Drivetrain
Geoff knew that the stock Dana 30 and Chrysler 8.25 axles weren't going to cut it for the wheeling he had planned, so they were sold to offset the price of other components. Up front, Geoff added a full-width, high-pinion Dana 44 out of a '78 F-250. The eight-lug axle has 5.38 Yukon gears, a Lock-Right locker, Warn hubs, and stock shafts with tack welds to keep the 760X U-joints from spitting out the caps until Geoff can afford Superior chromoly shafts and Longfield U-joints.
In the rear, Geoff thought that he nabbed a Dana 60 from the junkyard, but it ended up being a Dana 61. This Ford housing has more pinion offset than a standard Dana 60 to allow the fitment of gear ratios higher than 3.54, and no one makes gears for them lower than 4.10. Unfortunately, Geoff didn't want to run that tall of gears, so he had to use a ring gear spacer to fit the 5.38 Yukons on the welded carrier. The axle still has the stock 1.31-inch, 30-spline shafts and drum brakes, but the good news is that Geoff won't have to bore the spindles to fit 1.5-inch, 35-spline axleshafts.
Above the Unitbody, the rest of the drivetrain was retained. The 4.0L engine breathes easier thanks to a Turbo City cold air intake and Flowmaster muffler. An Optima Red Top battery ensures that it cranks over every time. The NP231 received a slip yoke eliminator, but the AW4 four-speed automatic transmission is bone-stock.
Body and Interior
Even with all that lift, Geoff had to cut a lot of sheetmetal to fit the Super Swampers. After smashing in the rear corner of the cab at Moon Rocks four years ago, Geoff cut off the sheetmetal behind the rear doors with a Sawzall. Fortunately, he already had an eight-point interior cage from T&J Performance to stiffen up the Unitbody. "It would have been a lot easier to install the cage after I cut the top off!" Geoff joked. He added Loud Liquid wakeboard boat speakers to the cage to pump out the tunes without taking up floor space. When the hatch went away, so did the taillights, so Geoff added some boxes from Full Size XJ Gear to keep the Cherokee legal. The front doors come off as well, but they easily go back on and Geoff wired them with connectors so that all of the power accessories still work when the doors are installed.
A naked Durango 4x4 bumper sits up front. "My neighbor let me borrow his winch for years," Geoff explained, "but he recently asked for it back." We have a funny feeling that Geoff's neighbor might find himself getting cited for disorderly conduct before too long, but that is just a hunch. The front bumper was notched and narrowed to allow greater clearance for the tires and extended wheelbase. Custom 2-inch square tube rock rails protect the rocker panels and hold cheapo rock lights, while a gas tank skidplate installed by the previous owner brings up the rear.
Good, Bad, and What It's For
Nobody becomes a deputy sheriff to get rich, so Geoff had to build his Jeep on a budget. Having another mouth to feed definitely doesn't help with Jeep components, but the fact that his brother-in-law C.T. Eckstrom worked at Rubicon Express certainly did. Geoff has done a great job combining low-buck junkyard components with the right aftermarket parts, and turning most of the wrenches himself on his days off. His Cherokee isn't going to win any show-and-shine awards, but it does a great job of safely carrying his family across all of the beautiful and challenging trails that are close to his home in Gardnerville, Nevada.
Why I Shot This Feature
This isn't the prettiest Jeep I have ever photographed, but it is incredibly capable on the trail. I think the thing that stuck with me the most was the fact that Geoff didn't even think twice about giving up his huge CJ in order to ensure that his daughter Faith and wife Brandy could safely enjoy the trail with him. To me, that is what Jeeping is all about.
-Harry Wagner