Lowering a Jeep

[Lee3333]

Anyone that has been following my build knows that I am swimming against the current. I am creating a drag Jeep. I have my wheels/tires on, and now need to lower the Jeep. How hard is it to remove a leaf or two? I need to come down about 4 inches.




Also, as you can see, I need to get wider flares. 7 1/2 in the rear, 5 1/4 for the front. I do not know if the ones I have are factory-the front blend into a step and are separate from the rear. I like the tubular flat ones, but they all seem quite expensive.

[Lumpymayo]

Good lord! What have you done!?

[Lee3333]

I know it looks wierd now, but wait till you see what I have planned. A totally unconventional hot rod jeep. I was going to build a Nova or Chevelle, but they are too common. The Jeep does not need subframe connectors, since it already has a chassis. A small block bolts right in. The roof and doors come off for summer cruising. Did I mention that it is different? I have found a few other Jeeps set up for drag racing on the internet. Besides, there arent many off road trails here in New York City, so not much need for the big wheels, etc.

[xeroid81]

Not a good body style for speed. Like racing a brick wall into a hi wind. Front end not very aerodynamic. Wouldn't handle really well at hi speed. Make sure you wear a good harness,you're prob. gonna need it!

[ghost183]

my god man!!!

i live in the city too,, daily on the f**ing BQE, and i gotta tell ya, the more meat i have between my rims and the potholes.. the better

and not to mention how many times i ripped my dropped 5.0 H pipe off the header due to our smooth streets

but it is going to be differant!!.. i wouldnt mind seeing you smoke all four tires while ripping that vette a new a***ole

more power to ya

[Barrio]

get out lol

a YJ has a flat windshild and a flat grill basicly the areodynamics of a brick haha


good luck with the.......build

[burntoutfireguy]

hmmmmm....... very, VERY different..... im not trying to down talk your ride, but im not sure that the jeep gods are gonna like that though..... Jeeps want to be in the dirt.

[JeepsOLot]

Well, to his defense, I've seen someone do this with a CJ7, and was able to beat Corvettes. He lengthened the body and hard top behind the doors and sat it on an S-10 Pickup frame. Then he put in a 500 cid Caddy V8 and tranny. His room in the engine bay was so tight that he had to flush mount the radiator to the grille, making the headlights stick out like bug eyes! Needless to say, that Jeep's offroading days were done, as there was no room for the t-case. His only problem that I could see was driveshafts, he couldn't keep them under the Jeep!!!

A couple of things you should consider in building a drag racing Jeep, 1) You'll need ALOT of power, because of the brick-like aerodynamics. If you REALLY want to keep the original engine, you are going to need to do some building, adding a turbo or supercharger, or even a stroker kit, or stroker plus turbo/sc. You might want to think about doing a V8 swap, as a minimum. and 2} You might want to do what this guy with the CJ7 did, find a 2WD small pickup frame to build it on, you won't have the issues with the leaf springs (Which you shouldn't take out leaves because you would need them to carry the extra weight of the upgraded engine.), and the power transfer would probably be better because the suspension is built differently, more for on-road use, which is what you are going to use it for anyway. If I were you, I would try to make it a dirt or sand racer, that way, it won't look odd, but you can have more fun with it in my opinion. I hope any or all of this helps.

Jerry

[zeus87gn]

Lee,

A Jeep is already a lightweigt in the first place. Putting a V8 in it isn't a big deal, but you will find that traction will be a problem if you really intend to drag race it. You won't have any unless you add weight or fill the rear with some LARGE drag radials or slicks. If you're thinking of drag racing in 4WD, the TC won't take it for long on the pavement (if it makes it the first 1/4 mile). There's a reason people make drag racers out of Novas and Chevelles and Buicks, they're heavy enough to handle it. Ever talk to a mustang owner/racer that has a mildly built V8? He can't keep traction.

I'll admit, your goals are interesting.
But I think you will waste quite a bit of money while you are loosing the race.

Now if you would like to come down here to south Ga. and build it for the dirt drags, that's a different story!

Z

[Brandon_YJ]

I have alot of buds up here in the Detroit auto industry who drag race on the local strips, some of them do alot of traveling to run their vehicles, and we are always joking about me taking my rig to the strip, so I can understand your desire, and even respect it.

The flares you have are stock, and there is a guy on here who is building a Jurassic Park Jeep and as of a few days ago was in need to those side steps. So maybe you can search for him and the two of you can work out a deel. He could get the side steps for cheap, and you can recoup some cash... just a thought.

Rugged Ridge makes a set of 7" flares for under $200, those look like would fit the bill here.
http://www.quadratec.com/products/12510_501_07.htm

As for lowering the Jeep, I can't really think of anything besides blocking the axle. You might be able to get away with removing a leaf from the front, and maybe two from the rear, but you might also want to consider getting a fiberglass doghouse or doing some other thing to lower the weight of the vehicle as well. There might even be a way to get some shorter shackles, but that might only drop you about 1/4" to 1/2" in the front and I'm not sure you could do it in the rear... in fact, I'm not even sure where you could buy shorter shackles other than having them custom made... and no, I'm not just saying that to plug my custom shackle side business.

Another option to lower it would be to thin out the body mounts by 1/4". Just remove them and shave "a little off the top". I've seen that done before, but not on a Jeep/truck.

So what class do you plan on running?
I'm sure you can get a good consistant vehicle out of her, we both know speed isn't the most important thing on the strip.

[Ctskip]

What is this Jeep going to handle like at 100 mph? I know mine at 70 takes all of my concentration. Try reaching into the back seat at 70 and it's a scary proposition. 100 + mph has got to be insane. Just 1/4 inch turn on the wheel at 100mph and you're toast. JMHO
Ctskip

[JeepsOLot]

Originally Posted by Ctskip

What is this Jeep going to handle like at 100 mph? I know mine at 70 takes all of my concentration. Try reaching into the back seat at 70 and it's a scary proposition. 100 + mph has got to be insane. Just 1/4 inch turn on the wheel at 100mph and you're toast. JMHO
Ctskip

Another reason for building it on a 2WD pickup chassis, it sure will handle better at those high speeds!

Jerry

[Fred007]

Crazy thought, but what if you did a SOA with the springs inverted? Would that even be possible?

I agree on the speed thing, over 70 in a Jeep makes me cringe. But, interesting concept. You thinking about doing "Pinks all Out"? (that would be cool to see)

[YJdad]

blasphemy....

...but...
I would pull the flares off completely...eliminate ALL points of drag and resistance...Tub that b**ch and put some slicks under it.. add some weight to the front to keep it down...Grab your hootus and blast off..

[yjcrawlr]

You might want to chop the top and slam it on it's nuts. I wouldn't just take leafs out it will have too much axle wrap. You could just drag with the windshield down and wear a spandex body suit!