Parnelli Jones is one of those drivers that could do no wrong behind the wheel of whatever he was in. Stock car, Indy car, Baja, Pikes Peak…at some point in time Jones had raced it. He caught the off-road bug after Bill Stroppe pushed a few too many buttons one night at a Christmas party, and with Stroppe acting as ride-along, ran off-road races from 1968 until he decided to become a team owner in 1974. Jones might be mostly remembered for his Big Oly Bronco, but apparently the off-road side of him never left, because when he became owner of this 1996 Jeep Cherokee, he proceeded to build it into a very capable trail machine.
The Cherokee started life as a pretty typical 4.0L XJ. Per the ad, the following was added:
Complete with 4.0 liter Power Tech I-6 with automatic transmission, PJ Dirt Grip Tires, Walker Evans Off Road Racing Aluminum Wheels, also included are a set of BF Goodrich Tires & Custom Aluminum Wheels that are street legal. Our Black Cherokee is equipped with SmittyBilt X20 waterproof winch & XJ XRC Bumper Bull Bar with KC Hilites, Smittybilt Accessory Kit that includes, Tree Trunk, protector, Snatch Block, Shackle Kit, Choker Chain, HD Work Gloves, D-rings, chains & straps. Additional equipment includes; Dana 44 Rear End, D30 Ring Pinion, Dana Aluminum Differential Covers, 55″ Suspension Kit with ARB Compressor, Walker Evans Gas Shocks, PUKT Pump Up Kit, Limiting Straps HD Tie Rod, Steering Shock, R30R Bearing Kit, D Front Hub Conversion, Crawler Rear Bumper Swing-out tire carrier, Fender Flares, Ballistic Seat Covers front & rear, PCI HDS LGC-4000 Baja LOWRANCE GPS, KENWOOD KDC-X496 Premium Sound System, Tinted Windows, All Weather Mats & on & on & on!
Whether or not Parnelli Jones owned this Jeep, the Cherokee is well-equipped for pretty much any off-roading that one can dream of. For an opening bid of $12,500, it would be hard to duplicate the build cheaper.
To see the eBay ad for this Cherokee, CLICK HERE.
“And the modifications didn’t stop until our Jeep reached a completely unique level of On & Off Road performance!”
I’m going to guess…and I hope…most or all of those modifications were done -after- a knowledgeable car guy owned it, all they’ve done is slap every 100# aftermarket bolt-on they could get onto somebody’s former daily driver then call it good. Whoever buys it might want to first make it so the front wheels can steer, then try some actual driveline and structure upgrades (and stay below freeway speeds on the street, kids).
Interesting…. although a little too showy for me. Maybe I’ll check it out since its only about a mile from my house. I’m curious if it’ll actually sell.
This one gets the ANGRYJOE seal of approval…Hopefully the supension upgrades were done properly….I like it…I like it a lot.
Think I would rather have Parnellis old Bronco