Hunt's Debadged RME TJ

Owners Name & City- Hunt, Carmel , NY

Make, Model & Year of Vehicle- Jeep, TJ 1997

Engine- 2003 5.3L LM7 from a truck, LS1 Oil Pan, ECU re-flashed for 325 HP and 375 Ft lbs of torque, Sanderson Headers with 2.5” collectors and 3” exhaust with Magnaflow muffler, Aluminum radiator with 2 speed Taurus electric fan,

Transmission- TH 350 (recently rebuilt and resealed!) with full manual valve body & engine brake, Summit Racing 12” 2000 RPM stall converter, Art Carr shifter, Spal transmission cool, Advanced Adaptors, deep extra capacity aluminum transmission pan,

T-Case- Advanced AdaptorsAtlas II with 4.3 to 1 ratio, 32 spline outputs front and rear, Roark Fab Atlas mount

Axles- Rear- Dana 60 with 40 spline Mark Williams 1.75” shafts, 5.13 gears, spool and disc brakes, Tera HD diff. cover, Width=62”, 1.5” spacers at both wheels, TeraFlex axle bridge truss,
Front- Tera CRD60, Dodge Kingpin Knuckles with chromo shafts, 5.13 gears, ARB locker, 35 spline outers(not chromo) and Warn Premium hubs, crane diff cover, Width=64”, Full hydraulic steering with single-ended ram, PCS pump and Appleton power steering cooler/reservoir/filter, 83” wide from the outside of the tire to the outside of the tire,


Suspension- TeraFlex longarm LCG for an Unlimited Wrangler, Rear coil buckets have been moved back 11”, wheel base is 104”, 3” of suspension lift, 1” body lift under the tub but not under the radiator shell, TeraFlex Dual Rate S/T swaybar, BTF coil mounting kit, Custom from 3 link with the upper link built using lower components, TeraFlex Belly-Up 1/4” t-case skid plate,

Wheels and Tires- 17”x9” Cragar Soft 8 steel black wheels, 5 total, 3” back spacing, 6 on 5.5 lug pattern, Staun internal beadlocks @ 30 psi, 40x13.5x17 Maxxis Creepy Crawlers DOT compound running 6 psi rear and 8 psi in the front,

Winch- Warn M8000

Body Modifications and Protection- BTF Crusher Corner Comp Cut rear quarter panels with LED rear brake lights, BTF Rocker Protection, Highline hood, Ben Hank’s Racing custom front fender raised for more tire clearance, Custom Ben Hank’s Racing roll cage tied to the frame in 6 places, BTF front bumper with d-rings, BTF winch plate,

Favorite Trails- Hell’s Revenge and Hell’s Gate Moab, UT

Other-Summit Machine aluminum fairlead (I need to get a synthetic rope or switch to a roller fairlead), Orbial battery, Corbeau Ultra SS seats tied to the roll cage, RCI seat harnesses, Custom 15 gallon fuel cell behind the rear seat built by Ben at Alliance Metal Works in SLC with a Napa P5000 pump, Bestop Super Top with soft doors, Bestop Bikini Top, AutoMeter white face Hotrod style gauges,

 

[Hunt]

I am going to be competing in a local Werock style event on the 22nd so I have been prepping for the event. Here are a few poser shots of the Jeep at its fighting weight. I think it looks pretty good striped down. I should have my 40 spline ARB from in the next few weeks. I don’t think I will have it in in time for the event. I have the air line run and the switch installed so all I have to do is install the gears and locker. Also I have decided to go ahead with plans to supercharge the 5.3 this winter.

 

[LT.]

Nice! The jeep has come a long way since you have owned it. Good luck at the comp.

LT.

 

[Hunt]

Nice! The jeep has come a long way since you have owned it. Good luck at the comp.

LT.

Thanks LT.


I took the Jeep over to Jannetty Racing in Waterbury, CT Saturday to get the baseline dyno numbers. Ted’s shop was very impressive and I am going to enjoy doing business with him in the future. We ran the Jeep on the dyno exactly how it would be out on the trail. Same tires, tire pressure (7psi), etc to try and get as realistic and repeatable numbers as possible. The only prep I did was change the engine oil and clean the air filter. We did 3 pulls and Ted’s comment was that it was very consistent. Base numbers were 131.8 Hp and 184.9 lb-ft peak numbers. The temperature was about 80*F and humidity was somewhere around 75%. From what I have read it is not uncommon that in a four wheel drive with the big tires you will see 40-60% difference at the wheels as compared to the flywheel dyno numbers. Mine is down right at 55% from the factory rated 285 hp.

The engine sounds good at 5000 rpm. I am a little disappointed the engine tone didn’t turn out on the video but I had a huge fan right at my back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVznSjR7UOo

 

[I Lean]

Keep the updates coming! I'm looking forward to seeing how you do in the competition, and I'm looking forward to seeing the supercharger too.

 

[waynehartwig]

Keep the updates coming! I'm looking forward to seeing how you do in the competition, and I'm looking forward to seeing the supercharger too.

Ditto! Get that supercharger on there.. I've really been thinking about it, too

 

[Hunt]

The supercharger is going to be my winter project so progress is going to be a little so for the time being. I’m still gathering a few odds and ends for it. The new injectors were waiting for me a Ted’s. I need to get another O2 sensor bung and weld it in to use during the tuning. There are brackets to build for the intercooler core, pump and reservoir. And I still need to do a little research on a fuel pump. I will be sure to keep everyone updated as things progress.

The comp is looking like it is going to be a wet weekend. That hurricane is working its way up here. I emailed the comp director and he said the show will go on as long as there is no lighting. It’s about a 3.5 hour haul to the park and I didn’t want to show up just to learn they had cancelled it. My buddy with the class 4 rig bailed on me. I am a little pissed about that. He is the one that did all the instigating to get me to enter this train wreck.

 

[Hunt]

The weather held off for us. It was gray and dark skys all day and the rain came in Saturday evening as we where all sitting around camp enjoying cold adult beverages.

A couple lessons learned;

The cutting brakes were acting up on me. When I would press the foot brake and then pull the hand brake it would lock that caliper. I think I have it figured out. When I did the Dodge 1 ton master cylinder upgrade I had to make an extended rod for the plunger. I don’t think I had it adjusted correctly with enough throw to overcome the added pressure and return the valve to neutral. I played with it last night and I could not get the brakes to lock up again after the adjustment. I think it was a combination of the added pressure of the comp, both with me working the system harder and the nerves so I was stabbing the brakes harder and the miss adjusted plunger rod.

The Jeep did not want to steer on the concrete course. The steering wheel got very tight and I could barely turn it. If I was rolling it steered okay, but if I was standing still the wheels would not move.

I didn’t get the rear ARB installed in time for the comp. Having the rear spooled really hampered me on the tight turns on the concrete courses.

If I am going to continue to compete I need to go to a comp compound tire. Everyone else was running stickies.

My spotter could have been a little more aggressive. Both of us had never done a comp and he was very concerned with rolling or scratching my Jeep. I told him I was not worried about it and would in no way be mad at him if something bad happened. I think he was still concerned about it the whole time. He is a great guy and I appreciated the thought.

In the end I finished 7th out of 9. I didn’t roll it and I had a lot of fun. I was just pleased I was not last. The competition went very well from a learning standpoint. When we did the initial course walk through there where a few climbs that I was worried about. Once on the course the climbs didn’t even faze me. I enjoyed the comp from the aspect that it got me out of my comfort zone. I was able to put my own and the Jeeps ability and really learn what this thing is capable of doing.

The first two courses where on concrete. The third was on natural rock. The first course is brand new gummite sprayed about a week before the comp. I think I was about the third or fourth person so even drive on it. I was the second person in the comp so at least I got to watch one person’s lines. The second course we got hung up on one of the front tow point and killed a lot of time. The rock course was fun and we went for the bonus line.

Here are a few pictures.

 

[Hunt]

There hasn’t a lot of work on the jeep since the comp weekend but I have been gathering lots of parts.

My ARB came in from Tim at Wild West. It is an awesome piece. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy knowing I have a truly custom 40 spline air locker. I’ve got a set of Yukon 5.13 gears and a master rebuild/install kit that will all go in together.

I think I have everything except the upper pulley to do the supercharger install. Trying to get a pulley out of Magnacharger has been like trying to get blood out of a stone. I found a high pressure/ high volume fuel pump to go in the fuel cell. It should be a pretty straight forward install. I still need to build some brackets and a few odd ball things.

Clayton Walters of Clayton’s Offroad invited me to his personal event next month. He invites about 20 rigs to his property. I felt pretty special to get the invite.

That’s about all the updates for now.

 

[LT.]

I think I saw a picture of your jeep in Off Road magazine the other day.

LT.

 

[Hunt]

I think I saw a picture of your jeep in Off Road magazine the other day.

LT.

Cool!?!? Do you happen to remember what month the issue was? Was it at an event or trail ride pictures?

 

[LT.]

Cool!?!? Do you happen to remember what month the issue was? Was it at an event or trail ride pictures?

I think it was a readers rides or something like that. It was the latest issue of Off Road.

LT.

 

[Hunt]

New fuel pump and 8-9 PSI pulley! It's getting close.

 

[Hunt]

I just picked up a set of 2.5x16" Fox air shocks for the front to go with the 18" that are going in the rear. They are used but in good shape. I'll rebuild and valve them accordingly.

Here are a few pictures of the new ARB and a better shot of the supercharger.

 

[Hunt]

Found a new dent today. Well I've never noticed before so I assume its new. The front pinion seems to have contacted the exhaust on the driver's side.:-\

 

[I Lean]

Found a new dent today. Well I've never noticed before so I assume its new. The front pinion seems to have contacted the exhaust on the driver's side.:-\

It's clearanced now! :greg:

 

[Hunt]

I've got a lot more clearancing to do to get all all these parts to fit!

The fans SHOULD fit with the inter cooler in front of the radiator.

I finally found a set of used 16" Fox 2.5 air shocks to go with the 18"ers I got months ago. Everything will be rebuilt and valved appropriately. Supercharger is going on after my last event of the season on the 17th.

 

[Hunt]

[YOUTUBE]pO4fgeVqqAE[/YOUTUBE]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO4fgeVqqAE

 

[Greg]

[YOUTUBE]pO4fgeVqqAE[/YOUTUBE]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO4fgeVqqAE

Good to see her getting used and abused! Any damage from the flop?

 

[GOAT]

Good to see her getting used and abused! Any damage from the flop?

Greg, I gotta give it to ya. This would kill me. I don't want to know anything about what happened to Jenn's jeep. Having some dude give you the play by play of WTF he's changing on your old rig would get old quick.

M

 

[Hunt]

Good to see her getting used and abused! Any damage from the flop?

Greg, I gotta give it to ya. This would kill me. I don't want to know anything about what happened to Jenn's jeep. Having some dude give you the play by play of WTF he's changing on your old rig would get old quick.

M

The jeep faired very well in the flop. Wrinkled up the windshield frame a little more but managed to keep the glass in it still! The driver's side is practically unhurt.

The next course I managed to drag the passenger's side door and rocker guard pretty good.

Earlier in the the day I was on the drivers side two wheeling and gassed it to bring it back down and managed to explode one of the sway bar links. It bent the tab on the axle into the steering ram and gouged it a little. Ram does not leak so I pulled the link off the other side, tied up the sway bar, bent the mount out of the way and finished out the day.

I've got some heims clunking a bit too. It was a rough day but certainly the best I've had with it. Its time for the winter tear down/upgrade and rebuild.

Are people getting tiered/bored/irritated with the stuff I post? The only person I know on this site is Greg and really only post here to keep you guys updated on the jeep because this group followed it from its inception and has a bit of an emotional attachment. I asked Greg before I started this thread if it would bother him if I posted on his site.

I'll transfer my postings to my local boards if bothers people seeing me change the jeep.

By the way; I will be headed to KOH in February. I might stop in Moab on my way to or from if anyone want to get together.