I am currently in the process of upgrading my Cherokee, going from this:
To something like this:
I originally bought it for the 5-slot rims it came with:
with the intention of dropping in an extra motor I had lying around, and maybe making it an off-road truck, since my wife took my Grand Wagoneer from me.
When the truck arrived, it was rougher than I expected- [Before Pictures]
Once I decided to revive the whole truck, I decided to see what kind of wheeler I could make on a budget as close to $0 as possible, yet still be able to do most of the trails around here. I picked up a set of near-new 33" tires for $225, which I fit on the truck with the stock suspension by cutting out the wheelwells. To improve my approach and departure angles, and add some recovery points, I fabricated some custom bumpers out of scrap steel. I swapped out the real-tired original 360 for a better-running one from a '79 Wagoneer, and left the drivetrain stock. In that form, I took it on a lot of the local trails, where it held its own.
I trimmed the wheelwells and rear quarters for clearance (see Body Modifications) and used some scrap-steel to make some bumpers with more clearance (see Custom Bumpers). Here's my truck at the 2002 annual Baystate Jeepers Jeep Rally at the Hebert Candy Mansion in Massachusetts, showing how it looked at that stage:
The truck was much more at home in woodsier settings, like the trail below. See Flexing the Suspension and Out on the Trails for some shots of the truck in action.
For more information on the work I did to my Cherokee, follow these links:
* Body Modifications
* Custom Winch Bumper
* Interior
* Drivetrain and Suspension
* Flexing the Suspension
* Out on the Trails
I was somewhat dissatisfied with having to bypass some obstacles on the trail, so I came up with a plan for a comprehensive upgrade, and began gathering parts. The new setup will be based around a set of 325/85-16" (38"x13") Michelin XML tires on 16"x10" RockCrawler 8-lug rims
To match those tires, I have installed a 14-bolt rear from a '78 K20 in back on custom spring-brackets. Up front, a D60 front from an '88 Dodge made for a bolt-in SOA conversion. The engine will be a Chevy 350 mated to a TH400 transmission and an NP205 transfer-case.
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