When you think of a cheap platform to base a prerunner build off of 8 out of 10 people would tell you an early 90s Ford Ranger or F150 would be to the most ideal candidate. But Justin Wyche would tell you that would be a great idea as well but turn away and sink hours upon hours designing and developing his Jeep Cherokee to be the most unsuspecting prerunner we have yet to feature on Race Dezert. What started out as a $500 Jeep pulled out of the field has been transformed into a four-linked Jeep XJ that continuously surprises people time and time again as a phenomenal build seen across the internet and social media.
You have probably seen videos of Justin jumping his truck in multiple Terra Crew videos, such as the Terra Crew Hell Track going as big if not bigger than trucks with 40s and twice the suspension travel. Undoubtedly, his Jeep work is amazing, but getting a unibody Jeep to work that well has taken over a decade of learning and fine-tuning, and the result is nothing short of spectacular.
Justin cut his teeth into fabricating over ten years ago in the off-road industry and stumbled upon a Jeep sitting in a field with a blown head gasket. Sure enough, $500 and some coolant were enough to get this Jeep home had to get started on the project with the end goal being Jeepspeed and to go race in Ultra4 Everyman Challenge. But it wouldn’t be two years until he started on the project, and one thing led to another; it snowballed into a Jeep perunner that was built after hours in his garage and driveway.
First things first, the whole unibody is plated to increase rigidity due to the lack of a frame integrated into his full roll cage. During a slow period while working as a fabricator at Triton Engineering, Justin had the opportunity to work on it at night and completely fabricate his own custom 4-link kit in the rear. The Jeep utilizes a 14″ King Coilover and Bypass shocks pulling 13.5″ of wheel travel.
Up front, the Jeep XJ is as simple as simple gets, retaining the front Dana 30 two-wheel drive beam with a semi-custom drop bracket mid-arm kit paired with 12″ King coilovers and bypass shocks that pulls 12.5″ of wheel travel. Having driven the all-new Third Gen Raptor R and riding in the Jeep with Justin, I can confidently say this Cherokee is certified bonkers how well it works through the big stuff staying on top of the whoops. The secret sauce is in the countless hours of shock tuning and developing a car that well versed as this XJ is. There are many videos of it doing sky wheelies through whoops, the results are purely incredible.
Sitting on 35″ Dick Cepek tires and beautiful Walker Evans wheels, the XJ has fully trussed Ford 8.8 with 5.71 gears, a spool, and a C-clip eliminator kit. A 32-gallon Jeepspeed Jazz Fuel Cell sits underneath with a custom fuel filler. The steering on the Jeep is a custom cross-over ram-assisted steering with the PSS steering box.
Drivetrain is the good old 4.0L straight-six paired to the AW4 transmission with overdrive. Justin’s goal is to eventually swap in an LS engine eventually whenever that engine goes, but truthfully the 4.0 might outlive us both. The magic sauce is what he did with the RADesigns Shift Solenoid Controller and torque converter lockup, which allows him to manually shift the Jeep and keep those RPMs high in the desert and not wait for the computer to hunt through the gears.
The interior of the Jeep was taken to the next level; while it isn’t a luxury prerunner, it is a purpose-built interior with everything Justin needs. Complete with a Fiberwerx dash, roll cage, radio, jack, and holder just for the tools. But you can’t forget the cup holders.
Jeepspeed’s vastly underrated as they are often overlooked as the “Class 11” of the 4×4 world but that can’t be further from the truth, in fact, they are a great platform to start from; parts are cheap and with some engineering, you can get a Jeep to get through whoops in no time. Justin’s Jeep XJ prerunner is a prime example of how a passion and love for fabrication and off-road racing can turn into one incredible machine. He now owns Overtime Metal Works building prerunner bumpers and mirrors for the Jeepspeed community and they are nothing short of incredible just like his XJ. We can’t wait to see him take this build through its next stages and most importantly see it get used on trips to the desert like bashing through whoops in Johnson Valley and drifting down rally roads on the legendary Mojave trail.
Chassis: 1994 Jeep Cherokee XJ built by Justin Wyche
Engine: Jeep 4.0 with Jeep/Split Spec Piggy Back
Engine Management: Jeep
Transmission: Chrysler AW4 with RADesigns Shift Solenoid
Fuel Cell: 32-Gallon Jazz Jeepspeed Fuel cell
Tires: Dick Cepeck
Wheels: Walker Evans
Bumpers: Overtime Metal Works
Front Suspension:King 2.5 Bypass and Coilover – 12.5″ wheel Travel
Rear Suspension: 4-link King 2.5 Bypass Coilover – 13.5″ Wheel Travel
Axles: Ford 8.8 Spool 5.71 gearing
Radio: SRC Sampson Racing Radios
Navigation: onX Offroad and an iPAD
great write up JJ, the suspension part of the uni body has the super thick zinc/ galvanized dip, the rest aint too bad
