We Turned a Wood Paneled XJ into a 780+ HP Trackhawk Killer: FULL BUILD
Вставка
- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
- We took an 1986 Jeep Wagoneer XJ and turned it into a TrackHawk knockoff called the TrashHawk. First, we swapped in a supercharged LS engine. This bad boy pumps 788 horsepower. We added a six-speed manual transmission for a fun ride. The rear got a Ford 8.8 axle swap. We lowered the Jeep and made it two-wheel drive. Big brake upgrades were a must for all that power. On the fuel system, we installed a dual fuel pump capable of handling 1,600 horsepower, more than enough for us.
Inside, the interior panels stayed mostly intact, thanks to some creative adjustments. The TrashHawk doesn't have all-wheel drive or fancy electronic aids, but it does have raw power and personality. It took some elbow grease, but the result is awesome. It's our vision of a TrackHawk, with a twist of our style.
PARTS USED IN THIS FULL BUILD
ARP
ARP Engine & Accessory Bolt Kit
pntv.us/pn_pt_...
Continental Tire
Extreme Contact Sport
pntv.us/pn_pt_...
Duralast
Duralast Battery, Battery Cables, Starter
pntv.us/pn_pt_...
EBC Brakes
USR Rotors & Yellow Stuff Brake Pads
pntv.us/pn_pt_...
FiTech
Ffitech Ultimate LS Standalone ECU Kit
pntv.us/pn_pt_...
FiTech
Go Fuel Dual Pump
pntv.us/pn_pt_...
Race-Gas.com
Race Gas Fuel Concentrate
pntv.us/pn_pt_...
RockAuto.com
OEM Style Brake Components
pntv.us/pn_pt_...
RockAuto.com
Fuel Tank
pntv.us/pn_pt_...
Summit Racing
AC Delco Water Pump
pntv.us/pn_pt_...
Summit Racing
American Powertrain Hydramax Clutch Release Kit
pntv.us/pn_pt_...
Summit Racing
ATI Super Dampener Harmonic Balancer
pntv.us/pn_pt_...
Summit Racing
Centerforce Twin Disc Clutch Kit
pntv.us/pn_pt_...
Summit Racing
Cometic Intake Gaskets
pntv.us/pn_pt_...
Summit Racing
Earl's Performance Plumbing Adapters
pntv.us/pn_pt_...
Summit Racing
GM Accessory Kit
pntv.us/pn_pt_...
Summit Racing
M.O.R.E. Axle Swap Kit
pntv.us/pn_pt_...
Summit Racing
Magnuson Supercharger
pntv.us/pn_pt_...
Summit Racing
QuickTime Bellhousing
pntv.us/pn_pt_...
Summit Racing
Rock Jock Trac Bar
pntv.us/pn_pt_...
Summit Racing
Rubicon Express Suspension Leveling & Lift Kit
pntv.us/pn_pt_...
Summit Racing
SeaFoam Deep Creep Penetrating Oil
pntv.us/pn_pt_...
American Powertrain Systems
Magnum 6-Speed Transmission
ARP
ARP Wheel Studs
DBR High Performance
DBR High Performance
I bought a brand new XJ in 99 . I put 273,xxx miles on it in 16 years and it never left me stranded or stuck while I was doing it. I bought a new truck in 2015 and gave the XJ to a aunt who had fallen on difficult times and had no vehicle. She drove the Cherokee for another 8 years until her passing. The jeep had almost 350k original miles when she passed away. And the only thing that had been done was regular maintenance and normal wear parts replaced . Its now being used on my property as a utility vehicle but still runs good enough to pass emissions but the bushings and things like switches are failing more and more. Still has good working 4.0 straight 6, 5 speed transmission and 4x4 running gear .
How did you get a 5spd with the 4.0? I had a '98 4.0 "sport" and it was automatic. Someday, I will buy another XJ. I wish that mine was 5spd. I thought they only offered the manual in the 4cyl.
I got a hole in my radiator, and it overheated a few times. I replaced the radiator, but it was never the same. I should have just pulled the thermostat.
Also, didn't the '99 have the bad head casting, or was that the '2000?
Anyway, I miss it everyday. Wish that I would have held onto it.
Also, it had plenty of power for me..
The 4.0 is a goat engine but that garbage v6 they pulled out just drove value up drastically. 😂
My dad has the inline 6.. jeep is falling apart but the engine is still kicking.. basically has the engine wrapped so it doesn't get to many elements on it.. till he finds something to put it in.. perhaps another jeep or midsize truck..
4.0l inline six cylinder 2004 Grand Cherokee owner here love her sounds like a sowing machine but keeps on ticking. Sunroof and heated seats :D
The fact they said not reliable makes them morons
You lost me when you made it two wheel drive.
Same I literally stopped watching a video when he said that
Yeah, that’s kinda the point of a Jeep.
trackhawk killer wont go anywyhere only rwd might be able to beat a stock civic lol other then that just a burnout machine totally pointless waste of money
Couldn't agree more
Would the factory drive line live with that kind of power ?
Thats so cool keep biulding stuff like this and keep the young man saying this has to be the best day at work loved hearing that made my day thanks for the up load !!
As someone who has autocrossed the heck out of a 2700# lowered 96 2dr 2wd 5-sp 4.6l stroker XJ w/lsd on 285 hoosiers, I enjoyed this build. To all those not familiar with these XJs, that 86 waggy came with a 2.8L carb'd chevy v6--the 4.0 i-6 didn't come until 87, so no qualms at all with an LS in there. I had flex form make me custom composite rear leaves and I also flipped the rear 8.25 w/ Eaton. I had Ironman 4x4 fab me a straight adjustable trackbar and ran his front control arms too. Addco sways front and rear l, shorter bikstiens, and that XJ was a handler. My current 99 2dr ax15 4wd has a 242tc with fulltime, but not the stroker yet.
We are making a trackhawk... but not doing 2 of the 3 things that make it a trackhawk. I'm not even mad... just disappointed.
Bro it’s called a 🗑️ hawk.. not a track hawk chill your frustrated ass out 😂😂😂
Throw $10-15 grand into a $2000 Jeep without AWD=Pointless.
I would still give it a go just to check it out myself.. the massive grins on their faces was not looking fake by any means..
4x4 Al, the wayyyyyy😂
It would be another $30k-$40k for and AWD conversion, and way more complex. Keyboard warriors are a joke. Criticize people doing things they couldn’t do in a million years…..
@jhansen6180 lmao lots of people have the knowledge and money to do this it's not that special. AWD would've hard and more expensive but 4wd with a transfer case wouldn't have. Clown.
@@jhansen6180 You're silly. AWD from a Grand Cherokee and some fab work.
I freakin' love these shows. Remember watching on TV back in the day. So glad ya'll made a YT channel! Most entertaining automotive content on here. Thanks guys.
I can just imagine this poor XJ screaming “MY 4WD!!! GIVE ME BACK MY 4WD!!!” like Rorschach screaming about wanting his “face” back in the “Watchmen” movie.
As someone who drove one of these daily for 10 years, basically stock, all it ever needed was more power😂😂😂
U must not have had a 4.0 straight 6 engine. They are so sweet, in that jeep
@koollee no it had the A.M.C block the good 4.0 and the bottom end had even been gone through, but still 180hp bumped up to around 250hp is lack luster when it's moving around 3,300+ pounds....
What a douche. It doesn't need anything over 500hp max. Really, 425hp and 500-550ft.lbs. of torque is perfect for that vehicle. More power than than equals a tiny pecker.
@@GARNERS_GAMING The 93 Mustang Cobra was 3300 lbs and had 235 hp. You should have had similar 0-60 times having more hp
Well at least they did a motor choice thats never been done.....said nobody ever.
Bloopers.
You lost me at 2wd.
There are Jeep people and then there is everyone else!!!
Um can't that be said about everything? Like take Chevy people... There's them, and then there's people that aren't Chevy people... Aka "everyone else..." I felt the need to explain this so thoroughly because its possibly the dumbest comment I've ever read, so I figured you must be two tacos short of a combo, obviously.
Pretty cool, but really should have clean hood to make it an ultimate sleeper.
Got me all excited. Was hoping to see twin turbo's thrown on the old tractor-esque I6... it lost all cool factor once the LS went in.
84-86 XJ’s never had the 4.0 AMC engine, they had either the AMC 2.5 4 or the GM 2.8 V6. The 4.0 AMC I-6 wasn’t available in the XJ until 1987. This particular Wagoneer had the 2.8 GM V6.
@phantom0456 the wagoneer I had was a 4.2 liter 258ci AMC motor out of an SX4
@@tdublove9558 that’s cool. Did you swap it yourself or buy it post-swap?
@@phantom0456 bought it that way, it was a cool rig though I thrashed it in the woods 👍
@@phantom0456 The Jeep wagoneer XJ second generation had the 4.2l I6 or the 5.9 V8. It didn't come with the 2.8 v6.
Edit: spelling
I used to autocross with a dude that ran a xj 2 door, with 5sp and 2wd. Quick truck
that xj is so clean though
You in the rust belt too?!?😂😂😂
I kept mine straight 6 with 4x4 pushing 800 wheel 😊
Yeah what'd you do, drop a 2j in there? 800 wheel outta that old 4L? I'm calling BS on that one.
@@derekspringer6448 sure did. 372 with a bottle.
Forget all the haters in here. I own a locked and lifted CJ-5 and a lifted YJ and would drive this thing with a grin from ear to ear. I've seen an XJ sitting in a field down the road from my house for years and this gives me all sorts of ideas.
What did everyone expect. It's literally a corporate channel that free sponsorsered parts dictate the build with minimum fabrication. Enjoy it for what it is. Ground breaking trend setting builds aren't limited to what can be named on the build. 13 minutes in and they have named 7 or 8 companies.
It handles like a sports car but has a death wobble. All they had to do was add the transfer case and trans from escalade and I'm talking about the 6spd auto just beefed up some and you truly have a knockoff Track Hawk that's way lighter than a TBss
That thing handles nothing like a sports car it had an insane amount of body roll they almost flipped it and it’s an 8400lb jeep made out of thick steel that thing can’t even get out of it own way the performance went way down with the ls that hp means nothing when you have cheap junk under the hood and those idiots were bragging about supercharger whine that thing didn’t make a peep that thing is incredibly far away from a track hawk knockoff that thing is not a full build either all they did was throw an ls in it lower it a little and throw a transmission in it and call it a day sorry that’s not a full build that’s just minor modifications that thing is a waste of money
I don’t want to look like I’m about to pull up on someone with a Mac 10. That’s the vibes this vehicle gives off 🤣🤣 boyzNthehood ahh car
These rich mainstream channels have bugged me since I was a kid bc they brush over so many major details. Like the customfabricated transmission cross member bracket, we didn't even get to see it. And did the brand spankin new transmission just appear out of nowhere?
Also the advertising they weasel in irks me but they gotta pay the bills I get it. I still watched until the end.
Maaaan... I had an '86 Wagoneer! Sweet ass Chevy 2.8L V6 strapped to a Chysler 904 Torqueflite lol
Lost me at LS. Have a good day ladies!
I've driven quite a few trackhawks.... When you line up to one you absolutely better be ready... 2wd? Loooool good luck.... 😂😂😂
When did Weird Al start working on vehicles?
That front end and rear suspension was painful to watch
Yeah, basically take a suv and make it a pavement princess.
9:46 WHY?!?!?! Just imagine the launch you could perform with 4WD!!! I can't believe they are making such a bad decision. With a 4WD setup you can still leave it in 2WD for those sweet smoky burnouts.
Imagine how ridiculously built it'd have to be to have a manual trans and hold up. Thing would be shattering transfer cases
LS. "What's wrong with that?" EVERYTHING is wrong with that! What's wrong with a modern Hemi? You lost me at LS.
Boohoo
I thought it was gonna be the 4.0 liter inline 6 with a turbo 🤦🏽♂️
LS beats hemi
@@KenHughes-xjlol.. This is not a Chevrolet
😂😂😂 People are so butthurt that the SBC LS literally is the greatest platform ever and shits on everything no matter the budget🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲💪💪💪💪
Two wheel drive is where I leave the chat.
"This thing feels stable!"
Gripping the door handle for dear life. 😂
Yes, i was a bit disappointed with being 2wd as well, but pretty cool machine nonetheless. I loved that you guys kept it (mostly) original looking, like a nice sleepers. 👍
Love the simplicity of this build. I believe jeep made a 2wd 2door version of this. Could have started there maybe? To all the haters, ls 2wd is perfect!!! I now want to build one for myself!!
They did, and although it was a fun little truck, it handled like crap- I had one. They should have done an IFS conversion, regardless of whether they were keeping the 4WD hardware.
I started to watch this build with serious anticipation. Taking a 780+ horsepower track, hawk, monster, and throwing it into this platform was going to be An epic build! I followed along gleefully as you proceeded, and then I hit a massive brick wall!
You pointed out that a track hawk was an all wheel, drive, automatic, for Street ability And then, almost in the same sentence, you said you were going in a different direction and putting a stick in 2 Wheel Dr.… My heart absolutely sank! No longer is this a true comparison of what you were touting in the beginning of the video.
You mentioned many different one-word scenarios for this build.…… My 1 word scenario for this bill is as follows…..FAKE! CHEAP! CLICKBATE! DISINGENUOUS!
A few others that don’t follow the one word… Not true, cheap, copy, unable to try an old school rendition… Do I need to continue?
You boys really need to go back to the drawing board and stay true to the original track, hawk configuration and make this old school platform into an all wheel drive automatic sleeper…
You lost me very shortly into the video because you change so much and I am disappointed. Please please please redeem yourself and make it right! Make this old school Cherokee into the true track hawk killer that it should be. If you can’t, you need to hang up , your wrenches and retire. I might be by myself in this thinking, but come on now… You’re doing a disservice to everybody by cheating…
Please redo this, build into what it should have been in the first place… A true all wheel drive track hawk from old school bones … I double dirty dog dare you!
Corporate 8.25's can hold 600hp if in structurally healthy condition, but not for repeated drag slick launches but street rolls no problem, smarter the pilot, happier the parts
not sure why didn't use a trailblazer ss awd setup and make it awd
Didn't I see you guys at the local Pick-N-Pull hacking wire harnesses? I'm not a Chrysler guy but this should have been a late-model Hemi.
It deserves a hellcat engine not a Ls engine
So these are the guys cutting up good harnesses for a couple connectors? lol
I can't help but feel that this would have been a lot cooler if you added a Escalade transfer case so you could have all-wheel drive and then through like a 6-in lift at it. At that point you could then take it to the track on. You know 33-in drag slicks all around. Also that 8.8 it's going to blow up
You can please some people some of the time but you can't please all the people all of the time God bless from Canada eh I love this project I had a 96 grand Cherokee Laredo 4.0 what a great vehicle I miss it!
Here's some food for thought "Trash hawk is a person who picks up discarded furniture or other items from the side off the side of road usually the curb in front of your neighbors house. They get in quickly and swoop in to get the best stuff. Hence this build having Ford, Chevy, and Dodge parts!
My father had a '88 Wagoneer... Brown with the fake wood and beige interior !
Reminds me of the police chase in the movie goonies lol sick build guy
Always works out just right and never even a dime sized oil stain on the floors…. Must be nice….
@39:21..
” This thing feels stable” As he Death Grips the Shit out of the door handle 😂😂. Love it ❤
Can't swing such a thing here, but wow what a ride!
How to turn an old friendly Jeep into a flying casket ⚰️
Oh just polished stainless I found laying around 😂😂
Don't listen to the haters. It would of been so hard to engineer it back to 4 wheel. This thing is still badass and you actually accomplished it, none of the trash talkers on here are executing that 😅
No you take a full trackhawk drivetrain/ power train, transfer case, diffs etc and get custom carbon fiber driveshaft lengths. Wouldn’t be hard if you had the money.
I don't know why there is so much hate for 2wd. I would have loved to do a lowered 2dr 2wd manual transmission xj! Kinda funny that I ended up with 4x4 as it was way more common😅
Whatever you do, don't install the battery cable all the way you want it like cranked up so that way you can stretch out the terminal end early
I owned several XJ's. They are light, and drive really nice. That AMC 6 would run FOR-EVER! I would love to have what you created. Don't let the playstation kids get to you with the "yOu sHoULd hAvE kEpT dA 4wd yO! jUsT sWaP a CHevY Ss dRivTrAiN iN" or the LS haters. LS was (And still is) the hot swap for the real Jeepers, now all of a sudden "WAAAAAAH....Put the crappy Hemi in WAAAAAAH"
Hell yeah!! That’s awesome!!! I love it!!!
I'm a six banger n Ford guy .. Soo new hurricane engine.. would be cool to me. Keep the bloodline going
I liked this idea and MOST of the execution but I really wish they had done the fuel system differently, that sump in the back looks terrible and it seems like just product placement and not something i'd ever use for this particular project...I mean yea yall gotta get paid but this seems like a square peg in a round hole
The only trash I saw in this video is those reman starters 😂
You forgot one thing. The old bird wasn't built by Stellantis!
Chrysler didn't build it either
Man I love that thing ! I’d buy it 😮💨🤣
Yea... i instantly shut the show off.when you said 2wd. You could have done something awesome. Awd would have been great. Ls swap in a jeep is so common. But the awd i would stayed for.
Does Duralast make the remanufactured components for all major manufactures?
8.8 C Clips. I know all about those things lol. Broke many way back in the day
"Small package with a lot of potential" yep that's what she said 😂😂😂
I didn't know "Dirty Dom's" cousin was a car builder on this channel! o7
Production and Editing Tip: When the engine is starting and running, kill the damn background music.
They didn’t reinforce a single mounting point for anything. Transmission crossmember is going to tear the bolts out. The engine mounts will probably tear away from the body. The leafspring are going to be a huge problem. When the lead springs wrap under torque which will destroy your differential yolk and the driveshaft and possibly some other stuff.
and where exactly do you market these wonderous machines for sale? That thing is awesome.
Did you put a gasket on the diff cover?
Two wheel drive trackhawk killer I don’t think so
As I realized, the auto repairman put new guide bushings for the wheels, only longer ones to support the weight of the car on wider wheels. Such elementary things, and I didn't even realize about them.....
i have a friend who did basically this swap like 6 years ago. it was an earlier 80s model though. he spent years getting it sorted out then sold it soon after that. i sort of wish i would have bought it. it was only around 500hp though, a supercharged lq4 if i recall.
Yea I'm ok with the ls but the manual with only 2wd was lazy, a divorced transfercase would make that work fine.
Can you turn it back into a good 4 liter XJ?
I owned a 1993 Grand Caravan, supposedly, top of the line. At 46,000 miles, the transmission failed. Chrysler said it was not covered by warranty. I replaced it, it failed again and again. Then I was told by an investigator, that the transmission ,differential , and ABS on most Chrysler vehicles were defective and beyond repair. Chrysler executives knew very well about this defects and did nothing. The worst thing is that NHSTB knew about these serious defects and were completely quiet.
liar🤥🤥🤥
Interesting anecdote, but why are we reading this on a Supercharged Jeep video?
Most of those transaxles failed due to improper fluid use. You probably used the wrong fluid, for years, killing transaxles a long the way, like a 'tard.
A Jeep Wrangler JK front coils will give you the drop you were looking for without cutting them
Honestly, I'm okay with all the choices - your show, your money. The biggest fail here is the EDITING. Who thought it would be a good idea to roll music over the dyno run?!? Or music AND wind noise/narration over the majority of track driving? People watching this show aren't sitting through 30+ minutes just to see the end result. We want to HEAR it too.
No frame stiffener guys?
Should have just turboed the four liter
They pulled a GM 2.8 V6 out of it, lul.
Those were the ones that kept flipping off the road in the 80s and 90s. Trash hawks kill.
No, that's the explorer dip wad
How do you take it to a 2 wheel drive with an 8.8 rear and not 4 link it? Leaf springs do not belong on a road course.
Nice build I would have used a junkyard lq4 with a more aggressive cam nice heads nice valve springs and a single snail from China would far exede that power and cost probably 1/3 1/4 the price of that setup
jeep xj 🔥🔥🔥
Where did you get it looks like my old TGP. Dent front drivers fender by hood.
I use these extreme contact on my gt pp2. Pretty sticky for daily use
Pumping fuel into the cabin of the vehicle. Not smart.
Great project!
just as i got into what Marc n Brandon were doing...they're gone....liked how they worked together
You guys really screwed the pooch on this one. First theres the totally predictable blasphemy of sticking an LS on a Jeep. You could have hopped up and supercharged an AMC 401 or put a Chrysler hemi in it. But nooooo. You took the lazy way out. Then removing the 4 wheel drive made this thing lose any resemblance to a Trackhawk. It could have been so much better with just a little more work.
Would have been a beast with that much power in AWD.
Brandon looked so scared riding passenger 😂
3:11 With my video choice made it's time to watch something else
Loved my XJ. It had the straight six and those are phenomenal engines. But, they have like 6 hamsters worth of power too. But I never used mine on the track. This was cool.
But, why didn't young blood get a shot at driving it? I am sure he did, but why not on camera?
Ditching the 4 wheel drive is just another example of this programs dumb ideas. These automotive aftermarket advertising programs should remind themselves who their customers are. We dont watch this crap out of interest in the parts and tools their trying to sell. We watch this stuff just killing time and watching the bad choices being made.
I converted my XJ from 4WD to 2WD!!! I've NEVER needed to use AWD, I've drove on rough mountain roads, on beaches etc.. and never used it lol! So I deleted it to reduce rotating crap I don't need. If I want to put my XJ back to AWD it will take me 1 day to put all the crap back on! These Jeeps are easy to work on.
Great episode guys! Can we do this with a model A coupe?
How much did all that cost😮
When did this originally air?
I still gave a thumbs up, but I remember why I stopped watching when it came out, not four wheel drive. 😢
39:20 "So stable!"
(About rips door handle off...)
I thought blood told them they was Yappin’… he said Yackin’ but still funny
I just had a beautiful 2001 XJ limited I wanted to v8 swap so bad everyone said it was to much work I’d pay 10k without blinking a eye for my XJ to have 450/500 hp and a better street capable suspension
Stay tuned! Next week we transform a corvette to front wheel drive and swap a 2.7L turbo
How the hell does a add a leaf make the ride hight taller on that