Fire
ants have a nasty reputation. Building mounds that can be over two feet
above ground and six feet below, they're known for their tenacity and fierce
demeanor. Fire ants' enemies quickly find out that the little insects have
a sting that belies their small size. When John Currie finished building his latest rock crawling TJ, his brother Ray suggested they call it the "Fire Ant," as the shrunken Jeep turned out to be capable and, to it's competition, nasty. The name stuck.
John started with the burned-out hulk of a late model TJ Wrangler. A narrower body might negotiate squeezes better, so he cut 3.25" from each side of the tub and took 6.5" from the hood and grill. The frame remained stock width. For motive power, the Currie's were tired of the anemic 4.0 liter six that they'd used for the past few years. Now, you six owners can howl all you want, but, let's admit it, they sure can't compete with a V8! All the Currie V8 swaps in the past had used Chevrolet engines and trannys. This time, John was able to salvage an almost-new 4.7 liter Power Tech V8 and five-speed automatic transmission from a Grand Cherokee. This accomplished two things. The Curries were able to show off their technical expertise by performing this difficult swap and making it work, plus, it kept Mopar parts under the hood. For years, Daimler/Chrysler has been upset that most Jeeps get Chevrolet power, or, if not Chevy, Ford. Hardly anyone tries to use late-model Jeep or Chrysler engines because there are no wiring harnesses, motor mounts, or any other swap pieces for the Mopar mills. For a while, Mopar Performance was going to produce a swap kit for Jeeps, but, as usual, the person in charge of that was transferred and the new people in charge weren't interested in continuing with it. Anyway, that's why there are more Chevy and Ford V8's under Jeep hoods than there are Jeep!
