Reminds me so much of my youth in the late sixties. Fridays at a 1/5th outlaw track was more of a social gathering than true racing. I had to save up for weeks to buy a hurst shifter for my 67 mustang, because the ford stock shifter sucked big time. For me it meant I could finally shift hard. Just a little thing like that made me happy and made for a good time. More friends getting together, having a good time, and staying out of trouble.
Love this series on the XJ Tony. It takes me back to the late 80's with my fox body mustang when like you I had very little money to spend on speed equipment. So I spent time working on the suspension. I removed the sway bars, removed the front lower control arms, ground the serrations on the inner bushing sleeve add a thin shim washer each side of the control arm and added a small amount of grease. You could rise the control all the to the top of it's travel with one finger and when you let go of it, it fell like a stone to the bottom of it's travel. I did the same with the rear suspension link bars and straight away there was an improvement in the 60 foot times. I can't wait to see the final results.
Good comfort call on the A/C, Tony. Save the delete kit for another car, but liberate the spare tire, roof rubber, wheel fairings, bumper ends and side door rubbers to compensate. A rubber plug will replace the rear deck lid wiper and sans tunes, ostensibly a radio and speaker delete, too. Rock on.
"Anyone playing along at home..." I like that :) This is the complete opposite of those cable TV shows where you come back from commercial and they've bolted on $4,500 worth of cylinder heads, installed a new $9,500 supercharger and put in their new custom rear end they had built for them. I hate that. Totally unrelatable. I'm more impressed by what a poor mechanic can do than a rich one.
You don't like the "garage shows" with the 250million pro-shop, Mopar backed heavy sponsorship, product endorsements, throwing 50k at a clapped out car in 20 minutes and a behind the scenes crew of 20+ mechanics that does the actual work, as the hosts drink beer and call out small UA-cam channels??? Well, Sir. I guess. 🤣😂🤣😂
That exactly why this thing needs an explorer 8.8 it’s a less than $200 upgrade, way stronger axle, adds disc brakes and posi and can be found in the junkyards with 3:55 3:73 and 4:10 gears. Same wheel bolt pattern
I'm not watching this because I don't think you can do it, or because I do think you can do it, I'm watching for the fun of the challenge. Nobody knows exactly how you may or may not get there, but there will be a lot to discover, and fun had. That's really what I think the heart of this challenge is.
If I have the numbers right and I think I do, the new program that Doc writes will do most of the leg work. I'm not throwing shade I just know how much can be done with a good tune. But of course you need a person in the seat that knows how to drive it. It'll be an interesting project
I'm honestly surprised they didn't just do the ecm whatever, delete some of the extras, swap a deeper gear LSD rear in it and spray a 100 shit at it and call it budget. That's been the recipe for the magazines since ... Well... 1996.
Little bit of a cool suggestion. Once this car reaches it s final form. Since it is a RockAuto source build. Can you do a cool little magnet like they have?
@@jseal21the tune will do most if not all of the leg work power gain wise for sure but that wheel spin and less than ideal suspension is... A really big deal. Add 50 HP without addressing the traction and weight transfer I bet the et would be worse lol... a limited slip, slight leaf spring mods, a couple well placed bad shocks and 200lbs off the weight has potential to drop at least a full sec in the eighth... Any gained power will only really help if its put to the ground so id wager that the chassis setup is far more important
THIS is the channel I signed up for. I build fast modern euro cars, and have for 30 years. Believe it or not, I learn MORE from these ‘getting the most from stock stuff’ videos.. It makes you think and get creative
TIRES: Used snow tires will give you 3 bangs for your buck...all the traction that 4.0 needs (they have a softer compound rubber), will save 5-10 # per tire AND will be cheap. WEIGHT can be reduced in the rear leaf springs by cutting the back halves off all but the main spring, and that will also help with weight transfer. Great project Tony we're all having fun with this one!
If the AC works on something I pick up, I keep it on and working. I've only had a handful of vehicles where it worked, usually its trashed, but when its not, it stays.
yep, "4/50 air conditioning" isn't really that amazing. After 2 hrs on the highway at 75mph, it just beats you up. or maybe it's my age :) but Tony once pointed out that when 4/50 was common, few were cruising at 80 mph on the interstates.
Empty that windshield washer fluid resevoir for the track. nearly 8lbs to a gallon. Pull the back seat, I seem to recall it being less than 4 bolts and 5min. It could be back in the Jeep in less time than loading a week of groceries. May be useful..my 92 4.0L loved cheapo Autolite plugs that I side gapped. Had noticeably better throttle response. Port and port match the intake manifold. I made a scoop from aluminum window flashing to go inside the first bay of the grille on the driver side that funnelled up into the factory airbox. It seemed to really like that too.
@@georgewetzel4380Washer fluid is not all water and is less dense than pure water, It is in the 7.5-7.8 pounds per gallon range depending on brand if i remember correctly.
The 96 up 8.25 sure grips are 29 spline trac-lok no cones. TONS of them in pull a part. Find a V6 dakota or Liberty with one. It will be tight as a drum.
I know I've said this a lot, but geez, welcome back, Tony! This is the distilled essence I love and the reason I remembered your name from the 80s car magazines.
Best thing about this whole project, is that all 3 of you are just having fun doing it! People get to wrapped up in the numbers & forget that this stuff is supposed to be fun.
@UncleTonysGarage That XJ has been asspacked. Put the hitch back on it, hook the hitch to big tree and bump the back end back into place. That should "fix" the hatch latch. It'll also pull the rear quarters straight.
What sense does it make to remove petty sway bars, while keeping the air heavy conditioner? Wouldn't it make more sense to remove the horse from a living room than being busy chasing out the flies that the horse attracted, through its droppings, in the first place? If you can't take the heat, why not wait until autumn and then do your stuff?
@@tribble1 Living up here in the snow belt, i can tell you AC really helps quicken the defrost, which can come into play when you do a spring coffee & car show or a "halloween special" cruise night. My 1969 GTO had 1968 side doors since the prior owner was a smoker, and my 68 442 has 'em stock, so i know about those vent windows...they really don't do much if the windows are up and the day is warmer than say, 70 degrees. well, your left hand feels nice, but rest of you on the vinyl seat's getting a little moist if ya know what i mean :) but you're right, it's an aerodymanic issue. the engineers figured it costs less gas to run modern AC and keep the windows up than run 4/70mph.
@@1marcelfilmsright, but you still have the weight in the car. tho today's AC is smaller than the units from the 1970's, if you've ever seen those Hi-C / V8 juice cans :)
Basically, build it as if it's your only vehicle. If you have to daily drive your racecar, it needs to be comfortable, reliable and road legal. As someone who only has their daily driver to play with. I know that you have to be careful about how and what you modify. Especially when you're working with a shoestring budget. Most times it's hard just to keep it on the road. Let alone try to make it faster
Hey Tony, open that diff , most 2wd Cherokee had a posi , may need to shim it tighter if it's not worn out ,And a better set of tires. The injector thing is gonna be issue and here's why , the single hole has its limits, in my experience, the Ford tan top injector is a direct swap and noticable change in torque, the 12 hole is double the torque improvement of the 4 hole .
Groceries up over 48% gas up over 95% in the last three years, insurance has gone up. On a fixed retirement income. Yes pennies matter. I've fixed up some vehicles to sell, profit is minimal, by the time I get tires & brakes, belts & hoses I'm in around $2,000 add in any paint & cleaners. Its expensive just to keep them stock
I love these type of builds! I have a 9 second 2014 Mustang but im currently having a blast with my 97 Ranger that has a 96 Explorer 302 swap. Truck retains EFI, 4r70w trans, A/C, and power everything. Engine is all oem ford parts and so far has been a best of 13.38@103 on the street on my Dragy in good air!
Have you pulled the spare tire out of it? That will save you 35 mounds or so. Will still keep it stock as well. You can remove yhe jack and tire when you get to the track just like you might take your toolbox or whatever else you brought with you out so that you can make the pass.
On the drag car I'm building right now I cleaned a 5 gallon bucket of mouse litter and dirt out of the inside of the frame rails, maybe 4 or 5 pounds bur as you say ,"it adds up". What I'm doing is pretty drastic weight reduction but I took 1500 lbs of 59 Ford to the scrap yard following the advice from you over the years.
UT, You remember the magazine article challenge 12.99 for $1299? That was a good one! It was so long ago, the cheap car they started with was a 383/4 spd Road Runner! I think, living in TN, keeping the AC is required. I think that you set your budget a bit low to include the basic vehicle. 3k added to the vehicle is a more real number for vehicle specific parts. I know you came up when ordering headers got you a box with two flanges, 2 collectors and a bench of primary tube diameter, bent pieces of steel tubing. You bolted the flange to the motor and then cut and tacked pieces of tube until you got to the collector. Repeat 7 more times and you were ready to take them out to weld them up! I know that a lot of young people may not be willing to do that to have a set of headers. I do believe that if we did do that, that substituting plexiglass cut to replace the big side and rear windows, should be fair game. I didn't look for 1600 ounces to lose. I went with 100 places to lose a pound at a time! I won't tell how that mag article turned out right now. How about cutting parts off the Cadillac until it would outrun the VW Bug? That was pretty cool, too! I'll be watching, I always love these builds! Ya'll Take Care, John
I absolutely love this series! I'm with many others on a couple points. Snow tires or wore out mud tires for traction, keep the a/c and LONG LIVE HATCH SLAMMER
I'm not sure how readily snow/ice tires are in your area but here in Canada it's what is needed for winter. But back in the day when I used to run my daily driver and I was cheap then, I'd run winter tires for traction.. softer compound and that. Only problem is driving around with winter tires in hot summer days, they'll wear out really fast.
TONY!!! Explorer axles, pick your ratio, lightens rotational weight with disc brakes. WMS to WMS is close enough. My daily is a 4 door 2wd 5 speed with the exploder axle in it. thing scoots way better than with the stock 3.08s
So would a used air shock on the right rear be out of the question ? Battery to the right rear ? Or Li-ion battery up front ? On the electrical side, new ground side wiring. Tie the Bat (-) to the chassis w #4 welding cable crimped and soldered in a Y to the ECU mount and the alternator mount. Both need to see absolute ground w/o years of crevice corrosion. Then start playing with the ECU and the tune 😁 So back in the day, we used Atlas Plycron tires to hook on the street. OK, they don't sell them any more, but I'm thinking there may be a chart of durometer readings for modern tires that will lead to the best hook on street tires ... 😇
Get yourself an inexpensive durometer (tool) for use while trying to find suitable tires. Useful for other jobs too. HUGE differences in rubber compounds.
Some cheap Walmart Douglas tires seem to have a softer compound that you may benefit from. Is alternating the air box, and a basic port and polish on the head and intake within the rules? I’d say leave the spare tire and jack to help with weight on the rear end. Worn out front shocks, but run a single air shock on the rear? I’m trying to think original equipment, and keep wandering back to aftermarket. Ya! This is going to be challenging! Can’t wait to see what come out of your bag of tricks! Where’s Uncle Crystal been? Just dawned on me, we haven’t seen her in a while.
I had some cheap fullway tires off Amazon that were pretty soft and had quite a bit of grip for my Regal. Not much price difference from Douglas. I broke some Douglas tires before
My daughter is taking her Jetta to our local 1/4 next weekend. It will be her first time down the track. We are both watching these videos for entertainment and to learn a few things. Can't wait to see how it does.
In Walton County in GA., emissions inspection is something we chuckle about as we pull all the emissions crap off the car. Move to another county, you'll hope you saved the parts but here, we're hot rod heaven. 😀
this is a fun little experiment can't wait to see where this goes and yeah on the throw the keys to anyone thing working ac in the summer and working defrost in the winter is a kind of nice thing was fun watching that hatch swing open on the shifts but yeah broken glass is not a fun time and probably less so at a track love the idea of for those playing along at home
Hatch latch is super easy .. bungee cord to a seat bracket from inside. Easy peasy. I got a question about xj's...do they run a pinion snubber? If so you already know where im going with this even if it's officially just a bump stop...block it out with longer bolts and some 2x2 box tubing and bam...axle wrap eliminated. Check and fix pinon angle while at it. Preload the rh side spring somehow, maybe even old school air shocks. Correct pinion angle, limit axle wrap up and preload rh side spring at those 180ish hp at the wheels will launch straight and true and you know it will stick! Love this stuff Tony you know the deal
Try Vitour Galaxy tires there supposed to be 400 treadwear and grip good that's what I'm planning on for my cutlass with 509 to the crank. Cooper Cobra's bite good on my 97 silverado with open diff, slightly bigger comp cam and modified heads and black bear performance tune
Find some used M/T tires. They are inexpensive. The compound is much softer than an A/t. And the ground contact at the correct pressure is equivalent to an a/t. The softer compound will help with the traction. Best option you seem to have with a budget in mind.
Someone mentioned in the last video about over voltage from the alternator maybe causing a problem with the computer. If that’s the case, or even suspected, would putting an under drive pulley on it help? Just a thought
You have asked what is half welding of the diff. Everyone calls it differently. Welding between a couple of gear teeth on each side gear. So the diff still has some freedom but locks if one side spins significantly more than the other.
That would still act like a welded diff. The spider gears need to rotate around for it to act like a diff. Welding just a couple of teeth would basically just turn it into an unpredictable welded diff. Sometimes would lock when you turn and sometimes might not depending on where the welded teeth end up. Not exactly friendly if the idea is unfamiliar people could drive it in the rain.
those axles are everywhere but watch the ratio you want to have cuz the carrier is different! i ended up with a trac-lok from a dakota the exact right gear that i already bought
Tony, I would swap all rear and side glass for tinted lexan, remove the rear seat, remove carpeting. Also, put spacers in the hood hinges. Cherokees have terrible underhood aerodynamics. You could also swap to manual steering of course and also run on battery only at the track (no alternator drag). I would also gut the rear hatch as they are heavy. Removing the exterior waistline trim would shed a few pounds. Too bad you are limiting engine mods, the '99 and newer intake and exhaust breathes a lot better. Have fun!!
Lose the front sway bar like you was saying mabey some air shocks in the back and clamp the rear leafs. Mabey a little lower tire pressure in the rear. Stuff im sure youve thought of. Love your channel!
Remove the bumpers , roof lining front hood doesn’t need its framing does it so what if you have to pin it down . Grill is just weight. Remove all sound deadening.
If you can't find a sure grip, if you know someone with a metal lathe get bronze thrust plates machined up to fit between the spider/ planetary gears and the crown gear housing, it will behave as like a LS diff under full power.
Tony, a suggestion for tires, I recently had to buy 2 sets of tries for of course 2 different cars. The late model SUV got B F Goodrich Assurance4 and they hit the wallet pretty good. The second car (08 chevy w/3.9 multi port, strong, very strong) I bought Kelly's and I am really impressed with them, for a budgets tire I wish I had bought them for the SUV too now.
I don’t believe you mentioned it, but is an optional junkyard sourced ring and pinion an option, to go along with the SG? I’m fine to stay with the AC, but what about the power steering and brakes.
Jeep must of had the ac figured out back then. My 05 wrangler had never been recharged or had any ac work done to it for 300k miles and still blew ice cold for 18 years
Tony look into an Explorer rear…it’s a 8.8 31 spline and come in ratios from low 3`s to 411`s and I was told they are bolt in…I bought one for my sons car 373 posi 31 spline rear disc brakes we did the left tube shorten for $200. the older ones have drum
Good stuff Unk!!! So better weight transfer, fresh rubber (max option size ), a bit more tire pressure to handle the extra weight, and maybe some worn shocks....I'd try a run without the posi just to see
back in the late 80's early 90's we used go to Riverhead raceway and get the throw away tires and put a set of them on the street cars to go to the track. IS there anywhere like that by you or is it all dirt track?
Is there any options to alter the gear ratio of the rear end specifically for drag racing or even transmission ratios low down . Smaller diameter tires might be a bit better too
Tony the internet says 1996 Laredo had the Sure grip so it was an option in that year. Too bad you cant SWAP rear ends with your Jeep which has the sure grip in it to save money and both Jeeps would still be usable (I know that is not possible with your "Exercise" guidelines... Love your approach and hopefully you will be able to shed the excess weight without ditching the AC (it would be an easy way to lose 60# so your treading the hard road less traveled). Keep up the good fun, we all need a laugh and something to root for... GO UTG! Its good to see you collaborate with others too to dispel the notion your a lone wolf.
I’m curious about this because I have a 2001 tj with 300k on the old 3 speed with torque converter lock up, still strong and thinking about going 4.6l stroker with it when it gets tired. But I’d like to try everything else possible first to drag a few more horses out. I’ve installed 4.56 Yukon gears front and rear on a D35 with Detroit helical posi in the rear with c-clip eliminators and disc conversion (super 35) and an Eaton e-locker up front on a D30 sleeved and trussed with ball cv and disc conversion . A lot of people smack talk these axles, but you can build anything if you’re willing to dive deep.
i was going to say sense you can tune the ecu/pcm/engine control module. id be very tempted to get a ecotec m90 gen 3 pefereable supercharger and maybe the injectors from a wrecking yard .maybe map sensor to and just plumb it up to jeep.it would be a good experiment for the tow XJ. build the hybrid kit on this car and converter it over to the tow car. run standard boost
Should call that jeep "The Hatch Slammer". It will kinda match up with Slag Hammer lol
Especially considering when he launches it, the hatch pops open swings back and slams back down. Lol
It's a perfect name for the project! Uncle Tony! C'mon, man! Hatch slammer is it! Do it. Do it. Do it.
Hag slammer
Reminds me so much of my youth in the late sixties. Fridays at a 1/5th outlaw track was more of a social gathering than true racing. I had to save up for weeks to buy a hurst shifter for my 67 mustang, because the ford stock shifter sucked big time. For me it meant I could finally shift hard. Just a little thing like that made me happy and made for a good time. More friends getting together, having a good time, and staying out of trouble.
Love this series on the XJ Tony. It takes me back to the late 80's with my fox body mustang when like you I had very little money to spend on speed equipment. So I spent time working on the suspension. I removed the sway bars, removed the front lower control arms, ground the serrations on the inner bushing sleeve add a thin shim washer each side of the control arm and added a small amount of grease. You could rise the control all the to the top of it's travel with one finger and when you let go of it, it fell like a stone to the bottom of it's travel.
I did the same with the rear suspension link bars and straight away there was an improvement in the 60 foot times.
I can't wait to see the final results.
Good comfort call on the A/C, Tony. Save the delete kit for another car, but liberate the spare tire, roof rubber, wheel fairings, bumper ends and side door rubbers to compensate. A rubber plug will replace the rear deck lid wiper and sans tunes, ostensibly a radio and speaker delete, too. Rock on.
"Anyone playing along at home..." I like that :) This is the complete opposite of those cable TV shows where you come back from commercial and they've bolted on $4,500 worth of cylinder heads, installed a new $9,500 supercharger and put in their new custom rear end they had built for them. I hate that. Totally unrelatable. I'm more impressed by what a poor mechanic can do than a rich one.
Exactly. Or any show, renovation$, etc.
Well said!!👍
Always informative and entertaining as usual. Good on ya man.
You don't like the "garage shows" with the 250million pro-shop, Mopar backed heavy sponsorship, product endorsements, throwing 50k at a clapped out car in 20 minutes and a behind the scenes crew of 20+ mechanics that does the actual work, as the hosts drink beer and call out small UA-cam channels??? Well, Sir. I guess. 🤣😂🤣😂
That exactly why this thing needs an explorer 8.8 it’s a less than $200 upgrade, way stronger axle, adds disc brakes and posi and can be found in the junkyards with 3:55 3:73 and 4:10 gears. Same wheel bolt pattern
I'm not watching this because I don't think you can do it, or because I do think you can do it, I'm watching for the fun of the challenge. Nobody knows exactly how you may or may not get there, but there will be a lot to discover, and fun had. That's really what I think the heart of this challenge is.
You nailed it!
If I have the numbers right and I think I do, the new program that Doc writes will do most of the leg work. I'm not throwing shade I just know how much can be done with a good tune. But of course you need a person in the seat that knows how to drive it. It'll be an interesting project
I'm honestly surprised they didn't just do the ecm whatever, delete some of the extras, swap a deeper gear LSD rear in it and spray a 100 shit at it and call it budget. That's been the recipe for the magazines since ... Well... 1996.
Little bit of a cool suggestion. Once this car reaches it s final form. Since it is a RockAuto source build. Can you do a cool little magnet like they have?
@@jseal21the tune will do most if not all of the leg work power gain wise for sure but that wheel spin and less than ideal suspension is... A really big deal. Add 50 HP without addressing the traction and weight transfer I bet the et would be worse lol... a limited slip, slight leaf spring mods, a couple well placed bad shocks and 200lbs off the weight has potential to drop at least a full sec in the eighth... Any gained power will only really help if its put to the ground so id wager that the chassis setup is far more important
THIS is the channel I signed up for. I build fast modern euro cars, and have for 30 years. Believe it or not, I learn MORE from these ‘getting the most from stock stuff’ videos.. It makes you think and get creative
Okay so...
If you need 400lbft and you have oem turbo capacity of moving air worth of 300lbft or torque.
You still need to buy bigger Turbo.
@@yehornaumov5893 and?
TIRES: Used snow tires will give you 3 bangs for your buck...all the traction that 4.0 needs (they have a softer compound rubber), will save 5-10 # per tire AND will be cheap. WEIGHT can be reduced in the rear leaf springs by cutting the back halves off all but the main spring, and that will also help with weight transfer. Great project Tony we're all having fun with this one!
Keep the AC! 60lbs is worth the comfort.
If the AC works on something I pick up, I keep it on and working. I've only had a handful of vehicles where it worked, usually its trashed, but when its not, it stays.
yep, "4/50 air conditioning" isn't really that amazing. After 2 hrs on the highway at 75mph, it just beats you up. or maybe it's my age :) but Tony once pointed out that when 4/50 was common, few were cruising at 80 mph on the interstates.
Empty that windshield washer fluid resevoir for the track. nearly 8lbs to a gallon. Pull the back seat, I seem to recall it being less than 4 bolts and 5min. It could be back in the Jeep in less time than loading a week of groceries.
May be useful..my 92 4.0L loved cheapo Autolite plugs that I side gapped. Had noticeably better throttle response. Port and port match the intake manifold.
I made a scoop from aluminum window flashing to go inside the first bay of the grille on the driver side that funnelled up into the factory airbox. It seemed to really like that too.
Lots of little things can add up to a big gain
Excellent suggestions! Thank you
Water at standard temperature and pressure is 8.34 lb/gal.
I wouldnt consider consumables to be incuded in the budget (tires, belts, fluids…etc)
@@georgewetzel4380Washer fluid is not all water and is less dense than pure water, It is in the 7.5-7.8 pounds per gallon range depending on brand if i remember correctly.
I like the cool fox body trick with the hatch popping open 😂
I am glad you are keeping the air - it ain't broke...
Try getting a power washer in the the holes in the unibody. How much dirt is packed in there?
That's a good one. Move to the head of the class.
We don't always see eye to eye, Tony but I am glad you got this project back. Hot rodding like it used to be...
I guess if the AC wasn’t working you wouldn’t have a problem removing it. I like how Uncle Tony does these experiments to accomplish specific goals!
The 96 up 8.25 sure grips are 29 spline trac-lok no cones. TONS of them in pull a part. Find a V6 dakota or Liberty with one. It will be tight as a drum.
Ya, I thought those were 29 spline... if it were that easy to sure-grip my '71 8 1/4" for cheap, I'd be at PickNPull now 😅
Please do a remote at the pick n pull when you got to get that 8-1/4" Sure-Grip!
I'm really glad you decided to keep the ac.
I was really sweating that one.
I know I've said this a lot, but geez, welcome back, Tony! This is the distilled essence I love and the reason I remembered your name from the 80s car magazines.
Enough talk. You've said it all ten times. Let's go!!!
Best thing about this whole project, is that all 3 of you are just having fun doing it!
People get to wrapped up in the numbers & forget that this stuff is supposed to be fun.
@UncleTonysGarage That XJ has been asspacked. Put the hitch back on it, hook the hitch to big tree and bump the back end back into place. That should "fix" the hatch latch. It'll also pull the rear quarters straight.
It's a happy little jeep
2:06 just pull the back seat. And maybe the spare tire?
I second the name Hatch Slammer😀
nice!
No inspections her in Alabama either, thank goodness
@Uncle Tony's Garage
-Take out the carpet sound padding, put carpet back.
What sense does it make to remove petty sway bars, while keeping the air heavy conditioner? Wouldn't it make more sense to remove the horse from a living room than being busy chasing out the flies that the horse attracted, through its droppings, in the first place?
If you can't take the heat, why not wait until autumn and then do your stuff?
If you take functioning air conditioning out of that jeep I'll never forgive you.
ain't it funny how as kids, we couldn't imagine losing 20 hp to AC...and now we're glad to not sweat, since its only 15hp price to pay? :)
@@alertgasper when cars lost the A pillar smoker's window AC became mandatory no matter how much HP it costs.
@@tribble1 Living up here in the snow belt, i can tell you AC really helps quicken the defrost, which can come into play when you do a spring coffee & car show or a "halloween special" cruise night. My 1969 GTO had 1968 side doors since the prior owner was a smoker, and my 68 442 has 'em stock, so i know about those vent windows...they really don't do much if the windows are up and the day is warmer than say, 70 degrees. well, your left hand feels nice, but rest of you on the vinyl seat's getting a little moist if ya know what i mean :)
but you're right, it's an aerodymanic issue. the engineers figured it costs less gas to run modern AC and keep the windows up than run 4/70mph.
@@alertgasper just turn it off if you are racing.
@@1marcelfilmsright, but you still have the weight in the car. tho today's AC is smaller than the units from the 1970's, if you've ever seen those Hi-C / V8 juice cans :)
Basically, build it as if it's your only vehicle. If you have to daily drive your racecar, it needs to be comfortable, reliable and road legal. As someone who only has their daily driver to play with. I know that you have to be careful about how and what you modify. Especially when you're working with a shoestring budget. Most times it's hard just to keep it on the road. Let alone try to make it faster
Exactly
Hey Tony, open that diff , most 2wd Cherokee had a posi , may need to shim it tighter if it's not worn out ,And a better set of tires.
The injector thing is gonna be issue and here's why , the single hole has its limits, in my experience, the Ford tan top injector is a direct swap and noticable change in torque, the 12 hole is double the torque improvement of the 4 hole .
Friction modifier?
Groceries up over 48% gas up over 95% in the last three years, insurance has gone up. On a fixed retirement income. Yes pennies matter. I've fixed up some vehicles to sell, profit is minimal, by the time I get tires & brakes, belts & hoses I'm in around $2,000 add in any paint & cleaners. Its expensive just to keep them stock
new rule- you're only allowed to explain the rules ONCE per video from now on 😂
Ditto
Sometimes Uncle Tony's needle gets stuck, over & over & over & over..... LMAO!
I love these type of builds! I have a 9 second 2014 Mustang but im currently having a blast with my 97 Ranger that has a 96 Explorer 302 swap. Truck retains EFI, 4r70w trans, A/C, and power everything. Engine is all oem ford parts and so far has been a best of 13.38@103 on the street on my Dragy in good air!
Keep the a/c it's Tennessee its a tight budget tires and rear end will eat up a few bucks
I'm loving this series, I have the grandfather of the xj, an AMC eagle, and seeing what can be done with stock replacement parts it really cool
Have you pulled the spare tire out of it? That will save you 35 mounds or so. Will still keep it stock as well. You can remove yhe jack and tire when you get to the track just like you might take your toolbox or whatever else you brought with you out so that you can make the pass.
Rear seat on my XJ pulls out in two pieces for cargo. Just set it up for the tail gate and put it back in when you drive home.
I was really hoping you'd keep the A/C. The spirit of the vehicle includes A/C. Thumbs up
I like what your doing with the jeep
On the drag car I'm building right now I cleaned a 5 gallon bucket of mouse litter and dirt out of the inside of the frame rails, maybe 4 or 5 pounds bur as you say ,"it adds up". What I'm doing is pretty drastic weight reduction but I took 1500 lbs of 59 Ford to the scrap yard following the advice from you over the years.
I am going to keep a eye on on this
Keep the A/C
UT, You remember the magazine article challenge 12.99 for $1299?
That was a good one! It was so long ago, the cheap car they started with was a 383/4 spd Road Runner!
I think, living in TN, keeping the AC is required. I think that you set your budget a bit low to include the basic vehicle. 3k added to the vehicle is a more real number for vehicle specific parts. I know you came up when ordering headers got you a box with two flanges, 2 collectors and a bench of primary tube diameter, bent pieces of steel tubing. You bolted the flange to the motor and then cut and tacked pieces of tube until you got to the collector. Repeat 7 more times and you were ready to take them out to weld them up!
I know that a lot of young people may not be willing to do that to have a set of headers. I do believe that if we did do that, that substituting plexiglass cut to replace the big side and rear windows, should be fair game. I didn't look for 1600 ounces to lose. I went with 100 places to lose a pound at a time!
I won't tell how that mag article turned out right now. How about cutting parts off the Cadillac until it would outrun the VW Bug? That was pretty cool, too!
I'll be watching, I always love these builds! Ya'll Take Care, John
I absolutely love this series! I'm with many others on a couple points. Snow tires or wore out mud tires for traction, keep the a/c and LONG LIVE HATCH SLAMMER
If the AC works keep it...if it fails ditch it...
If you do ditch the a/c for the idler pulley swiss cheese the mounting bracket
Thanks
COOP
...
I'm not sure how readily snow/ice tires are in your area but here in Canada it's what is needed for winter.
But back in the day when I used to run my daily driver and I was cheap then, I'd run winter tires for traction.. softer compound and that.
Only problem is driving around with winter tires in hot summer days, they'll wear out really fast.
I was thinking the same thing, but bolt them on when he arrives at the strip. Nothing was said about having an extra pair of tires to bring.
@@theclubhouse1209 excatly..
TONY!!! Explorer axles, pick your ratio, lightens rotational weight with disc brakes. WMS to WMS is close enough. My daily is a 4 door 2wd 5 speed with the exploder axle in it. thing scoots way better than with the stock 3.08s
What about getting to of the overload springs and possibly 1-2 leaves but only behind the axle leave the front of the leaves alone for stiffness
Rid of not to of
So would a used air shock on the right rear be out of the question ? Battery to the right rear ? Or Li-ion battery up front ?
On the electrical side, new ground side wiring. Tie the Bat (-) to the chassis w #4 welding cable crimped and soldered in a Y to the ECU mount and the alternator mount. Both need to see absolute ground w/o years of crevice corrosion. Then start playing with the ECU and the tune 😁
So back in the day, we used Atlas Plycron tires to hook on the street. OK, they don't sell them any more, but I'm thinking there may be a chart of durometer readings for modern tires that will lead to the best hook on street tires ... 😇
Get yourself an inexpensive durometer (tool) for use while trying to find suitable tires.
Useful for other jobs too.
HUGE differences in rubber compounds.
there has to be 1 second in turtrac/eatons locker or even welded diff. or even a basic lsd i dont know what parts you can get though
Try an air bag inside the right rear spring. Add air pressure until you achieve a twin-peel burnout.
Also cheap as chips thrush welded mufflers sound great on there. A free flowing exhaust really helps
Some cheap Walmart Douglas tires seem to have a softer compound that you may benefit from. Is alternating the air box, and a basic port and polish on the head and intake within the rules? I’d say leave the spare tire and jack to help with weight on the rear end. Worn out front shocks, but run a single air shock on the rear? I’m trying to think original equipment, and keep wandering back to aftermarket. Ya! This is going to be challenging! Can’t wait to see what come out of your bag of tricks! Where’s Uncle Crystal been? Just dawned on me, we haven’t seen her in a while.
I had some cheap fullway tires off Amazon that were pretty soft and had quite a bit of grip for my Regal. Not much price difference from Douglas. I broke some Douglas tires before
Tony did they ever make a hotter factory cam? It sucks you can't use the 2000 head. It supposedly flows alot better
My daughter is taking her Jetta to our local 1/4 next weekend. It will be her first time down the track. We are both watching these videos for entertainment and to learn a few things. Can't wait to see how it does.
Tony, can you do a video on EGR, when to keep versus delete, and how to do so properly?
Keep the A/C. Good plan
Leave the A/C alone!
In Walton County in GA., emissions inspection is something we chuckle about as we pull all the emissions crap off the car. Move to another county, you'll hope you saved the parts but here, we're hot rod heaven. 😀
5:52 firestone destination tires are awsome! they last me 79k miles and are great inthe snow!
There are no inspections in Oklahoma, either. There is a traffic citation for modified exhaust, but they only use it to harass you for something else.
this is a fun little experiment can't wait to see where this goes and yeah on the throw the keys to anyone thing working ac in the summer and working defrost in the winter is a kind of nice thing was fun watching that hatch swing open on the shifts but yeah broken glass is not a fun time and probably less so at a track love the idea of for those playing along at home
Hatch latch is super easy .. bungee cord to a seat bracket from inside. Easy peasy.
I got a question about xj's...do they run a pinion snubber? If so you already know where im going with this even if it's officially just a bump stop...block it out with longer bolts and some 2x2 box tubing and bam...axle wrap eliminated. Check and fix pinon angle while at it. Preload the rh side spring somehow, maybe even old school air shocks. Correct pinion angle, limit axle wrap up and preload rh side spring at those 180ish hp at the wheels will launch straight and true and you know it will stick!
Love this stuff Tony you know the deal
Awesome project Tony!!!❤
Try Vitour Galaxy tires there supposed to be 400 treadwear and grip good that's what I'm planning on for my cutlass with 509 to the crank. Cooper Cobra's bite good on my 97 silverado with open diff, slightly bigger comp cam and modified heads and black bear performance tune
Pure hot rod fun and shiny too!😎
Find some used M/T tires. They are inexpensive. The compound is much softer than an A/t. And the ground contact at the correct pressure is equivalent to an a/t. The softer compound will help with the traction. Best option you seem to have with a budget in mind.
good call on the AC
I agree, keep the A/C!!!
Someone mentioned in the last video about over voltage from the alternator maybe causing a problem with the computer. If that’s the case, or even suspected, would putting an under drive pulley on it help? Just a thought
Underdrive pulley not year/make/model specific
You will be glad you kept the air I had an xj and you can't get those things to ventilate I about lost it every summer in Ohio with no air
Sounds like it is all done, enjoy.
You have asked what is half welding of the diff. Everyone calls it differently. Welding between a couple of gear teeth on each side gear. So the diff still has some freedom but locks if one side spins significantly more than the other.
That would still act like a welded diff. The spider gears need to rotate around for it to act like a diff. Welding just a couple of teeth would basically just turn it into an unpredictable welded diff. Sometimes would lock when you turn and sometimes might not depending on where the welded teeth end up.
Not exactly friendly if the idea is unfamiliar people could drive it in the rain.
@@NBSV1 I got used to it pretty quickly. Not saying it's the greatest thing but it gets the job done.
I drove my older sister's WJ, it handled like a boat with a sway bar! I test drove a 1996 Discovery, flat as sports car.
those axles are everywhere but watch the ratio you want to have cuz the carrier is different! i ended up with a trac-lok from a dakota the exact right gear that i already bought
Tonys not gonna sleep tonight thinking about this jeep lol
Tony, I would swap all rear and side glass for tinted lexan, remove the rear seat, remove carpeting. Also, put spacers in the hood hinges. Cherokees have terrible underhood aerodynamics. You could also swap to manual steering of course and also run on battery only at the track (no alternator drag). I would also gut the rear hatch as they are heavy. Removing the exterior waistline trim would shed a few pounds. Too bad you are limiting engine mods, the '99 and newer intake and exhaust breathes a lot better. Have fun!!
Lose the front sway bar like you was saying mabey some air shocks in the back and clamp the rear leafs. Mabey a little lower tire pressure in the rear. Stuff im sure youve thought of. Love your channel!
Remove the bumpers , roof lining front hood doesn’t need its framing does it so what if you have to pin it down . Grill is just weight. Remove all sound deadening.
If you can't find a sure grip, if you know someone with a metal lathe get bronze thrust plates machined up to fit between the spider/ planetary gears and the crown gear housing, it will behave as like a LS diff under full power.
Tony, a suggestion for tires, I recently had to buy 2 sets of tries for of course 2 different cars. The late model SUV got B F Goodrich Assurance4 and they hit the wallet pretty good. The second car (08 chevy w/3.9 multi port, strong, very strong) I bought Kelly's and I am really impressed with them, for a budgets tire I wish I had bought them for the SUV too now.
I don’t believe you mentioned it, but is an optional junkyard sourced ring and pinion an option, to go along with the SG? I’m fine to stay with the AC, but what about the power steering and brakes.
Jeep must of had the ac figured out back then. My 05 wrangler had never been recharged or had any ac work done to it for 300k miles and still blew ice cold for 18 years
Tony look into an Explorer rear…it’s a 8.8 31 spline and come in ratios from low 3`s to 411`s and I was told they are bolt in…I bought one for my sons car 373 posi 31 spline rear disc brakes we did the left tube shorten for $200. the older ones have drum
That hatch popping open is good for weight transfer
Regarding the cyl head, intake..polish everything. Word..❤
Good stuff Unk!!! So better weight transfer, fresh rubber (max option size ), a bit more tire pressure to handle the extra weight, and maybe some worn shocks....I'd try a run without the posi just to see
back in the late 80's early 90's we used go to Riverhead raceway and get the throw away tires and put a set of them on the street cars to go to the track. IS there anywhere like that by you or is it all dirt track?
I'm thinking the rear hatch coming open on launch is a traction aid. Like a pendulum throwing weight rearward for tire bite. It could happen, right?
You want cheap traction...use unstudded snow tires!
I'm still loving Kiwis launch technique!
Is there any options to alter the gear ratio of the rear end specifically for drag racing or even transmission ratios low down . Smaller diameter tires might be a bit better too
Tony the internet says 1996 Laredo had the Sure grip so it was an option in that year. Too bad you cant SWAP rear ends with your Jeep which has the sure grip in it to save money and both Jeeps would still be usable (I know that is not possible with your "Exercise" guidelines... Love your approach and hopefully you will be able to shed the excess weight without ditching the AC (it would be an easy way to lose 60# so your treading the hard road less traveled). Keep up the good fun, we all need a laugh and something to root for... GO UTG! Its good to see you collaborate with others too to dispel the notion your a lone wolf.
I am really digging this project. I just might have to challenge myself to something like this
I’m curious about this because I have a 2001 tj with 300k on the old 3 speed with torque converter lock up, still strong and thinking about going 4.6l stroker with it when it gets tired. But I’d like to try everything else possible first to drag a few more horses out.
I’ve installed 4.56 Yukon gears front and rear on a D35 with Detroit helical posi in the rear with c-clip eliminators and disc conversion (super 35) and an Eaton e-locker up front on a D30 sleeved and trussed with ball cv and disc conversion .
A lot of people smack talk these axles, but you can build anything if you’re willing to dive deep.
Tony you used to live in the Northeast, Remember Abrasive Snow / Ice Tires, Nice soft rubber !
i was going to say sense you can tune the ecu/pcm/engine control module. id be very tempted to get a ecotec m90 gen 3 pefereable supercharger and maybe the injectors from a wrecking yard .maybe map sensor to and just plumb it up to jeep.it would be a good experiment for the tow XJ. build the hybrid kit on this car and converter it over to the tow car. run standard boost
Gut the radio or find a radio delete panel and use your phone and blue tooth speaker for tunes on the way to the track
Could you use the air locker out of a Rubicon for that differential? Dana 44 in those that same year..