We don't need to go into the Jeep TJ Wrangler's competence here. Suffice it to say that it works great in almost any environment. If you have to carry a little more, or have a few more passengers, American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) of Missoula, Montana, stretches TJ's to help them accommodate customer's needs. Phil Smith of Cedar City, Utah, is one of those customers. Having owned at least one of every 4x4 offered since the early '80's (at least it seems that way), Phil knew that he wanted a stretched TJ that would not only have greater interior volume, but would climb better on extreme obstacles.
|  | AEV offers a stock-wheelbase TJ, a 104" stretch and a 112" stretch model. Phil chose to go with the 104" wheelbase as, while it would give him more interior room and stability on the steeps, it's still a manageable size for tighter trails. In fact, Phil's TJ is very close to the old CJ8's wheelbase of 103" and we all know how well Scramblers work.
The 2000 TJ Sport with 4.0 liter six and a three-speed automatic tranny was purchased directly from AEV and, after going over with Phil what he wanted, they went to work. While AEV mainly does turn-key conversions that are not only superb, they don't void the factory warranty, Phil chose to just have them stretch the Jeep and supply a set of their rocker guards. He planned to do the rest, with help from Above All Design of Cedar City, Utah.
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