Hey everyone,

I would like to invite you all to watch as my team and I build a 1987 Cherokee to race in the Everyman Challenge in February 2014. Here we will talk about what we are doing, what we will be doing, and what we have done. If you have any input about our rig, do not hesitate to post your comments or suggestions. This isn't just a build thread...but also a learning thread. We are trying to make it a point that you do not need the biggest bank account and most friends to participate in this race. Enjoy!

 

Here is what we are starting with. This jeep was originally owned by one of the current team members. He then sold it to his roommate who later moved to Idaho. He was having some issues with it...and that is when we decided to pursue the Everyman Challenge and bought the Cherokee back.
Here is the jeep loaded up for the long tow back from Idaho:


Here we are back in California, ready to work:

 

Time to gut it...nothing but the essentials:



No longer sitting on it's own:

 

The first parts arrived! XJ Chassis Channel Reinforcement from RuffStuff. This should help strengthen that unibody. http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/XJRAIL.html
Cleaning out the engine compartment:



Not much left for wires inside:

 

Break Time!

 

Here is the donor truck that we got our axles from. Unfortunately...it turned into only one usable axle. Apparently a 1978 F-150 has a HP44, however, the radius arm wedges are actually cast into the housing. If you are looking for a worthy HP44 axle to swap in...get it out of something Pre-77. The wedges on the pre-77 are welded on the tubes...so removal is easy (possible). The rear 9" is just fine though...31 spline big bearing.


After a trip to the junkyard though, we managed to get a "good" HP44:

 

During this whole ordeal we got the base of our suspension in the mail from Rough Country. We went with the 6.5" Long arm kit (no pics yet). While this kit may be ok for your weekend warrior, there will obviously need to be some changes made for this kit to work to it's full potential. http://www.roughcountry.com/jeep_xj_6xla.html

 

T-Shirts are in...you know you want one

 

Looks like this will be a good thread, keep it up!

 

Thank you sir! I will do everything I can to keep info and pics rolling in

 

Sweet jeep. I traded my cherokee with my dad for his 97 3/4 ton dodge cause I didn't want a rust free cherokee to rot away from northern Idaho. I'm from central California. Man a race jeep would be awesome.

 

Thank you for respecting the jeep Rust is a killer.

We are excited to get things moving forward. We need to see some progress

 

Not exactly Cherokee related, but here is part of the team wheeling their personal rigs on one of our "test" courses for the EMC build!

 

Watching this one, awesome video nice wheeling in there

 

We are down to 1 medium shirt, and 3 large shirts! Anyone else interested in any of these sizes? Also, in the next month or two registration opens up so we will have a number by then! This is when we will be looking at making a second batch of shirts with our team number! Rather than making ones identical to the current ones we would like suggestions on what our followers like. We are looking for color schemes, types, etc. Here are the suggestions we've had so far:

-Women's shirts. These would have a women's cut, and may also involve more feminine colors.
-Tank tops. These would probably be more gender neutral to appeal to both male and females.

So let us know what you would like to see with the shirts!