Dual Purpose TJ Part VI - Payoff!

It was basically garbage thrown away destined to spend its lives with the Dregs of society. We brought it back and put a loud shouty engine in it

and built up what could be described only as the ultimate Jeep hard on petrol and fun to drive.

I give you

the ultimate hemi

Jeep.

You know, whether you've built an entire Jeep like we did here or simply swapped a locker and a set of gears into your trail truck.

H

he is bolted a cold air kit onto a minivan. There's nothing quite like that last bit of the job when it's all done, last bolt goes in and you're ready

to test it out. A little bit of anxiety. A whole lot of excitement and some adrenaline all mixed into one. Nothing beats that feeling. Now, we've done a whole lot of work to this TJ and before we take it out and find out if it fills all of our needs. Let's find out how it all began.

The idea was simple, pick up a cheap use TJ and build a truck that not only we could drive every day but one that we could take Whelan out on the weekends,

we found ours at an automotive Recycler called Davey's Jeeps. It was a complete 2003 TJ that had been written off by the insurance company because of some slight damage to the rear quarter panel,

Jessi and I did what any good off Roader would do and covered up the damage with a set of crusher corners,

then stretch the wheelbase to 100 inches

slipped in a set of solid 40 fours front and rear with 35 spine axles, a RB air lockers and chrome molly shafts.

Then set the entire truck down on a set of 14 inch coil overs,

40 inch tall KM two tires from BFGS mounted to the new aluminum bead blocks from allied wheel

to make this Jeep truly extreme.

We then swapped in a 24,000 mile dodge pickup 57

hemi. We bought it online and performed a 50 state legal engine swap.

Then finally, we bolted up the new Atlas four speed transfer case behind our automatic. We did some research on this vehicle and tried to eliminate any weak link that could possibly fail on the trail by adding things like CTMU joint in axles. A RP, high steer studs and an Atlas rear support ring. We put on a Kilby steering box skid plate to protect our steering box and then finally added the off road only dual rate sway bar kit. Now this little sway bar here will really tighten up the Jeep's handling when we're on the road, but it has a small air cylinder mounted to the one side flip of a switch on the dash

and it will disengage the truck will flex like a monster when it's on the rocks.

Now, it always seems that the drive shafts are the last thing to go into a project. And with our TJ, it'll be no different. Now. It was a pretty complicated set up because our drive train was pretty long and we measured the droop out on the rear shaft. It came up at just over 37 degrees. But the guys at real drive line were able to help us out. They hooked us up with a super short rear shaft with a high angle CV that they were able to machine to match that droop out, so it won't bind up. Now, the nice thing about the CV is it'll help eliminate any vibration in our rear shaft

because of the CV. In the rear, we had to change the output on our Atlas from a standard 1350 U joint to the new flat flange

up front. It's a simple two inch dom tubing drive shaft built to handle the abuse off road.

And if you guys remember the windshield in this truck was pretty banged up. It got hit with something during the accident, had a huge chip and spider webs over the whole thing. So we had it taken out and replaced with one of the speed glass rock glass windshields from quadri.

Now, this is a Lexan

glass with a clear coat

over it to keep it from getting scratched. Now, we don't have to worry about our windshield breaking when we're out on the trail. So, now, you know what we started with, you certainly know where we are right now. And now all we have to do is take this truck out and make sure that it fits the first need that we were after and that is driving every day

coming up, we'll pay off our hemi

TJ on the road and on the rocks, just how much difference will V8 power make on the trails. Stay tuned to find out.

Yeah,

we're back on extreme, ready to give our ultimate hemi

TJ a shakedown run.

Now, we rarely think about street driving when building a project since how a truck works off road is always more important to us than how it handles on the street.

But this TJ is different.

We built it to drive every day

and that means it has to have good road manners.

The new BFGKM Twos were very quiet.

Sure. There was some noticeable tire noise but nothing that would drive you crazy over long distances

with a four length in the rear

and the three link up front, all 100% custom. We were worried that driving at highway speeds might be a challenge,

but the suspension geometry achieved with the kit from Gen right off road.

The Jeep handled highway and interstate speed safely and comfortably,

obviously, you won't be street racing. This Jeep with Corvettes and Mustangs, even though we now have 345 ponies under the hood.

It honestly has the aerodynamics of a shoe box. It's square where it needs to be round and round where it should be square,

but that doesn't mean you couldn't jump in this Jeep and drive it every single day

and I don't just mean down to the corner store for some milk.

You could honestly drive this Jeep for hours. You could jump in this thing. Drive across country wheel it on some iconic trails like the Rubicon or head to Moab

for the Jeep Safari and you could jump back in this thing and drive it all the way home. No tow rig,

no trailer. It's honestly that reliable

having the new hemi

under the hood was great.

The extra horsepower and torque really helped the Jeep at highway speeds.

You don't feel underpowered

ever.

And occasionally it's fun to hear those for

burn it up a little

just idling at about 1500 RPM.

This engine isn't even working to keep this truck moving.

This is the kind of day when you wanna own a Jeep,

sun's out.

Nice and hot.

Everyone wants one of these on a day like today.

The only thing better than this

his ass.

Now go

this is why you guys are selling your tow rig trailers and buggies

to build multi-purpose rigs like ours. And when we come back,

the other equation to our ultimate TJ project

will hit the rocks, the sand and even do some

night we live.

It's mean it's green

and it's proved itself to be more than capable on the highway.

Now, our hemi

swap TJ will prove itself off the asphalt.

The guy that we wheel with all the time, I wheel with him on my spare time is here. The State Troy Slaughter.

So, buddy. Good to see you guys. How you

doing, man?

I'm doing well, man. Troy brought along his girlfriend, Cindy,

some hardcore wheelers from Louisville and an experienced off Roader from Nashville who's near Bone Stock. TJ will try and keep up with us.

Our guide is Brent Mann along with his daughter, Savannah

and their puppy Elvis.

They are members of the damn locals. A Southern club who leases the land will be wheeling on today.

It's a big piece of land, Ron, right?

Yeah. Yeah, we've got

mm, probably about 38

4000 acres somewhere around in there. 3800 to 4000. So it's easy to get lost if you don't know where you go. Yeah, I get lost down there all the time.

November through January. This property is primo hunting land

and out of season the clear cut sections,

dry creek beds

and even an abandoned sand quarry.

Make for the ultimate playground for dam locals, club members to wheel their junk.

Perfect for our multi-purpose hemi

TJ experiment.

Now, we're not even sure a map would do any good on these logging roads.

So we're trusting that Brent knows where he's going.

Damn locals.

What?

And I don't know why they're called the damn locals

and they drive you through the woods for three hours to find a trail. You're going damn locals.

Damn.

Are we there yet?

Oh, man, I can see it in the lens.

That's bad.

I'll tell my boss that I've been using this. It's one of the hazards of working for it. Stream four by four. I guess

I'm gonna clean this off before the owner of the camera sees it.

Three hours later,

we finally hit some good obstacles

and right away, we noticed that the T J's 14 inch coil over custom suspension, front rear

made this Jeep

way more flexy than any off the shelf kit could

go.

Yeah, it was a lot of extra work.

But once in some serious rocks,

all that hardcore fab

hair more makes this Jeep really shine

with a hammy

under the hood. You really have to concentrate on your throttle control.

The magna flow exhaust sounds awesome.

And that combination of sound and power, they're quite addicting.

Now, we knew right off the start that we were kind of pushing the limit with this truck running 40 inch tires on 40 fours.

The nice thing is, is we got killer ground clearance underneath this thing. We're not really rubbing a diff or getting hung up at all today

and we are right at the edge of possibly breaking some parts, but we're having the CTMU joints up front 35 splines in the rear and knowing when to turn off the locker to make a good turn without putting the suspension in a bind is key to keeping that thing all together with a big tire, a small axle

with daylight becoming scarce. We motored down to a remote part of the property

where 10 years ago

this sand quarry was jammed with earth movers and dump trucks.

Tell me about this rock.

This is stupid rock. It's just loose rock. It's like dumped here.

It's like we're in Iraq.

The only way out that is to just freaking launch it.

Night wheeling is a blast.

It adds a whole other dimension to trail riding.

The sun is done.

Heat of the day is gone and you really have to rely on your lights to see everything

same do

I love.

We're back on extreme in the middle of the payoff of our dual purpose hemi

TJ.

Now, ours isn't the only capable off road Jeep on this trip.

Our buddy's rigs are also highly modified at this hardcore terrain.

Troy Slaughter has built and rebuilt his Jeep YJ I half a dozen times

and wheeled from Moab

to tele

but this time, his girlfriend, Cindy commands the wheel. I'm not as, uh as

scared as I used to be because I would never wanna ride up a big hill

and now I'm like, bring it on.

It's all me, it's all me.

I'm starting to try to take it easy on gas. But yeah, my first initial instinct is to smash it and go.

She's been a good student. She likes to get a little gas or you get a little, you know, being, being at your first time out, you get a little nervous from time to time. My Jeep is pretty flexy and it likes to lean over quite a bit when it gets a little bit on, you know, like it's leaning over a little bit too much.

You can kind of see every once in a while that she's getting a little bit nervous and I think the first tendency is to hit the skinny pedal and try to straighten it out. And sometimes that, that does work. Sometimes other times I have to think about the next step and where the, where the tires are gonna be placed on the rock so that

it'll pull everything back over the right way and she's, she's getting it down. She's doing a great job.

Good job, honey.

All right, Kevin, you came out here with pretty much a stock Jeep. Tell me a little bit about

it. Uh, it's 2000 model. I bought it about two months ago. Uh, it's, uh,

slightly equipped, I think it was a two inch lift, uh, that it had on it when I bought it

changed from the stock eight inch wheels up to the 10 inch and a

few little add on performance parts here and there. But other than that, it's pretty, pretty clean in stock.

My plans are to push it and see how far I can go with it. I'm sure I won't be able to keep up with y'all. But

hey, it's all fun.

When I first saw those huge rocks, I thought there was no way. I started to go around it.

Then when I started looking a little closer, I found a way in but I couldn't see a way out,

go, go.

Um But then again with a spotter, it helps you work your way out of it.

Nice job, man.

I wanted your first time to be a little bit memorable.

Great,

wonderful.

That's a little taste of what it's all about

now. Back to our hemi

TJ.

Just like Kevin Stocker. We drove our puppy two hours to get here and so we have to drive it two hours to get back,

which is why we took the time researching and removing any weak links from our Jeep

from the A RP high steer studs all the way down to the Atlas Support range.

We can honestly say it was well worth it.

Thanks.

That's the spot Troy. The

time

the

time a

lesson.

Now, if you plan to build a Jeep like R TJ and you're going to drive it home after the end of the day, wheeling, instead of throwing it on a trailer, there's a couple of things you've got to remember the most important part in that Jeep is right here. It's your own head. Use it for something other than keeping your ears apart. You got the wheels turned all the way one way, keep your foot out of it. That's when parts are going to break trails like this are ideal for dual purpose rigs. You can crawl on this all day long and you don't have to worry about breaking any parts. Still have lots of fun.

He left me here.

Wait up, man.