How long do you figure it would take to build a race truck? Months? Weeks? Would you believe 10 days?
Yeah, we were skeptical too.
But when Jason LaFortune called, we listened. In 2004, LaFortune and his Temper-Mental Racing (TMR) crew assembled his first JeepSpeed Cherokee in about two weeks. He took that black No. 1795 Jeep to Mexico and scored a class win in the Baja 1000, then continued to win often enough to capture JeepSpeed's Stock class championship and Rookie of the Year honors.
For the '06 season, he wanted to go faster. And not just in the desert. LaFortune figured he could lop precious days off his previous buildup schedule and turn a 140,000-mile, former U.S. Forest Service Cherokee into a full-bore JeepSpeed truck in 10 days. To add extra pressure to the mix, he started the build just two weeks before the season's first race in Parker, Arizona, cutting any fudge-factor time to just about nothing. And to keep his adrenaline flowing, he asked us to document the build for Jp, meaning there'd be a camera and a witness around to see if he could meet the ultra-brief deadline.
Those of you who follow the JeepSpeed series know how this turns out. For those who don't, we're not going to spoil it. Just enjoy the ride as we follow the buildup. We'll spill the beans in good time.
Much of Day 1 was spent taking...
Much of Day 1 was spent taking stuff off the Cherokee. The interior had already been gutted, but most everything else was still on the Jeep. Even on the first day, lots of jobs, big and small, were going on all at once. As Daniel Demonteverde replaced the leaking oil-pan gasket ... Jason Rivera swapped the stock rubber front brake lines for braided steel ... and Karl Armbrust (pictured) cut sheetmetal away from the area around the front leaf-spring hanger. This will be a key juncture for the rollcage, where rear and side bars tie into the suspension mounts.
When something big had to...
When something big had to be done, like removing the stock rear axle and springs, the guys were called away from their individual tasks to lend a hand. The rearend will be replaced by a Currie 9-Plus racing 9-inch with 35-spline axles, 5.14 gears and a spool, hung by Deaver 4-inch spring packs.
Rivera and Armbrust worked...
Rivera and Armbrust worked on removing the spring hangers, while Jon Krellwitz planned the placement of the rollcage mounts. The cage, an intricate lattice of 1 3/4-inch, .120-wall chromoly tubing, was Jon's baby, and it took nearly the entire 10 days to complete.
After Demonteverde removed...
After Demonteverde removed the steering, he and Jason LaFortune unbolted and dropped out the front suspension and axle as a piece, with Armbrust looking on. Hey guys, nice poses.
Sierra Truck & Auto rebuilt...
Sierra Truck & Auto rebuilt the AX-15 manual trans with all new internals and installed a Currie Enterprises slip-yoke eliminator on the rear output shaft. The NP231 T-case went in with the tranny, though Jason will use 4WD only for the gnarlier races and stick with 2WD for the shorter runs. He'll make the switch between 2WD and 4WD by swapping front axles.
Before the new trans and Clutches...
Before the new trans and Clutches Unlimited racing clutch could go in, the old trans and clutch had to come out. The trans wasn't an issue, but the original pilot bearing proved stubborn, to say the least. Demonteverde actually broke a slide hammer trying to get the bearing out and had to take time to rebuild the hammer before he could start whanging on it again. It eventually came out after he took a die grinder and chisel to it.
The Clutches Unlimited racing...
The Clutches Unlimited racing clutch uses a ceramic friction material. In the upper corner of the photo is the Jeep's flywheel, machined and balanced by Sierra Truck & Auto.
After putting the new flywheel...
After putting the new flywheel and clutch in place, Demonteverde and LaFortune maneuver the transmission into position. Look close in the background, under the work light. See Rivera making sparks?
If Demonteverde's problem...
If Demonteverde's problem child was the pilot bearing, Rivera's challenge was removing the spring hangers. He tried drilling out the welds, then torching them. When the hangers still wouldn't budge, out came the plasma cutter. When we left the shop on Day 1, Rivera was still hacking away.