TJ body swap? 97-02, 03-06

[dmille4.6]

oh heres the story. i bought an 04 Rubicon thats been rolled pretty hard. pretty much all the sheep metal on the whole thing is gone. I am debating on whether to buy the parts or buy a jeep take what i need and part the rest. i have a 97 TJ close to home that is high mileage and he just wants 3500 it. will everything swap over? most people list jeep parts from 97-06 but iv been told some of the firewall mounts are different from 97-02 to 03-06. anybody done this swap or know what has to be modified and how? thanks

 

[Utah_jeepster]

A 97 body will not clear the 42E transmission the Rubicons came with. The trans-tunnel is larger on a Rubicon. I am not sure but a 1 inch body lift might clear the tunnel issues, but I cant guarantee that. The 97-2000 electrical was changed in 2001 when DC went to a Cam shaft position sensor and lost the distributor type sensors, then redone in 2003 again. So mounts and plugs will be different. A little creative sheet metal work should fix that problem though.

 

[jps4jeep]

I would just fix up teh rubicon enought to make if comfortable to wheel and then wheel the wee out of it, already have dents, what are a coupld more?

 

[dmille4.6]

i would jps but cant afford to. im goin to use as my daily driver. what about an 05 TJ tub utah? still tunnel issues? is the rubi body completely different? im keepin all the 04 rubi electrical, drivetrain, interior, etc. the only thing i want to switch is the sheet metal. here is a pic of it.

 

[xt master]

I would be more concerned about the frame and suspension first.As far as the the body for the 3500 you where willing to spend on the 97 you could buy a new steel tube.

 

[dmille4.6]

frame and suspension are good. i had them checked already. i have found a tub close to me for 400 in great shape. the tub is an 05. it should fit but utah said something in an earlier post about trans tunnel clearance.

 

[SteelHeadz]

frame and suspension are good. i had them checked already. i have found a tub close to me for 400 in great shape. the tub is an 05. it should fit but utah said something in an earlier post about trans tunnel clearance.

Steel or fiberglass, you can cut and redo the area that needs some mods to fit it on the rolling chasssis.

 

[Utah_jeepster]

frame and suspension are good. i had them checked already. i have found a tub close to me for 400 in great shape. the tub is an 05. it should fit but utah said something in an earlier post about trans tunnel clearance.

All 05 automatic transmissions were the 42E 4 speed transmission, so you will have plenty of clearence.

 

[jps4jeep]

Heck, that will buff out.

honestly, F the transmission tunnel, toss the body on, where ever there is a clearence issue, just start cutting. everything else should fin on there nicely.