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BAJA 1000
WINNER!, MORE GRAND THAN YOU CAN HANDLE
By Jerrod Jones, MAY 2006 4-WHEEL & OFF-ROAD,
4wheeloffroad.com,
PHOTOGRAPHY JERROD JONES |
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Say hello to 2005’s Class 7S Baja 1000
winner driven by Dan Fresh and navigated by
Vince Demaio And yes, it’s still a solid-axle
4WD Jeep, but that doesn’t mean it can’t spank a
2WD through the rough stuff. Their ZJ will do
100 mph through the whoop-de-doos and still flex
out and crawl over rocks when it comes time. To
top it off, they can throw the tailgate on
(where the license plate resides) and hit the
highway since this thing is still street-legal!
The build started as something more mild, but
turned into this go-fast truck at Pan’s shop,
DXR Motorsports in Mission Viejo California This
94 Grand Cherokee was originally supposed to be
a prerunner, but it worked so well that it ended
up being the racer when Green Flag” time rolled
around. in fact, the build was so successful
that Vince and Dan are thinking of marketing
turnkey race-ready (but still street-legal)
Grand Cherokees almost identical to this one for
around 50 grand Too bad we don t make that much
money but we sure like the idea of having a Jeep
we could drive to work during the week and race
or prerun with on the weekends.
Pushing this truck through the desert, over
boulders, and through whoop-de-doos is not what
you’d think. It’s a six cylinder, not a V-8! For
the class Vince and Dan race in, the engine size
was limited to six cylinders and no more than
4.7L So, of course, the 1-6 was stroked and
bored 0.060 over to just under the 4.71 limit.
The 1.7ratio roller rockers were also added to
the stainless steel valves, along with lots of
additional head work. All this juice is pushed
through a 42RE auto tranny helped out with some
Kevlar clutches.
DXR Motorsports built a custom long-arm front
end using H&M ¾-to ‘/4-inch rod ends and a
radius-arm design to hold the Unitrax-built Dana
30 axle (which has been heavily trussed to
withstand the blows). A 2½-inch King coilover
and a bypass shock reside at each corner,
netting 16 inches of up and down at the wheels.
Notice that they’re not using front hydraulic
bumpstops? When there’s not enough room to place
a bumpstop, the bypass shocks can be set up to
take that last little bit of pounding.
Though the front Dana 30 was kept, Unitrax built
a custom Ford 9-inch rear filled with a spool
and 4.88 gears to hold up during race time. It’s
located via a triangulated three-link, again
using H&M rod ends and custom built by DXR. Just
like the front, King bypasses and coilovers are
used again, but this time with a pair of
hydraulic bumpstops that keep the rear from
slamming down too hard. The other link you see
coming down to that rear axle is attached to the
Speedway Engineering antisway bar that ensures
this thing will still be on all fours after
pitching it around a turn.
Rollcages like this fully chromoly job built by
DXR take up a substantial amount of room, so
lots of times the seating configurations of such
a vehicle will have two front seats and a single
mid-mount seat in the rear. The spiraled tube
just in front of the Beard seat attaches to the
Parker Pumper unit that provides fresh air to
the helmets in dusty situations. You’ll also
note one fire extinguisher per side on this
Grand Cherokee. Smart move if you like your
truck.
Spitting up all that dirt are 35 inch BF
Goodrich Baja T/As that have been cut and siped
to suit the Grand Cherokee’s needs. Though this
is a fully legal race Jeep that actually won its
class in the Baja 1000 for 2005, it’s still also
street-legal, giving it the best of both worlds,
and a choice if the trailer is nowhere near. The
beauty of this Jeep is that from the outside, it
doesn’t look too extreme and you could probably
drive it past The Law without him (or her) ever
blinking an eye. |
