[Brandon97TJ]

A few months ago this guy I have been doing some work for totaled his jeep. He was going about 45 mph and t-boned a F-150. He ended up selling it to us for the right price. So now Performance Innovations in Wilmington, North Carolina will be turning it into an extreme LCG rock crawler.

Here is what we started with:
- 1997 TJ
- 4 cylinder 5 speed
- 2.5" lift
- 32" Super Swampers
- Lockrite in the front

We had to replace the whole front clip, but instead we highlined a junk-yard hood and ditched the fenders for a solid once piece fender-to-fender guard. It is constructed from one solid tube running from the front of the Jeep, down to a rocker guard, and back up to a comp-cutted rear. This took a while for us to make but was well worth it. We tested our creation at Uwharrie in North Carolina for a weekend and they worked just like we had hoped. Besides some paint missing and scratches there are no dents or bending.




After the test run it was time to kick the build into high gear. The TJ was a 4 cylinder with a Dana 35 rear axle. First thing we did was ditch the rear axle for an 8.8. We then stretched the rear axle about 10 inches back by cutting the frame and building our own.



Now we really had to do something with this little motor. This 4 cylinder wasn't going to move our 36" TSL's very easy so we opted to build a stroker motor. A 4.0 block wasn't very hard to find, so we had it machined into a 4.7L and we put it back together with the right parts.

This was the first test run of the 4.7 stroker TJ with a front highline, 4.10 gears, 2.5" of lift, 36" TSL's, and a 10" stretch.



Since we are crazy drivers here, we would like to live another day after a nasty roll. It was time for a roll cage to be constructed. It is going to be made out of 1 3/4" tubing with mostly .120 wall and some .95 wall.

Here is the start of the cage. TJ's look pretty cool without cages don't they?






That is where it is sitting today. We are working on finishing the cage and then we have a few more things to do before we wheel it again. The front springs were meant for a 4 cylinder with no winch, and we now have a 4.7 motor with a heavy front bumper and winch. The front suspension needs tweaking, along with a bellyup/sye and it will be hitting the rocks again.

This is going to be a somewhat fast build so keep watching as I update this

[GotLime]

Looks good. Let me know when you take it back to Uwharrie. I'd like to see it in action.

Was the first pic taken at Kodak rock?

[Imped]

Wow, totally nasty man. I'll be watching this like a hawk. I love the one piece fender/rocker/fender. Very innovative and sturdy.

[Brandon97TJ]

Originally Posted by GotLime

Looks good. Let me know when you take it back to Uwharrie. I'd like to see it in action.

Was the first pic taken at Kodak rock?

Yeah, that was at Kodak rock. I have a ton of pictures from that Uwharrie trip. It was with my local club.

Guys, keep in mind that this Jeep is our toy, but it is also a way for Performance Innovations to test their products. If something they make can survive the abuse we give it, then it can survive anything.

This first shot was on Rocky Mountain Loop

[LongshotXJ]

this is a sweet build!! i heard about you guys before...you swapped a 5.7 hemi into a couple jeeps. They were pretty sweet. ill be watching this build closely

[Brandon97TJ]

Yes Hemi swaps, we also did a 6.1 Hemi Prowler seen here Performance Innovations :: Custom Fabrication and Motorsports

We are about to start on CRD diesel powered YJ as well as some innovative products available for jeep owners. (think tube fender/high kit as seen on this tj)

[LGriffith]

Pretty nice so far. Looking forward to watching this one come together.

[Buckster]

Subscribed Me likey so far

[jmasin]

Originally Posted by Brandon97TJ

Holy flying jeeps Batman!

[alex71]

Are yall going to drop the rear down any? It looks like it is about 2 inches to tall. Put some stock rear coils in and i think it will be sitting perfect.

[jeepbro's]

Originally Posted by Brandon97TJ

A few months ago this guy I have been doing some work for totaled his jeep. He was going about 45 mph and t-boned a F-150. He ended up selling it to us for the right price. So now Performance Innovations in Wilmington, North Carolina will be turning it into an extreme LCG rock crawler.

Here is what we started with:
- 1997 TJ
- 4 cylinder 5 speed
- 2.5" lift
- 32" Super Swampers
- Lockrite in the front

We had to replace the whole front clip, but instead we highlined a junk-yard hood and ditched the fenders for a solid once piece fender-to-fender guard. It is constructed from one solid tube running from the front of the Jeep, down to a rocker guard, and back up to a comp-cutted rear. This took a while for us to make but was well worth it. We tested our creation at Uwharrie in North Carolina for a weekend and they worked just like we had hoped. Besides some paint missing and scratches there are no dents or bending.

I see what you did there

Btw that thing is freaking mean. I'm in the club with Brandon frequent the shop. That thing saw the most abuse of any jeep ever when it was last at Uwharrie. To those that know uwharrie, this is the first thing i've seen short of anything on 36's make it over the first and bigger, ledge on kodak rock on the 32's! the underside of it definitely took a beating but it made it almost over the hole thing!

also how bout some good pics of the new front bumper? i've only seen it once

[theAuthority]

Originally Posted by Brandon97TJ

Yes Hemi swaps, we also did a 6.1 Hemi Prowler seen here Performance Innovations :: Custom Fabrication and Motorsports

We are about to start on CRD diesel powered YJ as well as some innovative products available for jeep owners. (think tube fender/high kit as seen on this tj)

[YT]QMoR3_USdUg[/YT]

[Brandon97TJ]

Yeah that was the first attempt at a startup. That was a while ago and the Prowler has seen a lot of changes since then.

Originally Posted by jeepbro's

I see what you did there

Btw that thing is freaking mean. I'm in the club with Brandon frequent the shop. That thing saw the most abuse of any jeep ever when it was last at Uwharrie. To those that know uwharrie, this is the first thing i've seen short of anything on 36's make it over the first and bigger, ledge on kodak rock on the 32's! the underside of it definitely took a beating but it made it almost over the hole thing!

also how bout some good pics of the new front bumper? i've only seen it once

Everything was fine because of the engine skid . I wouldn't do anything without one.

I don't have any shots of the new bumper. It is just a prototype anyways. We are using its designs to mass produce one just like it, but with a sweet grill guard/mini stinger.

Originally Posted by alex71

Are yall going to drop the rear down any? It looks like it is about 2 inches to tall. Put some stock rear coils in and i think it will be sitting perfect.

The rear is sitting at about 3" of lift. The reason the front is sagging is because of the heavier motor, bumper, and winch. Those springs were meant for a 4 cylinder with a stock bumper. We are replacing the springs with some 2.5" or 3" springs, whichever will hold the weight better.

[Brandon97TJ]

Yea I have 3" heavy duty coils on order for the front to level it out a little better.

We are half done painting it and will hopefully get it done for a trip to the mountains next weekend

[AlTheKillerr]

why 4.10s? seems like 4.88s would have been the way to go