The following page was produced by

January Feature Vehicle

 

Vehicle:

1986 Jeep CJ7

Owner:

Terry Irwin


Major Features:
First Mods
Motor
Paint & Body
Recovery
Conclusion
 		You've heard the saying, "You've come a long way baby." The same can be said for Terry's Jeep. Terry purchased the Jeep new when he was stationed in Bitburg, Germany while serving in the U.S. Air Force. He only had it for 7 months before his enlistment was up so the Jeep came back to the U.S. with him.





First Things First

The first thing Terry did was put on 31x10.50-15 tires. Then it was a 2 1/2" Rancho lift kit. From there a spring-over-axle conversion with Wrangler springs was done. Both axles were changed to reverse rotation Dana 44's with 4.88:1 gears, a Detroit locker in the rear and a Lock Right locker in front. The rear axle also features Warn Industries new full-floating axle kit. For a look at the install click here. The stopping power is by 12 inch front disc and 11 inch rear drum brakes. Terry couldn't locate good chrome diff covers, so he had the stock ones ceramic coated. The Wrangler springs were a little soft so another main leaf and rear air shocks were added. An on-board air system using an A/C compressor and storage tank supply air to the air shocks and tires. The rig's suspension is dampened by Pro Comp shocks and Poly Bump Stops limit upward travel. The front axle has an outside tire travel of about 20" and the rear is at about 18". This is with the front sway bar disconnected via homemade disconnects.

After many different tire and wheel combinations Terry finally ended up with 36X12.50 Super Swamper TSL/SX tires mounted on 15X8 Alcoas. He opted for the 8" rim over the 10" because the 8" protects the tire bead much better. The Super Swamper TSL/SX tires are tougher than the radials so far. One of his previous radials get a 3" hole in the sidewall. When it's time to play in the sand nothing but paddles will do.



Motor

In 1987 Terry did a heart transplant and installed a 304 V8 in place of the stock I6 engine. The 304 is bored .030 with an RV cam and upgraded timing chain. Terry later added 1.6:1 full roller rockers with Chevy hardened push rods and guide plates. This really increased the vacuum and throttle response. Currently there is a Q-jet carb bolted to a Performer intake manifold supplying the go juice to the engine. Air enters through a K&N air cleaner and the spent exhaust is fed through ceramic coated Headman headers, stainless Ultra Flo mufflers and ceramic coated tailpipes. From the launch pad photo on the left it looks like Terry has no lack of HP now!

In 1993 the 5-speed tranny was junked in favor of a built AMC999 automatic controled by a B&M floor shifter. Terry finds the automatic to be superior at four wheeling than a manual tranny. The only drawback is going downhill where he finds he has to brake alot more! One of the more recent additions to the Jeep was a Twin-Stick. This allows Terry to shift the transfer case into 2-wheel low range and makes shifting out of 4-wheel into 2-wheel much easier.





Paint & Body

Terry does all of his own fabricating. The tube bumpers front and rear and nerf bars are just a few examples of his handywork. He also built the roll cage but plans on changing it in the near future to a different design with frame mounts. You can never be too safe.

He also does all of his own body work and paint which explains the scooped hood with flames. All of the remaining paint is factory fresh. He is in the process of building custom fiberglass hoods with a built-in scoop. He has a finished prototype but is having a hard time finding someone to make the mold. All of the factory hinges on his Jeep have been replaced with stainless steel along with other small items to help dress up the rig. The stock tailights were removed and flush mount lights installed in their place both for easier cleaning, plus they look cool! A recessed gas filler with a door is on the drawing board for a future modification.

The came factory with a hard top and Terry makes good use of it on his winter runs. A sun roof was added for extra ventilation. A Best Top Super Top is installed for the few summer months he can use it. A bikini top and half doors are put to use for those long weekend wheeling trips.




Recovery

For those rare situations that need a winch, Terry uses the tried and true Warn 8274 with power-in and power-out. That is when he can find it under all the snow! He sometimes wished he had a lower profile winch because they are easily made adaptable for front or rear installations using receiver mounts. The Warn 8274 isn't what you would call portable.

Future plans include the fiberglass hood of his design, frame mounted full cage, lower gear set for the automatic and an onboard welding system. Then it's off to Moab!

Conclusion

Terry would like to remind us what Jeep really stands for:

Even if his pockets are empty, I think he has one fine Jeep to show for it.

Update

Terry has been true to his motto "Just Empty Every Pocket".

New to this already well built vehicle are 37X12.5X15 Goodyear MTR's on 15X8 Micky Thompson classics.

But that meant he needed to get rid of the tired old AMC 304. So a 5.2 liter Magnum V8 from a 1995 Dodge Dakota along with the 4 speed automatic transmisson was stuffed into the engine bay and mated up to the Dana 300 transfer case he already had. The Dakota's factory wiring harness was carefully added to the original CJ7 harness to make for a factory looking install. Now there is plenty of go with multi-port fuel injection along with better fuel economy from the overdrive transmisson. Keep up the good work Terry!


 


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