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A Year-Long Weekend Hobby

Saturdays and Sundays Spent Making a Custom Front Suspension and More!

By Dan Cunningham

 1987 Jeep Cherokee Front Left View
 1987 Jeep Cherokee Engine View
 1987 Jeep Cherokee Rear View
 1987 Jeep Cherokee Lower Front View
 1987 Jeep Cherokee Cargo Space View
 1987 Jeep Cherokee Dashboard View

Mechanic Gregg McNair says his bionic ’87 Jeep Cherokee is the result of a quest for a weekend activity. With its custom-made front suspension and numerous other McNair originals, the retailored Cherokee aptly illustrates the notion of do-it-yourself assembly. The Cherokee retains some stock parts, but any troglodyte will quickly realize that the brutish nature of McNair’s McNasty wasn’t created entirely by Chrysler.

The menu of McNair-made parts includes chrome-moly fully adjustable control arms and an adjustable track bar for the front suspension and front fiberglass fenders. The suspension was helped by the addition of 5-inch coil springs. For those considering a similar project, Gregg suggests looking for Cherokees with Dana 44 rears and to expect the process to take a substantial chunk of time. The year-long gestation period included broken motor and transmission mounts but also showcased Gregg’s welder-by-trade ability to fabricate his own parts.

As for the broken engine mount, Gregg made his own urethane version and, with the help of an adapter, used a Chevy urethane transmission mount. Front fiberglass fenders gave instant tire clearance for added dexterity over the rough stuff.


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