Parts of a Yaris compete in SCCA SoloNationals.

[SailDesign]

For Immediate Release

It’s a Jeep Thing…You Wouldn’t Understand.

LINCOLN, Neb. (Sept. 1, 2011) – What has a Chevy engine, a Ford rear end, a Doug Nash transmission and a Toyota Yaris power steering unit? Easy – a Jeep!

Del Long has long been running Modified classes in SCCA Solo competition for years, winning multiple championships, most recently in D Modified with the car now owned by Jeff Cashmore. He now has his newest weapon, an E Modified class 1946 Jeep Y-CJ.

The “Y” stands for yellow. The decal on the hood says “It’s a Jeep Thing…You Wouldn’t Understand.”

Looking at options to compete with the E Modified class-dominating turbocharged rotary powered Sprite of Jeff Kiesel, Long felt that the short 80” wheelbase was the way to go.

“At 80 inches, it could have been a Sprite,” Long said. “But the Jeep body was easy to build. It has a lot of square panels.”

E Modified rules specify that the wheelbase of a car match the size of the belly pan and the body shape, with the car needing to resemble that of the stock version. Beyond that, the rules are pretty much wide open.

The car started life as an Allison Legacy—a scale tube-frame stock car. Long acquired the car, sans body, and began the build in October 2010. He fit a 2.0-liter Chevrolet Cobalt SS turbo motor to the right and forward of the driver’s legs, dropped a Ford 8” rear end in the back and mated the two with a two-speed Doug Nash transmission. The car initially didn’t have power steering, and driver Bob Tunnell, of Broomfield, Colo., admitted it was difficult to drive. The solution was simple—drop a power steering unit in out of a Toyota Yaris.

Tunnell said that the car has around 400 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque running on E85 fuel at 1750 lbs. Despite the massive slicks off of a Formula Atlantic, Tunnell admits the car is a bit of a challenge to drive due to its short wheelbase, but has great potential.

A six-time Solo National Champion, Tunnell was invited by Long to drive the car for 2011 after his own supercharged BMW M3 was not ready for the event following a blown motor in 2010. He is joined by another multi-time Champion, 3-time titlist Jeff Ellerby, of Marion, Iowa, giving Long a great pair to try to take down the mighty green rotary turbo Sprite. Bob Tunnell’s wife, 13-time National Champion Patty, will also drive the car Thursday and Friday in E Modified Ladies.

Long admits that while the car may say Jeep, it’s hardly from 1946.

“I told Jeep Magazine that ‘no Jeeps where hurt building this vehicle.’”

Long’s 1946 Y-CJ will compete in E Modified during Heat Two on Thursday and Friday. Follow all the action at www.scca.com/solonats, on Twitter @SCCALive or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sccaofficial.

Photos: Long's 1946 Y-CJ E Modified Jeep.
Credit: SCCA Photos


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