continents grill), Laredo, Briarwood, Country, Orvis (One of the rarest), Freedom and 2001 60th Anniversary, just doesn't have the rarity. The 2 door model accounted for about 17 percent of the run of about 3 million, if you discount the Cherokees used by Fed Gov and local Gov. or about 510,000 sold to the public. Yours being a 2 owner does put in a very desirable class of Jeeps, but the miles while low for the year are not as low as a number on the market today. Your is a Base model which was obviously the vast majority of these Jeeps as they had a low entry price for the Jeep model line-up. People came in seeing the 1994 Grand Cherokee 5.2 V8 Limited Orvis Edition 4x4, saw the sticker of over $15K , nearly a price of a Cadillac, they were shown the Cherokee 4X4. The reason most of these have now disappeared is because they were not "Tank dipped" for rust proofing and the weather ate them away. Your does have the alloy Sport wheel package giving it an advantage over others since the wheel package was not available until 1995 to 1999. In 1998 when Jeep decided to end the Cherokee and designed the replacement in the line up, the 2002 Jeep Liberty, Jeep kind of stopped innovations to the Cherokee. As for being worth $10K, you could be right, it is a vehicle that has a following, therefore can demand a lot for a very high production model like yours. It's like asking how much are my glasses worth? Whatever I can sell them for! All this aside, I love seeing people like your self who love Cherokee. By the way the proper plural for Cherokee is in fact Cherokee...fun fact I learned after meeting a guy who was on the design team for the XJ. We actually have 2 XJs we race in off road events as well as 2 ZJs. Here is one of ours in the Gambler 500 in the Florida forests. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fUG7-M538U4.html , P.S. not trying to hate on your really nice video, just thought some of those who actually read these comments might want to know some cool facts about these old Jeeps.
Thanks for the info!, definitely my holy grail as to what I was personally seeking out, also the upcountry package it has from the dealer with the larger fuel tank, skid plate in front and on fuel tank, tow hooks and 1.5 inch lift I heard wasn’t very common but that could definitely be wrong. They are super fun vehicles.
@@fortifiedwithjamisonstagaa6636 The manual transmission 2 door is one of my favorite Cherokee and your looks immaculate! I think you are a true Jeep person as we are here at Florida Jeep Connection. Check out Matt's Off Road Recovery channel he is a fan of Jeps and has made his very famous.
Also to touch on your first comment the rarity is not in reference to factory production runs and distribution or trim levels etc. Simple base models like this have been most desired for decades to become rock crawlers, turned into pickup trucks, just beaten to death etc thus in my opinion is now harder to find in nice condition than a high trim level model which often may have been taken better care of. I definitely haven’t owned as many as you, I have two now and owned around 9 however every Jeep guy I’ve met seeks models without all the factory bells and whistles. A two door manual 4x4 4.0 with absolutely zero ZERO rust is extremely rare in my opinion, I have not seen it before until this one, generally always find rust or worn interior. The condition is what the rare is in reference to.
@@fortifiedwithjamisonstagaa6636 I agree with what you said. Everyone is not hunting the "Low production" Jeep XJ, most would rather have a more affordable version so they can customize to their liking. I was more commenting on the use of "Holy Grail", not realizing it is YOUR holy grail Jeep and for that I apologize. I am a collector of rare and semi rare vehicles, buying and selling them all over, so I tend to look at vehicles through my narrow lens. Anyway, I knew you couldn't be all bad....LOVE THE NOVA IN YOUR GARAGE!!! Do a video on that, PLEASE!
Really nice. That's the one thing I'll miss if I leave CA, is the lack of rust. My mom has one of these up in the salt belt. I haven't looked at it, but I'm sure the bottom of it probably looks like the titanic.
I got a little less lucky, payed 1k less for an auto 4-door '96, opposite collor, too. still love it to death. I bought a '96 somewhat by mistake, it just happened to be available and the right price. Couldn't be happier!! like you said, all the electronics and functionality (minus the safety) of the 97+ but retains the classic looking interior and the original exterior , definitive of the mid-80s design ideals. keep on trucnkin' on. :)
These are the Best and beast! Go forever! JEEP XJ 4.0L had 2 over seas Saudi Arabia good as Toyota and much much better than a Land Rover junk! Overheats! In the Arab desert! And 2nd in England popular over there, right hand drive great easy vehicles and lots of power Go Jeep
Absolutely envious. Owner of a 1999 Classic, 4.0 auto 4X4 in Canada. My friend has a red 1996. I agree, the older body style is nicer. I WISH I had a manual 2 door, don't even car which gen, but as clean as yours. Amazing man. Hope you still own it!
Awesome car! My best friend has a 1996 4 door with a factory 5 speed but his has over 250k miles and it's beat to piss. Still runs like a champ tho considering these are tough to kill. Yours looks to be near perfect, a true time capsule
That is a holy grail! I’m trying to find one of these but I live in Canada so they’re mostly rust buckets or more than I can afford. That is a beautiful truck and I hope to own one just like it some day!
I have one of the white ones he was talking about 2dr I consider myself lucky to have found it it's only two wheel drive. But in a few years there will be a lot less of these Jeeps because the value of them aren't very much and people are talking them off road and destroying them. Once I had a 71 Dodge Charger paid $800. for it that same car would be worth about $50,000. Now
Gorgeous XJ I picked up a ‘pristine 96 2dr 4.0 4wd all original and garage kept not but a couple months back. Had the skid plate package as well. Previous owner put on a conservative 3” lift kit on 31s Should join XJ Preservation Society on Facebook, guys there will love your unicorn
Looks great! I have nice stock 96- 5 sp.--great condition-- in Dallas. I did upgrade my wheels to 5 spoke Jeep wheels and mild tire upgrade to 235/75. It made huge difference and better stance. Updated look. I love old XJ's!
Iv had 2 of them in that color one stick. Iv had 5 but like the 2 door more. Even in cars Iv always liked a coup better. I had a roofer hauling a inclosed trailer change lanes on me thus totaled my Baby out. Eventually I'm going to get another and have always wanted to do a overland version with the roof tent and other things. Not a big lift just a trail vehicle. That Green is even the color. It's like a Kelly Racing or Hunter Green Peanut butter interior. I will probably do the swing out spare tire with gas can. To leave more room inside for camping equipment. After the 3 rd one. I always do a new water pump. As one had a weeping pump 2 and 3 started with in a few months. So when I do the complete maintenance overhaul to start my 3 and 6 thousand mile maintenance schedule.I do with every new to me vehicle so I know what's what. I go ahead and do the water pump. There's nothing to it that I6 is easy to work on. I also will probably do the dual battery as part of the overland build as well as a onboard air compressor with a small tank up inside the frame rails skid plates for the pumpkins and such. They can be made to do as well as any ORV. From mild to heavy trail use. But have the room to bring friends along. Great Keep Brother Beautiful
I’ve actually have to change the oil on my 96 this week, only thing that keeps the 4.0 liter happy 3,000 mile oil changes (and zinc, don’t want to wipe out cam lobes)
"Holy grail, rare options" and mentioned almost none of them. The only 'special' option you did mention was the lift, there was an UpCountry package, but I don't think was offered with a manual transmission. If yours does have the UpCoutry suspension I think they eliminated the rear sway bar on them, that's one way to possibly tell. My first XJ was a '90 Limited, that thing was loaded up with options. I recently bought a '98 2 door 2wd sport, it has no extras at all, but does have the 4.0. When I bought the first one my plan was to clean it and flip it, it was only $700 and in pretty good condition. I assumed it was just another small SUV that I wouldn't care for. On the short drive home I started to like it. A few days later I took it wheeling and was thoroughly impressed despite it having very mild 'all terrain' tires. For several years I wheeled the heck out of it going where my buddies wouldn't/couldn't with their built Jeeps.
This is an old video but Yes it absolutely has the upcountry package which is a factory metal skid plate front and over the fuel tank in rear, tow hooks in front. Factory lift. In California 5sp 2 doors are often 2wd 4cyl. Moss green pearl is a rare color especially offered pre 97 in a two door with tan interior. Solid rear side windows without the small opening windows. This is my holy grail jeep not necessarily everyone else’s, I didn’t want all the options in the traditional sense of the word like power windows and such.
From all of my research, I came up with a list of mechanical features that in my opinion make up the "holy grail" for the XJ based on opinions on robustness and reliability. If you can find all of these, rust free, 2-door (or even 4-door), I think you ought to hit the slots in Vegas, because they are RARE. 4.0 L motor with Chrysler MPI (1991-2001) NP231 Transfer case (1988-2001) AX-15 5-speed manual (1988-1999) High pinion dana 30 front axle (1996-1999) *29 spline Chrysler 8.25 rear axle (option, 1997-2001)* Obviously if you prefer the older body style, then this all goes out the window, but from a drivetrain perspective, I think the XJ peaked in '97-'99 with the 29-spline 8.25. In any case, you've got a super-rare, beautiful XJ, that is just about as good as it gets on all fronts, and I love that you are taking great care and preserving it. As a fan that can only afford 1 XJ which is my daily driver, I'm appreciate people like you out there doing what I wish I could do to save these things!
Same! Had almost this exact XJ but black and rusty in my early 20’s, had a lot of fun beating the crap out of but 15 years later wanted another in mint condition. Posted a more recent video of this one!
Poor old lady went by kelly blue book prices... XJ'S this clean are worth 3-5 times what KBB states.... especially when new vehicle prices keep going up. Nice XJ.
..Quite sure I am older than you...with that said..I own/ have owned a sh#thouse full of Jeeps. Being in upstate NY..finding nice ones takes some looking. Did have a 95' 2dr 4wd 4cyl 5 speed..long gone. Biggest Jeep miss in my life( someone beat me to it) was a 77'? Full size 2 dr Cherokee..from Arizona/ rust free..with the 401cid motor...btw....nice Jeep. Bob
I have one of these as well. But the paint is gone I put a life and bumpers on it and its been to some sweet trails in Moab it and New Mexico. Mine also has the little wing windows on the rear windows.
Needs oem bronze mirror venting side windows and hatch glass. and OEM external spare tire carrier. But yes, nice jeep indeed. I have an identical one up for sale.....
