Jeep Wrangler R/T, Pro-Touring Lite

[aosborn]

Finally got some decent photos of my latest project. It is a 97 Jeep Wrangler TJ that has been gutted of the 4wd and fitted with modified C4 Corvette suspension. It is about 600lbs lighter than a stock TJ, is about 6" lower and wider. It is sitting on 17" x 11" rear wheels with 275/40 17 Kumho Exsta XS tires and 17" x 9.5" fronts with 245/40 17" tires. It has a full 4" of bump travel with the QA-1 adjustable coil-overs and rides very well. The gas tank is 4 1/2" off the ground at ride height, and has a reinforced skid plate for protection. Right now it is running a modified Jeep 2.5 liter engine and a custom 2wd 5 speed transmission. The stock transmission mount/skid pan was replaced with custom chassis X bracing that incorporates the new transmission mount as well as torsionally stiffens the chassis. The interior sports Sparco seats on custom mounts, custom hand brake for rally cornering, and a custom shifter. So far it has survived lapping day at the track, about 3000 road miles, and a river crossing at speed! Hope you enjoy it!

Andy

[Crestronwizard]

I really like this. Any other plans?

[Mr. Anderson]

Very impressive!

[johnny68]

look boss zeee plane zee plane ,,,looks right at home on the island nice job
john

[SSable]

dude!

[dusterbd13]

and i thought that in my days of rock crawling/4 wheeling, i had seen everything you could do to a jeep.

thanks for proving me wrong.

please tell me that the 4.0 HO with a 258 crank and massive headwork are in the plans??? always wanted to do that for my old 81 AMX, but never got around to it before i parted the thing out.

Michael

[srh3trinity]

I think that looks awesome.

[NJSPEEDER]

Any plans to add more tire? 17x11's can easily hold 315s' and 17x9.5's mount 275's like a dream.

Very different project idea. Looking forward to reading more about it.

-Tim

[aosborn]

Any plans to add more tire? 17x11's can easily hold 315s' and 17x9.5's mount 275's like a dream.

Very different project idea. Looking forward to reading more about it.

-Tim

I went with the narrower 245's and 275's to keep the sidewalls from flexing so much, though there is plenty of room to go with larger sizes. Getting the rear suspension sorted out pretty much trashed the Kuhmo's, (lots of oversteer initally) so I picked up a couple pairs of HankooK RSS in the same 275 width that I am going to try out next. I am hoping they are better in the wet than the Kumho's.

Originally the plan was to install a Vortec all alluminum 5.3, and may still do that, but for now the weight balance is near perfect with the 2.5. Might put a turbo on the 4 banger just for grins.

I am playing with suspension setups and comfort modifications in preparation for a road trip to Southern California in a few weeks. Can't wait to see the reaction this thing gets while cruizing Malibu and the Mullholland Highway!

Andy

[63Duece]

hey aosborn,
creative lite PT ride!!

me & a buddy were just talking about PT-ing his GF new 95 Turquoise JeeP!! LoL

TURBO sounds great!!!!!!:ThumbsUp:

GL w/the rest or ur build

[NJSPEEDER]

Which family of small motors is the 2.5 derived from? Is it from the Mitsu/ChryCo era or an early rendition of Chrysler bringing their own 4bangers back?

I would think looking into a turbo motor from a first gen Talon/Eclipse should be a god starting point. The ECM and sensors are already set up to control boost and they come with better internals than the N/A motors. Even with a stock turbo and a mild build the DSM crowd routinely gets close to 400 to the wheels in pump gas applications. (Yes, I am a closet DSM lover ever since my bro had a 93 Talon TSi when we were young)

-Tim

[aosborn]

Which family of small motors is the 2.5 derived from? Is it from the Mitsu/ChryCo era or an early rendition of Chrysler bringing their own 4bangers back?

I would think looking into a turbo motor from a first gen Talon/Eclipse should be a god starting point. The ECM and sensors are already set up to control boost and they come with better internals than the N/A motors. Even with a stock turbo and a mild build the DSM crowd routinely gets close to 400 to the wheels in pump gas applications. (Yes, I am a closet DSM lover ever since my bro had a 93 Talon TSi when we were young)

-Tim

The engine is the AMC version 2.5 which was phased out for '04 I think. The idea of a light and boosted 4 cylinder has much appeal. Since the engine in the car currently is basically a throw-away, I thought it might be fun to fab up a cheap turbo package and see what it can do.

Andy

[monteboy84]

That's pretty cool, kinda has a Lotus 7 look/feel to it.

-matt

[elitecustombody]

Pretty cool, but I'd like to see it with wheels/tires few inches wider ,windsheild frame and rollbar chopped few inches and a stout motor

[aosborn]

Pretty cool, but I'd like to see it with wheels/tires few inches wider ,windsheild frame and rollbar chopped few inches and a stout motor

Thanks for the comments. The original plan was to chop it all about 2" and lay back the windshield. Seemed pretty straightforward until you consider all the plastic trim that makes the side windows seal. Remanufacturing all that would be a major headache, not to mention all the top mechanism would have to be re-designed. A lot of work for no real performance gain.

More power is on the drawing board right now...

Andy

[The Stickman]

Great project. Must be cool to drive.

[G-Rob]

This is cool. Video or I'm calling p-shop. LOL.

As for engines, why not a turbo 4 out of Neon SRT-4 or maybe a Subie boxer turbo out of a WRX/STI?

[TomT]

Thanks for the comments. The original plan was to chop it all about 2" and lay back the windshield. Seemed pretty straightforward until you consider all the plastic trim that makes the side windows seal. Remanufacturing all that would be a major headache, not to mention all the top mechanism would have to be re-designed. A lot of work for no real performance gain.

More power is on the drawing board right now...

Andy

Cool ride! Chop it!

[wellis77]

I really like this ride and hope to do the same to a Cherokee some day.

[Tig]

Damn you aosborn, I have been thinking about this for years. As silly as this may sound, you have made my dream Wrangler.
Do you have a build thread or any info on the front end conversion?
Awesome job.