PCO6

Fantastic build! Love the hints of Cherokee throughout.

caged

very nice build. i like your style.

TFitzPat87

This is bad ***! Subbed!

XJlimitedx99

HeBeGB501

Time for an upgrade to the brakes.

Over the past month or so, I have started to feel that the brakes could be improved on the buggy. The buggy stopped decently and I never felt like I didn't have enough brakes but there was definitely room for improvement.

The first thing to upgrade was the proportioning valve. I had been running a modded factory proportioning valve with my front/rear discs and WJ booster/master combo. A couple of times, under moderate braking, the rear tires started to lock up. I never lost control but since I drive this on the street, I knew that I had to do something before I got into a panic stop situation. I installed a Wilwood adjustable proportioning valve. The adjustable proportioning valve made a difference but then I started wanting even better stopping ability.

I was reading around different forums to see what I could do to improve the factory front brakes and I came upon the “15” Big Brake Kit” post by CobraMarty. CM was able to put together a list of components that allow you to put bigger brakes on a factory axle without having to buy or make a custom bracket. The best part was that the parts list happens to require the older knuckles and I just happen to be using one of the older Dana 30's with the right knuckles.
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/15...30-d44-227121/

The post mentions that you will need steel wheels since the new brake assembly requires 14” of space and most aluminum wheels will either be too small or will require a spacer. I measured my wheels (15” Racelines) and the inner diameter measured just over 14”. I figured that with more than 14” the brakes would either fit or I could get by with some slight grinding on the calipers.

Here is the first test fit and you can see that it was tight. There was no interference with the wheel but it was VERY close.



After some grinding, I was able to get a gap between the wheel and caliper that I was happy with.



Here are the rest of the photos that compare the factory brakes vs the new 12” rotors and dual piston calipers.

Old factory setup




New Ford 12” rotors and Grand Cherokee/Durango calipers





Here are all of the components that I used. The rotors, calipers, pads, and new banjo bolts came out to around $380. On top of that you will need a 14mm drill bit, M14-1.5 caliper mounting bolts, and M14 washers.






Here are the caliper mounting bolts that I used. I got these from Oreilly's. They are replacement bolts for a 2014ish Grand Cherokee. These bolts come out to 40mm long instead of the 45mm bolts that the parts list in the link above calls for.



I also only used 1 washer at each bolt location between the caliper and the knuckle. Here are a couple of pics to show how far the shorter bolt threads into the caliper.




I have to say that there was a huge improvement with the new rotors. The stops are quicker and when I come to a stop, you can feel a big difference in holding power. I didn't measure stopping distance but I did do a little test on locking up the tires. I have a ball valve plumbed in to hold pressure on the rear brakes, like a parking brake. Another advantage of this is that you can also use it to shut off the rear brakes, like a line lock. To test the braking power, I went to a parking lot, shut off the rear brakes and slammed on the brakes at around 25-30 mph. The results were that the factory brakes would bring me to a stop but did not lock up the tires. The upgraded brakes did lock up the front tires. Now you don't want your tires to lock up because you will then lose control but it is nice to know that the power is there.

HeBeGB501

While building this rig, I not only took photos but I took video of much of the build as well. A year after starting this project, I finally have enough time to begin editing the videos and have started posting them to YouTube. Below are the first 4 and there are many more to come over the next few weeks.

XJIrish4x4

Man just got done reading this entire build sure it was not long but down the detail that is for sure!! LOVE IT! I will add though why did you not repain the engine and make that look all nice and pretty before putting it back in? Maybe you did and I missed that part. Either way very jealous and love it. I sure wish I had the funds to get a project going like that. I can only imagine what that chasis would cost.

HeBeGB501

Thanks! I had initially planned to paint the engine but it cleaned up suprisingly well for a 30 year old engine. There were only a few small spots where the block paint had gone away. Once I saw how well it cleaned up, I decided not to paint it.

As for the cost of the chassis, it really wasn't bad. Building this was the cheaper of the options that I was looking at.

boomerc1992

This Build is pretty sweet. Now would you still be able to call this a Cherokee as far as being street legal with your old VIN and everything or is this strictly a trail rig now? Would be sweet to see out on the road! Either way, awesome project!

XJIrish4x4

You have some fab skills too so that is awesome. Sure wish I had the space to do that but maybe in my 10 year plan I will have the right setup to go with a cool build like this. By that I mean my wife and I plan to purchase our home within the next 5 years and if all goes well either it will come with a shop or I will just build one.

Cool buggy though and the fact that you can drive it on the street is super cool!

HeBeGB501

Thanks! In Arkansas, this can no longer be called a Cherokee or have the original VIN. It is only a Cherokee in body panels and badging.

However, the buggy is registered and is legal to drive on the road. I drive it on the street every chance I get.

The state considers the buggy to be a homemade vehicle and issued me a new VIN. I talked to a few state and local police officers and was told that if I were to keep the Jeep VIN, chances were that most officers would just think this was any other modified Jeep. The trouble would come if I got into an accident or were pulled over by someone who knew exactly what they were looking at. It is safer, the legal way, and easier to insure by titling the buggy as a home made vehicle. I can insure it as a dune buggy and not have to worry about my insurance dropping me because of vehicle modifications, because after all this is now "stock".

The title and registration process took about a month to complete but was rather painless. I had many conversations with the lady that would be the person who decided if I was approved or denied for a title. She was a huge help and she is reason that the process went so smoothly. Really, the only annoying part of the process was having to go around and get the buggy appraised by 2 different places. Only 1 local Jeep dealership would help me out, but they had appraised heavily modified Jeeps before. This particular dealership even pointed me to the other local shops that they use to help in their appraisal of modified Jeeps. The other dealerships I tried wouldn't hardly talk to me on the phone unless I was actually planning to trade the buggy in and buy a new vehicle from them.

boomerc1992

Well that's good you didn't have much trouble with that. Would be a blast to drive! Again awesome set up!

HeBeGB501

The next video is up. This video shows some of the work of putting the front clip on.

Bugout4x4

I think you did some fantastic work on this project! I hope you don't mind me mentioning an issue that might be a problem for you in the future I observed with your caliper retrofit. You might find that your close clearance with those calipers and the wheels is going to be an issue in mud or rocks.

Have you considered going to a larger wheel size or fabricating a "scraper" to knock most of it off before it comes around to the caliper? Just a thought stemming from my experience as a tire store owner. I have seen rocks jammed in the caliper eat through an aluminum wheel and cut it in half in only a couple hundred feet of travel.

XJIrish4x4

I was also concerned that the calipers do move when you apply brake pressure. The fitting looked super tight and a heard brake made me think it may rub but you would have already probably experience this since you been driving it. Pictures really hard to tell the clearance you had between the caliper and wheel.