Sorry I haven’t been on the site much since I sold my Miata. Thanks for all the comments and interest.

shad0ww0lf, I sent you a PM and my email address if you have any questions.

Chpmnsws6, that’s for the offer but I think I have the fuel problem sorted out (at least in my head)

I think we are going to run a free set of 36 lbs injectors with a fuel pressure regulator off an older turbo dodge that should give is 55 psi instead of 39 psi. Only issue is after 95 most injectors are rated at 47-49 psi so hopefully we will get just over 36 lbs out of them and have enough fuel. This should also free up some of the budget since this will be cheaper then using the 24 lbs we had listed. Also I didn’t plan on the 4.0L taking that much boost. I heard a rumor that the 4.0L rods are good for 8 psi but that’s all the info I’ve found and doesn’t really do me any good without knowing the setup. While searching I mainly find rednecks with no engine management or supporting mods. One exception is this guy called TurboTom who is running a turbo 4.0L in an AMC spirit with Megasquirt. I think he is over 400 hp.

Great post, would read again

The Grassroots Motorsports $2010 Challenge issue is out! Here are some scanned pictures from it. Sorry for the poor quality, best I could do.

http://inlinethumb03.webshots.com/46...600x600Q85.jpg
http://inlinethumb53.webshots.com/24...600x600Q85.jpg

Great story! Thank you for sharing.

Update:

We just received an email from Scott R. Lear Production Editor at Grassroots Motorsports saying they are going to do an editorial on our Jeep for the next issue!

Dude, sweet build. I bet the guy in the video with the 300ZX felt terrible. Your SUV definitely cornered better than his sports car.:giggle:

We’re going back for the $2012 Grassroots Motorsports Challenge!

After attending a few autocrosses last year we have dusted off the XJ-R made some small improvements the past few months. With only 2 weeks left we are back up and running and are staring to work on tuning. We still have a lot of work ahead of us including a new paint job.

Follow along on our facebook page Jeep Cherokee XJ-R since it’s easier for us to post all our updates in one place.

So the $2012 Grassroots Motorsports Challenge was last weekend. We actually showed up with the turbo installed on the Jeep and mostly tuned. Other then some small tweaks to tip in the Jeep ran awesome. Changes we made for 2012 were:

Installed turbo before event
Welded up a small intercooler from scrap parts (its small but cut 90 degrees from our intake temps)
Ran longer exhaust
Removed rear sway bar
Removed one rear leaf
Smoothed and greased rear leafs then wrapped them in duct tape
Rebuilt and shimmed the hell out of the LSD in the Ford 8.8
Repainted interior and engine bay in hotel parking lot
Painted exterior like Mark Donohue’s 71 AMC Javelin

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1349379952
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1349379952
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1349379952
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1349379952

We were hoping our improvements would make a big difference and they did. We ended up winning best under hood detail, editor’s choice, 3 place over all, and 1st in the autocross. Check out our facebook page for some videos.

This car is so awesome! I follow you on Facebook. Congrats on the win....I'm seriously going to buy one of these now..

The best sports car you can buy for $2000 is a Jeep Cherokee, got it.


Congrats guys! I'm gunning for you next year. ;)

Isn't there someone else who is building a Grassroots challenge car?

It seems like the perfect competition for this site, seeing as we are all cheap bastards.

Also concealer you are in Greenwood right? I'd help out with something like this if you need some more hands.

I was there. ;) The Cherokee was AWESOME, and the team is a bunch of great guys!

There's at least 3 cars that i know of coming out of Indy next year, potentially up to 5. I just run my daily driver, so getting it ready is just pretty much a weekend affair. Next year will just be a clutch job, meth injection install, and cleaning it up again.

We'll take help for sure, though! Some of the other cars might need more work than that depending on how far we get and how much time we really have. (Planning on a full solo season as well)

I either work at my garage in Oaklandon or up at my buddy's place in Noblesville. :)

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1349385151

The devil is in the details, we learned the same thing after bringing Gutty those 3 years running. Winning the third year was a great feeling considering how much time we sunk into the bugger.

Hey, I didn’t know you were on here. Then again it’s been a while since I’ve really been on this board. I actually took a few cell phone pictures of your car but never really had a chance to catch up with your. Looks like you had a busy weekend. How did the tires end up fitting after the late night fender rolling?

Not sure what we are bringing for $2013 yet. I don’t think the Jeep will make it back unless we have nothing else going on and we have trouble going through challenge withdrawal.

You all are fukkin amazing. Thanks for putting everything that I do to my car to shame.

You should sell the jeep on ebay or get jalopnik to feature it and then sell it or something. It really looks REALLY GOOD.


lolol :D

Yeah, i've got a turbo Miata that i don't actually drive. (Hence the sig.)

Funny story about the fenders... they weren't actually rubbing. Ended up beating in the frame/inner fender area with the handy scalpel. (Orrrr... bigass dead blow hammer.) Got clearance for DAYS now! :)

And then... the turbo fell off. Then the clutch started being unhappy. Oh well, car made it back and i'm still daily driving it, should be set for 25-30psi next year. :brain:

What else do you guys have sitting in reserve that could be brought?

Well I have my 75 Datsun 280Z that I’ve been working on. Plan is to fix the rust, paint it, add megasquirt, and a 60 trim T3T4. I have all the parts now it’s just a matter of finding the time.

Another option is I have a 1969 Camaro that’s been sitting in my garage since 1999. I picked it up for $800 since it was rusty and someone drove into the back end of it. Problem is it’s going to take about $600 in sheet metal and paint just to make it look like a Camaro again. I have a $100 LT1 from a wagon and a 200r4 transmission that would drop in but for some reason I kinda want to go with a supercharged GM 3800. Maybe pick up a free 305 V8 and throw a lot of nitrous at it. Drivetrain dones’t really matter. I just want to show up with a shiny 69 Camaro and have Per’s head explode when I hand him my budget.

We made another return to the $2013 Grassroots Motorsports Challenge. We originally said we were not going to bring the Jeep back but after a little persuasion we decided to make a few more changes and drag it back down to Florida.

New for $2013
-Ditched POS engine bay intercooler and small charge pipes for a FMIC and 2.5 tubes
-upped boost from 7 to 12 psi and did some more tuning.
-Modified Auto the shifter wiring so we have full manual control of 1-3
-Made traction bars to eliminate axle wrap
-Painted wheels so they don’t look as stupid

For more pictures check out the feature Bangshift.com just did on the XJ-R.

http://bangshift.com/blog/the-humble...autocross.html

So damn awesome! What kind of 1/4 mile did you get on 12psi?