WTF-J

The idea of building a Jeep was the last in a series of (loosely defined) “plans” that spanned 2-3 years of surfing the Web, reading magazines, sending off for catalogues and talking to builders.  (The absurdity of having a complete car delivered in parts by UPS, Fed-Ex, USPS and the back of a pickup never quite sunk in.)  The basic concept had a couple of “Gotta be’s”:

• Simple - To the extent possible use industry standard stuff to minimize (expensive) customization
• Open Air - My daily drivers all have AWD/4WD, Heat, A/C, and all the creature comforts.  This would be more like a motorcycle on four wheels (Ah, the perception of safety!)
• Agile - Having ridden a Ferrari Enzo with their #1 test driver on the Fiorano Test Track in Maranello, and driven Porsche Turbos around the former F1 track at Hockenheim, I had a good idea of real fast, this was going to be more about quick. The target would be ~400 HP in ~3,000 lbs
• Worthwhile - If the objective was to get a car to drive, then it would be easier to simply go out and buy one; the idea was to put together a car with sufficient “Dayum Factor” to make it worth building.

The evolution of the plan occurred over three phases:

1. CATVEE - A Canadian Hummer knock-off kit based on a mid-80′s Chevy/GMC truck donor chassis.  While in the exploration stage, it was clear that the company building these things was better at design and engineering than business management; you could see all the signs of a failing business.  Too bad, as it was a well executed kit.
2. Cobra – By this point it was clear to me that I wanted an open air vehicle that had good performance.  Going through Autorama in Detroit, I stopped by the Superformance exhibit and was hooked.  The downside to Superformance was that their cars were turn-key except for the power train (I’m guessing that it keeps it from being classified as a car for EPA/NHTSA/DOT/Product Liability reasons.) and would not satisfy any of the DIY Jones.  I found Factory Five Racing out of Massachusetts and they offered real slick Cobra knock off kits with an attitude.  The other real advantage of the Cobra over a Catvee was the availability of tech forums like FFCobra.com and ClubCobra.com where you could learn from other builders about what worked and what didn’t.  More on the Cobra Phase later, but that gave way to…
3. Jeep – Jeeps have been around for over 50 years and I was surprised to discover that, like Harley-Davidson have built a loyal following that supports an entire aftermarket ecosystem that allows you to build a complete Jeep without the first “real” Jeep part in it.  If you think of Jeeps as being built out of modeling clay, you begin to understand the appeal of these things.  When I figured out that I could build whatever I wanted and call it a Jeep, I was hooked.

The final Jeep plan loosely centered around four basic building blocks:

1. TJ style coil spring suspension on the longer (104″) wheelbase
2. GM 5.7L V8 EFI Motor (RamJet 350 or Gen-III)
3. 9″ or Dana 60 axles
4. Open tub (Aluminum or Fiberglass)

The rest followed the drunken Princes of Serendipity as I learned and re-learned the wisdom of von Moltke’s dictum “Planning is everything. Plans are nothing.”

More to come…