JeepSpeed Race Jeep Cherokee Build - 10-Day Competitor, Part I

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

Day 2: When starting a new day at TMR, our first task was to check out what had been done the night before. LaFortune had two shifts going as insurance against his deadline. "There were 10 guys here working until 10 last night," he said in the morning. Those hours would get later as the week wore on. One of the night jobs was getting a start on the frame to hold the Jaz 32-gallon fuel cell where the Cherokee's rear seat used to be.

These are 1/8-inch mild steel reinforcement plates that Krellwitz and Rivera were welding to the front framerails. "This is tedious stuff," Krellwitz said of the job, which would take him several hours. "But if I don't do it, the truck won't last. There'll be cracks all over the place." Why the holes? The OE framerail is so thin, if Krellwitz welded only the outside edge of the plate, the welds wouldn't be strong enough. So he'll weld inside each of those holes. "There's so much tied into the front of the truck it really needs the strength," he said.

Rivera cuts away a portion of the driver-side front framerail that had been damaged previously. In doing so, he also removed the original-and weak-mounts for the steering box. When this part of the frame is replaced, it'll include chromoly plate to support the new steering box.

Demonteverde and LaFortune installed a set of subframe reinforcements, part of the Skyjacker 6-inch suspension kit that will go under the Jeep. "This is a very popular kit. I'd say 70 percent of the Jeeps out there are running it," LaFortune said.

When he took a break from the reinforcement plates, Krellwitz moved to the back of the Jeep to weld on his chromoly rollcage attachment points. Here's a close-up look at one of those cage mount points. Note how the frame has been significantly reinforced with additional plates.