Congratulations to our August 2009 Cherokee of the Month: Sprintagogo

[EricsXJ]

Congratulations to Sprintagogo for winning Cherokee of the Month for August 2009.

Sprintagogo
I’m back again for a second attempt at Cherokee of the Month after the little trick EricsXJ played in the April poll.

This is my 2000 XJ which I have owned for a bit over two years. It’s my first Jeep and follows a few Landrover Defenders, but I had to get something with proper seats for the kids. This was the cheap choice that turned out to be every bit as good as a kitted Defender. When I bought it it was badly in need of some intensive maintenance. Jeep have only had an official Presence here in Great Britain since 1993 so used examples only really started to hit the enthusiast scene at the end of the 90’s which means the supply of aftermarket kit and accessories is still limited even now compared to the US. I have done plenty of modifications and here is a summary -


Base vehicle
Cherokee Classic 2000 model year
4ltr I6 with AW4 auto and NP242 transfer case
Black with camel/beige leather interior
124,000 miles



Axles & Driveline

Tires 32.3” tall Insa Turbo Special Tracks (235/85/16 remould) on ZJ/Grand alloy wheels
Front high pinion Dana 30 4.10 ratio which replaces 3.55 ratio low pinion axle
Rear 29 spline Chrysler 8.25 4.10 ratio which replaces Dana 35 with 3.55 ratio and ABS
Trac-lok limited slip diff fitted in place of open carrier
KJ/Liberty rear disc brakes conversion
Rubicon Express 1807 Hack & Tap with front driveshaft
All breather tubes extended



Suspension

4” front lift with 2” Procomp spring and 2” poly spacer
Rubicon Express control arm drop brackets
Skyjacker fixed lower control arms re-tubed with heavier box section
Relocated front brake flexy pipes

5” rear lift with 3” custom built spring, +1” extended shackle and 1” angle block
YJ rear brake flexy pipe
Procomp ES9000 shocks



Protection/Armor

Mopar steering, T-case and tank skids from 1995 XJ
Roof ‘rack’ consisting of gutter slider bars for leaning against trees
Box section rockers welded in place of the original rockers with points for hi-lift jacking
Safarigard snorkel



Recovery

Warn 9.5XP winch with synthetic rope mounted in home made bumper. Transmission oil cooler raised so winch can sit within 1/8” of front crossmember
Tow loops x2 in front bumper and x1 bolted to factory rear hitch mount
fibreglass waffle bridging mats mounted on roofrack



Elecrics

Optima yellowtop battery
Dash mounted winch controls and plug for wander lead so winch can be used from drivers seat or outside the vehicle
Roof lights 8 x 55watts, 4 x spot light for distance and 4 x fog light for spread
CB radio for trail talk
Nokia hands free phone kit
Pioneer 4x50w CD/MP3 player

Quite proud of the truck I have built and had to fab many bits myself due to limited choice and availability on this side of the pond. Also, all the work I have done has had to account for the fact that my wife drives this truck to work and back everyday so had to maintain some civility for her sake. I couldn’t go for an out and out trail rig.








Click here to see previous Cherokee of the Month winners

[ajxj9197]

goodjob! way to win one from over across the pond!

[ZJones]

Nice rig. I love the lights on the roof.

[cornbrizzle]

CONGRATULATIONS !!! well deserved

You had gotten my vote I have used some of your responces to work on my junk in the past .

Thank You !!!

Brizzle

[sprintagogo]

Thanks guys and everyone else that supported me. I have used huge amounts of knowledge gained through reading this forum so it is only fair that I use my experience of my jeep to give a little back. I don't always do what others do hence little things like the roof lights. Most people go for 2 or 4 big lights while I think anything too obtrusive is just going to get knocked off so chose something with a lower profile.

[leftlanetruckin]

congrats mate
they may as well rename it "lancs. xj of the month"...

again well done, you had my vote.

martin

[broncofire75]

Grats man!

Glad I didnt enter this month LOL. You ran away with it the second time around! Good job on the rig.

[riptide]

Well deserved!

[Vassago]

congrats dude! good job this time around!

[sprintagogo]

Originally Posted by leftlanetruckin

they may as well rename it "lancs. xj of the month"...

Yeah..... The Brits are coming!

[leftlanetruckin]

Originally Posted by sprintagogo

Yeah..... The Brits are coming!

and some of us have arrived already mate....

martin

[UKJeepThang]

Well done mate!!!

YES......the Brits are coming. Once I've completed all my latest mods I'll be snapping a few "action" pics and sticking mine in a future poll!!

[sprintagogo]

Originally Posted by UKJeepThang

Well done mate!!!

YES......the Brits are coming. Once I've completed all my latest mods I'll be snapping a few "action" pics and sticking mine in a future poll!!

It's a good plan Nigel, how are the improvements going?

I wasn't sure that you hadn't entered or won the COTM before but you will definitely get my vote

Let's keep the Brit theme going.