Goodguys 2024 Chevrolet Performance GM Retro Iron Builder of the Year!
Congratulations to J-Rod & Custom for winning the Goodguys 2024 Chevrolet Performance GM Retro Iron Builder of the Year title with Richard Griot’s 1978 Jeep Cherokee Chief! We’ll see you and the vehicle in Scottsdale, Arizona November 22-24, 2024 at the 27th Speedway Motors Southwest Nationals!
One of the great things about the old car hobby is its sense of community, which can be felt in the camaraderie of enthusiasts ranging from do-it-yourself hobbyists to executives at the industry’s most prominent companies. Truth be told, most company founders were enthusiasts first, and many celebrate their success by re-investing in the shops and businesses around them.
Such is the case with Richard Griot, founder of the detailing product powerhouse Griot’s Garage. Griot is a dyed-in-the-wool enthusiast, a fact that’s evident in the many vintage rides in his collection, including this custom ’78 Jeep Cherokee Chief built by J-Rod & Custom.
J-Rod has built vehicles for Griot before, so shop owner Jared Hancock had a good idea what Griot wanted when delivered the Jeep, a solid survivor purchased out of Oregon. The goal was to update the vintage SUV with modern mechanicals and refinement, while retaining its classic charm.
The J-Rod crew began with a one-off four-wheel-drive chassis from Art Morrison, which was fitted with Dana 44 front and rear axles, Bilstein coil-over shocks, Baer brakes, and 17×8.5-inch Fifteen52 wheels wrapped in chunky BFG rubber.
It was then fitted with a GM 6.0-liter LS engine that was dressed to look like an old-school Jeep V8, including a custom embossed air cleaner. A Holley accessory drive system and Ron Davis radiator helped complete the installation, while a Lokar-shifted 6L80E transmission backed it up.
Jared says one of the big challenges was getting the body to fit to a high standard. “These Jeeps never had gaps like this or fit panel-to-panel correctly,” he says. To that end, the J-Rod team built new door skins and made lots of nips and tucks to get the body to look this good. They also built custom inner fenders, tucked the bumpers, and crafted a custom glass panel for the front of the roof, which is tinted to blend in with the rest of the top. Painthouse custom mixed the PPG gold paint, which was applied in-house at J-Rod and adorned with Cherokee Chief graphics.
The refined OE flavor continues inside, where McFarland Upholstery used textured gold material and black leather to cover the seats and soft parts. A custom console flows from the modified dash, which now houses Dakota Digital gauges, a Vintage Air system, and many one-off custom touches. An Ididit tilt column and Jeep wheel finish things off.
Finished in time for the 2023 SEMA Show, the Cherokee made a big splash in Vegas and has garnered plenty of attention since, culminating in the Chevrolet Performance GM Retro Iron Builder of the Year honor for J-Rod & Custom. Congratulations to Richard Griot and the crew at J-Rod & Custom on the well-deserved win!
Photos by Damon Lee
