Feature in CRAWL MAGAZINE
Issue 14

No one doubts that all walks of motorsports requuire one thing: power. No one ever complains about have too much power and if they do. they probably deserve a knuckle sammich. Mickey Cone is familiar with the need tor a formidable power plant since he has a background in hot rods. When Mickey decided he wanted to build a Jeep, he literally had everything he needed already laying around the shop. It all came down to finding exactly what he wanted and just grafting it all together.

Mickey picked a ‘91 YJ as the donor vehicle for the build up. The Jeep had been in stock form most ot its life, but that was all about to change. With a tricked out Chevy 383 and work backwards, Mickey made sure the new drivetrain could withstand the power output he had planned. A natural choice for an automatic transmission was the turbo 400 followed by a 4.3 geared Atlas transfer case. Sticking to the Chevy theme, the axles were pulled from a one-ton Chevy truck, a Dana 60 in the front, and the huge corporate 14-bolt in the rear. Both axles were geared to 4.88 to provide the entire package with good crawling characteristics. The front Dana 60 is beefed up with alloy shafts and an ARB front locker. The rear simply has a Detroit in the differential and rest is stock. And a set of rock poinding 39.5-inch BFG Red Label Krawlers finishes up the business end.

Mickey chose Sway—A—Way coilovers for all four corners, while custom 4-link suspension holds everythiing together Next, the rear frame was back halved so the wheelbase could be stretched. The extra wheelbase is used to handle the larger tires, as well as the power produced by the fire breathing stroker engine. Turning the large, sticky Red Labels poses no problems with PSC full hydro steering. The interior of the Green Jeep is sparse. Simple overhead switches control the front locker, so Mickey placed these within reach at all time Basic gauges in the custom dash give it a final touch o performance This barebones rock rig keeps things simple and utilitarian. No show and all go - a strong drivetrain an a minimalist interior is definitely a winning combinatio Mickey Cone. is pleased with the results, and his concentration on the basics paid off with excellent performance from his purpose built YJ.