Crozet Cheap Truck Challenge Build - The Cheap Jeep

[untchabl]

Got a build thread on the Crozet forum and another local forum so I figured I'd start one here as well. My buddy (Stuntman Autoworks) and I are building this to run in the Crozet Cheap Truck Challenge.

Found out a guy at work had an 89 XJ sitting next to his shop he wanted to get rid of. Been sitting in the same spot since 2005 or before. Here is what we found the first time we saw it.

Gave it a quick lookover, 4.0/AW4/242, Renix, non-disconnect d30 and a d35, etc. Made a deal on it for $200 and a few days later we drug it back to my shop.

Tossed a battery in it before we even unstrapped it just to see what would happen. Turned over but wouldn't start, didn't hear the fuel pump so figured thats where we would start. Dropped the tank and found the worst smelling/looking mess I've ever found in a gas tank before. Tank was rusting from the inside out, fuel pump assembly was completely junk. Had a spare tank/fuel pump from a 94 XJ so we installed that (even though the fuel pressure is different from Renix to H.O.). Turn the key and the fuel pump comes on, primed the system til we had fuel at the rail then she stumbled to life.

Now that we knew it would run, it was time for the fun to start. Started out by gutting the interior behind the front seats and removing the glass.

Once we got the rear of the interior gutted, we cut the rear hatch area and dropped in the "new" fuel tank.

Finished gutting the rest of the interior and removing all glass except the windshield.

 

[untchabl]

So after we got to that point, it was time to work on a few maintenance items. Installed new spark plugs, swapped a few plug wires with some "new-er" ones from our parts pile, sanded the rotor button and installed some "new-er" radiator hoses from our parts pile. Removed the A/C (minus the compressor) and the cruise from under the hood. Bled the front brakes, installed the front seats and took it for a test drive.

Testing consisted of making sure it actually shifted/engaged 4wd, did a couple burnouts and jumped it a few times. Only damage was a few dents on the driver side doors when I clipped a hay bale racing around in the field. Not too bad considering how long it's been sitting and what little we did to it.

Drug it to work with me one Friday and spent some quality time with the plasma cutter after work. Ended up looking like this after we finished.

After the body work was done, we started on the firewall between the gas tank and the driver. Going to bead roll the metal for some more rigidity before it's finished.

Also started on installing the 3" coil spacers in the front and removed the stock upper & lower control arms to box them in.

 

[untchabl]

Got the control arms boxed in and reinstalled and stuck on a set of 33's I had sitting around just to see how it was going to look.

Got more of the firewall done and got the new inner fenders roughed in. These are still a work in progress, still need to beadroll them, test for clearance when flexed and paint them.

Decided to wash it last weekend, just to see how it actually looked under 8 years of crap. Not too bad honestly, especially considering I just scrubbed it off with a tire brush.

 

[untchabl]

So this week's work consisted of finally swapping out the d35 and getting our "race" tires mounted and on the Jeep.

My 92 XJ had to donate yet another part for the race Jeep, swiped the welded 8.25 from it since we haven't had any luck finding another cheap 8.25 locally. Stuck the d35 under it to keep it rolling for now.

Installed a set of lift blocks while we were swapping in the 8.25. Got our "race" tires mounted up on the stock gold wheels and installed. Ended up with a set of 32x10.50x15 TSL Radials we got from another NC4x4 member. Installed a new pair of front brake hoses since the original ones were really sketchy looking. And decided to weld the d30 so we would have true 4wd on the trails (we'll see how that holds up this weekend at URE).
So this is where we are as of today...

And a quick pic for fun to show a comparison between one of our 32x10.50 TSL's vs. a 37x12.50 TSL.

 

[REDLYNER]

That is great man. Love this kind of stuff, a little hard work and skill and you have a kick ass toy to go destroy.

 

[untchabl]

It's been alot of fun so far. We have very little invested in it money wise, mainly just time but time in the shop is time well spent to me.

Here is a cost breakdown on the total project so far...

- 89 XJ - $200
- "new" gas tank & fuel pump - HAD (pulled from another of my XJ's but I'll say it's worth $50 if I had to replace)
- battery - HAD (came out of an XJ I parted out that has already more than paid for itself so $0)
- spark plugs, oil & oil filter - $40
- radiator hoses - HAD (my buddy put new hoses on his XJ, so we dug these out of the trash)
- 3" coil spacers & lift blocks - HAD (came off my buddy's XJ when we did his lift)
- sheetmetal - HAD (I'll say it's worth $50 though)
- welded 8.25 - HAD (pulled from one of my XJ's, we usually pay $100 for them at the junkyard though)
- front brake hoses & brake fluid - $40
- 5x 32x10.50x15 TSL Radials - $120 (from a NC4x4 member)

So, we're right at $600 exactly total investment, if you count having to pay to replace the stuff I already had laying around.

 

[Stuntman Autoworks]

deffinately happy to be taking it to URE this weekend.

 

[want to wheel]

I am ready for the weekend hahah

 

[criket]

Soo cool!!!!

 

[DSM Turbos]

I need to find a rig to run just so I can buy yours!

 

[untchabl]

Thanks for the compliments guys. My buddy and I are pretty happy with how it's turned out, been alot of fun building it and honestly we're growing kind of attached to it. Kind of hoping no one actually buys it after the race.

 

[untchabl]

Did some more work tonight. Stuntman had been wanting to use the bead roller I borrowed from another buddy, so tonight he got our sheetmetal done. We're pretty happy with how it came out, neither of us had ever used a bead roller before.

Our hood latch was messed up from a wreck the Jeep had been in before, so I fabbed us up a set of hood pins.

And every good race car has to have stickers, so I stuck all the ones I could find on there. Hopefully we can get more stickers before the race, want to get it covered as much as possible. Stickers add horsepower. LOL

 

[untchabl]

Taking the race rig out to Uwharrie on Saturday for a thorough testing. Another member (Infamous1) that is building a ZJ for CCTC is going to be out there with his as well. Hope to see a lot of people out there, if you see this pile broke down on the side of the trail, stop by and say hey. LOL

 

[Stuntman Autoworks]

If anybody has any stickers they would like to donate for the jeep pm me and I will give you my address to mail em to.

 

[XJfreakHO]

I may be missing something, I know the hoodpins will be plenty secure, but wouldnt it be better to drill out the bolt and run a cotter pin for quick access?

Coming together really well!

 

[untchabl]

Yea, drilling it for a pin would be quicker access but honestly it only takes a few seconds to loosen the nuts. Might end up drilling them before CCTC or may just leave it as is. So far it looks like we will probably be replacing the power steering pump before CCTC since ours is on it's last legs and will probably finish it off at URE tomorrow.

 

[untchabl]

Well, the URE trip didn't go to well for the race Jeep. Got it hot enough to boil all the water out of it (was only running straight water since our radiator had a small leak) so drug it back in the shop and replaced the headgasket. Looking at the gasket when I got it off, didn't see any signs of it being blown but better safe than sorry. Got it all buttoned back up today with a "new-er" radiator, "new-er" water pump, etc. Got the fire extinguisher mounted (race requirement) and got the sheetmetal inside primed and painted. So everything seems good enough to declare it race ready, so wish us luck that it holds together next weekend. I'll try to get a few pics one day this week to show the finished product and to have before & after race comparison pics.

Pic after getting the head pulled off

 

[BShore]

Be sure and Hoon responsibly.

 

[untchabl]

Oh yea, can't be too crazy with it. My buddy is gonna wheel it the rest of the weekend if no one buys it after the race is over.

 

[untchabl]

Well, not only did the Jeep survive the entire race but we actually ended up winning the event. 10 rigs showed up to compete and I think only 4 or so made it back to the parking lot without help.

No serious damage to report from the race itself, did destroy the grill when we rear ended another XJ but luckily it wasn't hard enough to get into the radiator. Cut one of the hoses for the trans cooler, so we shortened the line to remove the cut and zip tied the cooler back on. Wheeled it all day Saturday and half the day on Sunday with no issues until about 30 mins before we were ready to leave. My co-driver had been wheeling it all weekend and managed to destroy the right side axle shaft and both ball joints which let the entire right side knuckle/brake/wheel assembly to fall off. We had to drag it back to the parking lot on 3 wheels but after about 10-15 mins of wrenching, we had the knuckle/wheel assembly back on and the Jeep drove onto the trailer.

Replacing the ball joints, axle shaft and brake line on the right side and taking it wheeling again this weekend for a club ride. Since the Jeep has such a strong will to live, our plan now is to keep it running and wheel it until the body/unibody is completely trashed. After Saturday's wheeling, we can only get the passenger front door to open due to all the rocker damage so we have to climb in and out thru the sunroof hole.

These pics are how it looked right after the race Saturday morning

And here is how it looked after the open wheeling Saturday afternoon, Stuntman Autoworks (my co-driver) managed to flop it on the driverside on Body Shop which mangled the front fender and wedged a rock the size of a 5-gallon bucket between the rear tire and the quarter panel.

And here it is with the break on Put Up or Shut It Hill. Front wheels in the air, tires spinning then the front tires landing and getting traction equals broken d30 parts. LOL

Here it is after we drug it back to the parking lot and patched it up.

And one of the few pics I managed to get of my 2dr all weekend. Added a few new dents to the passenger door on it while we were there.

 

[untchabl]

Here is the vid of Stuntman flopping the race Jeep on Body Shop.

 

[Stuntman Autoworks]

I was only doing what Jay told me to do, lol. I guess I needed to turn more driver than what he thought but atleast it was the race jeep and not Johns 2dr. When I get a chance to get Johns run on bodyshop uploaded to youtube I will post it on here as well.

 

[Bigben75ford]

Aaron just cant drive

Where were you suppose to be going on those 2 big boulder anyways?lol

 

[DSM Turbos]

Good meeting you guys this weekend, hope to see you guys up in Crozet again soon.

 

[jcoleman]

I was only doing what Jay told me to do, lol. I guess I needed to turn more driver than what he thought but atleast it was the race jeep and not Johns 2dr. When I get a chance to get Johns run on bodyshop uploaded to youtube I will post it on here as well.

I told you guys not to let me spot you over that! I'm stuck in limbo between the methodology of driving my rig w/ full-widths and 40's over it and something w/ narrow axles and 33's...PLUS it seems to me there was a successful run over Bodyshop in that same XJ after the flop.

Oh nevermind, "just a little bit driver", what was I THINKING???