Like Father, Like Son
First featured in 4x4 magazine, august 2017
Cameron Walker used to run a modified Suzuki Jimny, while his dad ran a modified Jeep Wrangler. It took five years for him to come round to his old man’s way of thinking… but when he did, the result was one of the smartest, cleverest and most unique TJs the UK has ever seen.
Five years ago, we featured a couple of articles on vehicles owned by Cameron Walker and his dad Mick. The latter was running a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, which his son’s off-road steed was a Suzuki Jimny.
Move on half a decade, and Mick still has his Wrangler. Cameron, though… now he has a Wrangler too. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, or something like that.
‘We owned and ran a modified Suzuki Jimny for five years,’ confirms Cameron. ’But 50,000 miles later, it was time to let the Jimny go and move on to a 4x4 with a bit more road presence and off-road ability. Not that I would ever say a bad word about a Jimny – it was the best first car and performed impeccably off-road and on-road.’
The world of Jeeps is full of people doing amazing things with JKs now, but for ‘amazing’ you can also read ‘expensive.’ No small matter when you’re still in your early twenties (actually, no small matter the rest of the time either, but you know what we mean) – which is why what you’re looking at here is the previous model.
You’d never clock this for being a 16-year-old motor, though. But that’s what it is. ‘Along came a 2001 4.0-litre 60th Anniversary Jeep Wrangler TJ,’ explains Cameron. ‘Purchased with 71,000 miles on the clock and in a solid condition, it was the perfect starter vehicle to convert into a daily drive, with the added playday and green lane day thrown in the mix.
‘The TJ was an Essex tractor and had never been off-road, so we knew those 71,000 miles had been gentle on it. Other than the one wheelarch being scuffed, it was in great condition – although compared to the Jimny, it was rather unfriendly to drive at first.’
Not that the ‘at first’ part of the project lasted very long.’ Within about a week,’ says Cameron, ‘it was up on axle stands and being stripped down. The Jeep went from standard to fully modified in the space of a couple of months, with later additions being added through the year.
‘The aim from the start was to run 33” tyres. This meant a lift of three to four inches, and re-gearing to 4.11:1 diffs.
‘As we’ve run a few different suspension set-ups on my dad’s JK, we had a garage full of spare parts which we felt we could try and configure into a suitable system for my TJ. We found the best set up was to use +3” AEV JK springs at the front, standard JK springs at the rear and +2” Old Man Emu shocks. This all made the Jeep flex really well.’
On top of that, Cameron bought a full set of eight adjustable control arms from Rough Country, to get the axles fully lined up and aid the droop on the suspension. On went a cheeky little 1” body lift to make a handy bit more room for the bigger tyres, as well as a slip yoke eliminator kit to stop the propshaft from vibrating at its new rest angle. ‘There is a cheaper alternative which simply lowers the transfer case mounting and guard,’ says Cameron. ‘But this decreases the central clearance, therefore we did it properly and fitted the SYE kit. The car runs vibration free at all speeds, even above 70mph on the motorway.’
To keep the gearing right with the bigger tyres, the diffs made way for the aforementioned 4.11s. An ARB Air-Locker went in the back at the same time, along with the same company’s heavy-duty covers on both axle cases.
‘The Jeep first ran 33” BFGoodrich KM2 255/85R16s which were hand-me-downs from Dad’s JK,’ continues Cameron. ‘We have always run BFGs on our 4x4s as they are incredibly hard-wearing and perform well off-road.
‘Eventually, we opted away from BFGs mainly because of the price. Dad moved on to Maxxis Bighorns and we fitted 34” Toyo Open Country. They have been a great tyre – they perform well in all situations and are far superior to the BFGs in the wet and snow.’ That’s quite a statement.
Turning the tyres is of course Jeep’s legendary and almost unbustable 4.0-litre straight-six. ’As a young driver,’ admits Cameron, ‘trying to get insured at 21 on a 4.0-litre caused some issues! So the smaller 2.5-litre TJ would have been more financially viable. But I’m so glad we chose the 4.0-litre – it just defines the whole vehicle. The engine is one of the greatest points of the Jeep. The lazy power and sound it provides never fails to make me smile.’
You don’t have to do much modding to get the most from this absolute legend of an engine, and not much is exactly how much Cameron has done. There’s an uprated throttle body spacer to bring out the torque at low revs, a Banks cat-back exhaust and a Mishimoto aluminium rad, meaning it always runs cool and never fails to make a lovely noise. So, just a few well chosen improvements that make a good thing even better. Happy days all round.
A little further down the drivetrain, another modification in an area people tend not to think about with Wranglers is a ‘short shift’ kit from Henson. Cameron brought this in directly from America – and having got used to it, he reckons it was worth evert penny. ‘It completely changed the vague five-speed box. It’s incredibly direct and genuinely feels like you’re changing gear in a sports car, not a Jeep. I would not drive a TJ without one now.’
That makes it one of several modifications he’s very happy with, then. Which does he rate as the best of all? ‘Surprisingly, the complicated suspension set-up works really well. It corners great on the back roads and flexes well off-road – what more can you want? Especially when it was technically free!’
The man’s got a point. His future plans are very minimal, covering a possible re-gear to 4.54:1 diffs (and a front Air-Locker at the same time, just for the sake of it), and maybe the addition of a winch. Not that he’s in any rush there. ‘If a winch was fitted, I would want to use it all the time – therefore deliberately getting stuck. I don’t understand people who ride round with a £2k winch on the front of their vehicle but only use them once a year!’
As it is, Cameron is happy to take his TJ absolutely anywhere. ‘It may look a pretty immaculate example of a TJ from a distance,’ he says, ‘but with further investigation close up and under the vehicle it has been very well used off-road. It is covered in scratches (although the signature 60th anniversary paintwork masks them well); I do not hesitate with it off-road, and would be the first to take it down a narrow, rutted track. I think nearly every arch has nearly been pulled off when exploring the black runs at Parkwood 4x4 Centre.’
So it looks deceptively standard, and much tidier than a vehicle with its history has a right to be. Which is fine by Cameron. ‘Off-roading is a massive part of mine and my Dad’s lives. Most weekends are spent either going to Jeep events, play days, green laning or spectating at trials or comp safaris. A big love of ours is green laning, though the fun can be pretty limited without some of the more extreme lanes and we therefore try attending as many playdays as possible as they provide unlimited terrain to challenge the vehicles.’
There you are then. Love laning for what it gives you, but love playdays for what laning doesn’t. And while you’re about it, love your truck. This is a fantastically thought through TJ, far more than just a chequebook off-roader but far smarter than your average DIY build too. It’s no longer a daily driver – but it’s an off-road toy that puts a smile on Cameron’s face every time he drives it, whether off-road or on. It is, in short, everything a good Jeep should be – and a whole lot more besides.
