Are these decent vehicles to rebuild into an off-road rig or an on/off-road rig?  I am thinking about picking up a 1990 Cherokee ($1750), it's body is in great condition and it's engine is decent.  It as 187k mileage but since it's going to be overhauled it really isn't that important.

When off-road I will use it on a few easy trails (re:maybe some small rocks to get over and a decent amount of mud).  Any recomendations for a suspension upgrades and tires that not only perform off-road but on as well??

Thanks

I love Cherokees.  The 6cyl engine (which I recommend) is bulletproof and very strong, the aftermarket is great, and in general it can stand up to a decent level of abuse.

BTW, the "early" modern Cherokees start in 1984.  1990 is really pretty recent...or "hardly broken in" depending on who you talk to.

Jim

The Cherokee is probably a good choice for the type of activity you describe.  Used parts are plentiful and the base vehicle is fairly reliable.  Keep in mind that the Cherokke is built with unibody construction and wont stand up to serious off road applications without serious modifications.

Another thing to consider is that the Cherokee requires a large amount of lift in order to fit any larger tires.  With a 3 inch lift you can only swing a 31 inch tire, unless you take a sawzall to some body panels.

Buy a quality lift kit with new rear leaf packs (no blocks), new front coils (no spacers) and the brackets for the track bar, or even a new track bar depending on the amount of lift.

I had a 95 cherokee 4.0l with an automatic,  3 inch Rusty lift and 31x10.50 pro-comp AT tires and it performed very well on the road, and adequately off the road with a little driving finess.  It was a good do-all hunt/fish/shoot/get lost vehicle, but in the end was a little too small for me.  YMMV