Jeff Ward wears two hats. He's both a car dealer and fabricator for Burnsville Off-Road. Because of this, he's in the perfect position to find good deals on Jeeps and build them up. His 2006 TJ Unlimited started as a mild-mannered used LJ. Once Jeff got his hands on it, he went to work.Burnsville Off-Road does Hemi swaps into Jeeps, so Jeff decided he'd like to swap in a 6.1L Hemi into his LJ (we'd like that, too). He installed a 545RFE overdrive automatic behind the Hemi and an Atlas 3.8:1 two-speed transfer case behind that. Tera CRD60R high-pinion front and rear ends are beefy, strong, and have 5.38 gears and ARB Air Lockers front and back.
The suspension is a modified Teraflex PRO LCG as the LJ's wheelbase is stretched to 116 inches, the same as a JK Unlimited. There are 14-inch Sway-A-Way Racerunner coilovers at all four corners. The rear part of the frame was chopped and tubed and Jeff fabricated custom corners, wheel openings, and flares for the stretch. The 42-inch Irok tires mounted on Raceline alloy beadlock wheels fit fine. The LJ turns with PSC full hydraulic steering.
The interior features front and rear MasterCraft seats, a modified factory sport bar, a fuel cell, and mounts for the rear coilover reservoirs. Other body mods include a Rock Crawler hood with scoop and custom fabricated rocker guards. A Ramsey Patriot 9500UT winch is mounted in Jeff's custom minimalist front bumper with stinger.
Stretch's modifications were done so well the LJ doesn't look that radical, until you take a closer look (or hear the exhaust). Jeff had a good time with it in Moab where we did the photo shoot. We're sure he's off-road somewhere in his Jeep, enjoying the fruits of his labor.
 A 6.1L Hemi V-8 powers "S...  A 6.1L Hemi V-8 powers "Stretch." |  The two-speed Atlas transfer...  The two-speed Atlas transfer case has a 3.8:1 low range. |  The Rock Crawler hood includes...  The Rock Crawler hood includes a scoop. |
 MasterCraft reclining front...  MasterCraft reclining front seats and rear seat are comfortable, even after a long day in the dirt. A suicide knob makes quick steering easy. |  Jeff fabricated the custom...  Jeff fabricated the custom rocker guards. They had to be quite a bit longer than what a stock LJ would use with Stretch's 116-inch wheelbase. |  A Ramsey Patriot 9500UT winch...  A Ramsey Patriot 9500UT winch mounts nicely in Jeff's custom front bumper with stinger. |
 The Tera CRD60R high-pinion...  The Tera CRD60R high-pinion rear end has 5.38 gears and an ARB Air Locker, just like the front. The rear frame was cut and replaced with tubing. |  The Tera CRD60R high-pinion...  The Tera CRD60R high-pinion front end has 5.38 gears and an ARB Air Locker in it. Check out the custom tubing and connection point so the Ramsey winch can pull the body down while climbing steep obstacles. Stretch is steered via a PSC full hydro system. |  |