The list of challengers for TTC'04 is out, and the Cherokee is not in it. :nosmile:
I understand there are several reasons for this, and listed in no particular order are the fact that XJs are not that popular or unique; mine is ugly and lacks a fancy color or paintjob; my tires look small compared to those 42"s and 44"s; I don't have 450 HP, the picture I was stuck with on the magazine was lame compared to other pics I have on file (it was the only pic I had that had enough resolution for printing, a "megapixel issue")...ah, excuses, excuses.
Still, in a strange way I breathe a sigh of relief. After spending over a week in Moab with 4 of the judges for TTC (Bacon, Hardy, Honegger, Nylund), I was convinced by them that entering may have been a bad idea.
One asked me: "why do you want to enter TTC?"
I replied: "why not, sounds like lots of fun".
He said: "i like your rig, I hope you don't get in".
"Huh?", I said.
As it turns out, once through TTC you might as well replace it or rebuild it. All the judges went on and on with stories of every rig having tons of problems after TTC, especially after the water/mud obstacles. Most rigs get winched up the trailers to head home after the Tank Trap. Trannies being rebuilt and lasting 3 miles, after the rebuild. Clay-like mud on everything, still coming off dashboards after years...electronics completely fried. They frowned upon auto trannies for the event, due to water ingestion; all judges said stick trannies did better on TTC due to this issue alone. Axles and trannies, t-cases have to be disassembled, tanked and rebuilt after TTC. Computers, modules and most looms will be submerged and more than likely ruined. So will the seats. Sounds silly, but I've worked too hard on this old rig to kill it in a week.
Don't get me wrong; I was ready to go to TTC'04, but had no knowledge of how bad it may ultimately be for the rig. I had no intentions of cutting up my current rig and building a new one after TTC'04 with parts from this one. Still, this gives me now another year to do three things before TTC'05:
1-Improve the rig;
2-Get a better picture;
3-Convince myself that I need to build a new XJ after the event;
and most importantly
4-Convince my wife that "it's okay".
Thanks to all who voted for the XJ this year, I really appreciate it.
Please be sure to vote for us again next year!
I WILL BE BACK!