Well it’s definitely not a Mustang but I figured it was time to start a little build thread on the WJ since I seem to be wrenching on it far more than the Cobra and I’d rather talk about it with you guys than the brain dead WJ crowd.
I bought this last year after selling my Vette and have been wrenching and beating on it ever since.
It’s a 1999 Grand Cherokee with the 4.7L and a good bit of work done to shove 43’s under it and do work offroad. The wheelbase has been stretched about 5” to clear the meaty claws with a Ironrock Offroad long arm kit and its running trussed axles out from under a 2007 F250. The front Dana 60 is running a spool and the Sterling rear is rocking a OE Ford E-locker. They’ve both been geared to 5.13. It’s running KMC beadlocks with 43” TSLs. The steering is an all heim joint affair with PSC hydro assist ran off a drilled and tapped stock gearbox.
Drivetrain is relatively stock other than a THOR cowl air intake and a 231 Tcase from a Cherokee or Wrangler to get rid of the goofy Tcases offered in WJs. The 4.7L is tired and is burning some oil pretty aggressively but it keeps chugging. If it ever bites the bullet, a LS will likely find its way under the hood.
Body has been pretty aggressively cut up to fit everything it has going on. The rear floor pan of the Jeep and where the factory spare would have went was cut out to allow the gas tank to be raised up for better clearance and the rear inner fenders were shitcanned and reworked to gain clearance. Front fenders are purely decoration at this point and the inner fenders have been beat and cut as much as possible. A JK Poison Spyder hood vent helps keep it cool on trail and I put a Dtill Fabworks front bumper on to hold the Warn 12k winch and provide some protection. Rock sliders replaced the rocker panels, they’re either 2x4 or 2x6 square tube tied into the unibody frame rails.
Suspension isn’t too complicated- Ironrock Offroad Longarm 4Link kits front to back, JK 4” lift springs on custom buckets, Falcon 6” JK adjustable shocks, hydraulic bump stops all around and some limiting straps. It’s a little bouncy at times but the things flat out works so it’s hard to argue with it.
I started working on getting lighting better for night wheeling at the end of last year- it’s now rocking Morimoto 2bangers on all 4 corners and a full set of Morimoto rock lights underneath. I’ve slapped a Baja Designs chase light on the rear roof rack crossbar and I’ve got all the lighting running through a RBL switch panel. I do plan to add a couple larger lights for ditch lights as the headlights are loosely screwed to the header panel and pointed a bit too far down to be very useful.
Anyways, I’ve got a handful of projects coming up pretty quick for this thing. I’m in the middle of designing and implementing a rear view camera in the 3rd brake light housing to help with rear visibility once the rear windows get covered in dirt and dust and mud. I snapped the stub shaft wheeling this past weekend and my steering gearbox is not long for this world. I’d also really like to get a more modern radio with CarPlay to take advantage of some mapping apps and got a few more ideas on some creature comforts so figured it’d be cool to document and share. I’ll at least have more to post here than the Cobra for the next few weeks.
I bought this last year after selling my Vette and have been wrenching and beating on it ever since.
It’s a 1999 Grand Cherokee with the 4.7L and a good bit of work done to shove 43’s under it and do work offroad. The wheelbase has been stretched about 5” to clear the meaty claws with a Ironrock Offroad long arm kit and its running trussed axles out from under a 2007 F250. The front Dana 60 is running a spool and the Sterling rear is rocking a OE Ford E-locker. They’ve both been geared to 5.13. It’s running KMC beadlocks with 43” TSLs. The steering is an all heim joint affair with PSC hydro assist ran off a drilled and tapped stock gearbox.
Drivetrain is relatively stock other than a THOR cowl air intake and a 231 Tcase from a Cherokee or Wrangler to get rid of the goofy Tcases offered in WJs. The 4.7L is tired and is burning some oil pretty aggressively but it keeps chugging. If it ever bites the bullet, a LS will likely find its way under the hood.
Body has been pretty aggressively cut up to fit everything it has going on. The rear floor pan of the Jeep and where the factory spare would have went was cut out to allow the gas tank to be raised up for better clearance and the rear inner fenders were shitcanned and reworked to gain clearance. Front fenders are purely decoration at this point and the inner fenders have been beat and cut as much as possible. A JK Poison Spyder hood vent helps keep it cool on trail and I put a Dtill Fabworks front bumper on to hold the Warn 12k winch and provide some protection. Rock sliders replaced the rocker panels, they’re either 2x4 or 2x6 square tube tied into the unibody frame rails.
Suspension isn’t too complicated- Ironrock Offroad Longarm 4Link kits front to back, JK 4” lift springs on custom buckets, Falcon 6” JK adjustable shocks, hydraulic bump stops all around and some limiting straps. It’s a little bouncy at times but the things flat out works so it’s hard to argue with it.
I started working on getting lighting better for night wheeling at the end of last year- it’s now rocking Morimoto 2bangers on all 4 corners and a full set of Morimoto rock lights underneath. I’ve slapped a Baja Designs chase light on the rear roof rack crossbar and I’ve got all the lighting running through a RBL switch panel. I do plan to add a couple larger lights for ditch lights as the headlights are loosely screwed to the header panel and pointed a bit too far down to be very useful.
Anyways, I’ve got a handful of projects coming up pretty quick for this thing. I’m in the middle of designing and implementing a rear view camera in the 3rd brake light housing to help with rear visibility once the rear windows get covered in dirt and dust and mud. I snapped the stub shaft wheeling this past weekend and my steering gearbox is not long for this world. I’d also really like to get a more modern radio with CarPlay to take advantage of some mapping apps and got a few more ideas on some creature comforts so figured it’d be cool to document and share. I’ll at least have more to post here than the Cobra for the next few weeks.
