Zone Offroad

Basically we were looking to do something a little unique that might not be super prominant among all the other changes but would be noticeable on a second look. We cut out all of the small grill fins leaving just the large, Jeep signiture bars making it look similar to a new body style Cherokee grill. We then cut and formed a wire mesh sheet and fastened it between the grill and the front grill shell. Our original plan was to color match the grill and headlight surrounds but we ran out of time. That will probably be something we still fit in later on. We will also most likely put in clear corner lights to clean up the look a little more.

You will have to buy the DVD for specific trail video/info. We will have some video of select parts (trail/road/etc) up until the DVD is released. Basically part of the agreement with the magazine is to obvioulys not play spoiler for the upcoming mag articles and video. Afterall, they are doing all of this to sell magazines and we advertise in those magazines so we want them to sell as may as possible. This MJ will most likely be at all of the remaining shows we have scheduled this year. We will keep everyone posted on the Zone website and Blog about upcoming shows. I will also do my best to notify you here. This project is far from over. We will be playing with this thing and tweaking stuff for quite a while. We plan to get at least 2-3 years out of this one before our next big Jeep build. We do still have the '92 Comanche setting in the shop that we plan to do a more down-to-earth build on with actual production products we have or will have soon. I will do a seperate build thread for that if people show interest. From the show schedule I have handy, looks like the next couple shows the MJ will be at are the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival in Butler, PA on Aug 12-14 and the big one...the Indy 4Wheel Jamboree in Indianapolis Sept 16-18. After that it is off to the SEMA show in Las Vegas the week of Nov 1st.

Short clip of a video we are working on...

Now that the build and trip are behind us the pictures, videos and writeups will start flowing. Here is the first of a 3 part Blog series that covers the trip (as much as we can talk about without breaking Peterson's rules), the build and aftermath. Enjoy! http://zoneoffroad.com/blog/?p=1814

For those of you that want to see the MJ in person, your first chance will be this weekend. It will be in our booth at the PA All-breeds Jeep Show in York, PA this weekend. This is a great show to see anything and everything Jeep. Carter is scheduled to be there just a week removed from getting back from the UA. If you ask nice he might have some stories for you.

UA actually finished up this past weekend. It was a massive last-minute effort getting the MJ out the door for the start two Saturdays ago. We put in 50 hours the last 3 days of the build. Since we were running so tight the updates/pictures had to be put off to the side. They got back in town late yesterday afternoon. The MJ did great. Only a few front axle issues and minor wiring gremlins caused them some troubles early on. After that it was smooth sailing. The MJ tackled anything Pewe lead them to. The guys never had to winch and handled nearly everything on the first try. Carter is working on a complete recap of the build and trip for the Blog. He got lots of pics and video too. I am just as excited to see it as you guys are so I will keep you posted. Post up any questions you have. Sorry for not updating sooner. I took a much needed week off after the build. Also, check out the Peterson's 4wheel and offroad Facebook page...that is where they put all of their trip updates this year. Several pictures there...a couple of the MJ.

I was out braking this thing in at midnight last night and again at 6 this morning. We are all burning the candle at both ends here. Runs and drives like a dream. Still a lot of loose ends to tie up before it goes on the trailer tonight and heads out for the 10+ hour drive to the start point of the 2011 Ultimate Adventure.

More..... http://zoneoffroad.com/blog/?p=1771

Hour 16 working on this monster today. We are dead tired but just about there. Our theory on the color (other than it being one of our main company colors) Love it or hate it, you won't forget it.

Sorry, no time to talk. New pics for you.... http://zoneoffroad.com/blog/?p=1755

We have the suspension links more/less bottomed out at that point. The wheel based will be slightly longer for the final setup which will give us plenty of compression room. Basically that is in the worst case scenerio. FYI...these JE Reel Shaft are amazing. They make a pretty heavy duty product. Can't wait to get them spinning. Just got the MJ back from paint last night. It is definately going to stick out and turn some heads. Should have it together late today/early tomorrow for some pics.

The UA is put on by Peterson's 4wheel and offroad magazine. They will have coverage on their website blog as the week progress (first week of July) and in the magazine near the beginning of September I believe. Closer to Oct-Nov they will have a DVD available covering the entire trip. We will have these for sale on our website.

I don't recall right off the top of my head since we ordered them several weeks ago. I will pull up the specs and post up later.

We really only know the general area we will be in. Details usually come in the couple days before and even then Rick likes to keep certain things a surprise. If someone is making ComancheClub stickers then we might be able to squeeze a small one on somewhere. Can't do it for UA but maybe after for the other shows/events. This will end up at SEMA for the last show of the year and probably back at Moab for EJS in 2012.

Probably showing my age here but I have no idea what scene hair is. I am guessing you are talking about Ryan (with the long black hair). He might not look the part but he is my best R&D technician. Super smart kid that does a great job for us in many areas.

Peek at the next video before it even hits the Blog...just for you guys at ComancheClub. Thanks Matt

Actually, if I remember correctly when that pic was taken, that was setting about 3" over our intended ride height. I can tell you getting 14" Fox 2.5 coilovers under the hood and keeping this thing low is no easy task. Also, keep in mind those are 40" tires. They need to have somewhere to go under suspension compression...we can only go so low before we don't have any up travel left. Just dropped the MJ off at M and M Body Shop in Sturgis, MI this morning. Cary has already cranked out the fenders and tailgate for us. He has the doors, hood and bedsides ready for color today. Cab and misc will be tomorrow so we can pick it up Sunday afternoon. We got the stroker plumbed and running at about 8 last night before pushing it into the trailer. We had to battle a couple of electrical gremlins and a fuel rail issue but that was really it. The Golen 4.6L cranked right over and was ready to run. We have most of the exhaust done with our Pacesetter header and Dynomax cat-back (modified of course). This thing has really come together over the last week. I am not going to lie, we have a ton of work left to do but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Most of the custom parts are done and really it is just a matter of putting it all together. We are all really looking forward to seeing this thing in action. Carter and Dave are two very lucky guys to be rolling into their first UA with such an amazing vehicle. There is not a single inch of this vehicle that we haven't touch in one form or another. This is by far the most custom vehicle we have ever done. My crew of engineers and R&D technicians have done an awesome job and really put forth the extra time and effort we needed to get the project done. Hats off to all of them. I plan to be in the office a little today to catch up on some work and rest my feet and back. If you have any questions about the project let me know.

New pics in 30 minutes (7am). Been working late...even have the marketing guy out in the shop getting dirty. Check the Blog. http://zoneoffroad.com/blog/

Hey guys. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Been putting in some crazy hours trying to get this thing buttoned up. The guys should be getting to a new video/pics today or tomorrow. I will post up when it is released.

The old ones were cracked and pretty much shot. We will be building custom mounts to replace them.

Sorry for the lack of updates lately guys. I have had 4 guys on this thing for the last couple of days trying to push through to our paint deadline next Thursday. On top of that we have a pretty extensive summer show schedule so I had to pull a couple of guys to get the other show rigs ready for the weekend. My marketing guy is out until Monday so I will see if I can get some pics up by the end of the day. The stroker, tranny and t-case are ready to go into the nice, clean, freshly painted engine bay. The rear suspension is mocked up and the front is next. Most of the internal cage is welded. Still need to final fit the seats/restraints and get the dash back together. The inside of the bed is getting prepped for paint. The inner air locks are being installed. We did run into a bit of an issue with those but found a solution. More on that later. Hope to get back on here before the end of the day but no promises. Priority 1 right now is getting this thing done. We will have plenty of time to show off everything later if necessary. I want to be breaking this thing in by Wednesday (22nd) to give us time to work out the bugs.

Hey guys. Sorry it has been a couple of days without a real big update. We finally had to buckle down and get to the real nuts and bolts of the project. The drive train has come out and we are currently setting up the new Golen 4.6L stroker. The t-case is getting some love as well as the tranny. New clutch, master/slave cylinders are going in along with a freshly resurfaced flywheel. The old 4.0L had a healthy layer of oil and grease so we have spent a fair amount of time just doing basic cleanup on the parts that will be swapped over as well as the engine bay and underside. The cage tie-ins are being finished as we speak and there is a huge amount of finish welding waiting for us at nearly ever inch of this vehicle. The axles are back and ready for suspension. Thursday we will start to switch gears back to the "fun" stuff and should have a new video/pictures ready for the beginning of the week. This thing goes to paint next Friday morning and graphics the following Monday. Time is getting tight but the end is near. New video: http://zoneoffroad.com/blog/?cat=188

Yep. Coldwater. Any affiliation with BDS Suspension? Competitors in the same town? One of our 3 sister companies.

That was probably a big part of his issues. We will see how it goes this week and report back to you guys. We are looking at possibly carrying this product as one of our complimentary lines.

We'll see what we can do about more pics since things will be changing a little faster now. The drivers are the guys you are seeing in the videos, Dave and Carter....2 very lucky younger guys in our company. Dave has worked as our head of sales for about 3 years so he has paid his dues. Carter is our marketing guy so by default he gets to go on all the fun trips. Moab is a little far out for us. We usually only make that trip once a year for EJS. This will be at the SEMA show this year...maybe Offroad Expo, we'll see. As far as buying it....everything is always for sale for the right price :D