No-Pay Dirt

Nearly a year after the staff here at 4-Wheel & Off-Road started our cheap truck projects, we finally got them in the dirt--at least a few of them. Back in the July '04 issue, we introduced you to the challenge of buying and building a 4x4 with a maximum budget of $1,500, and since that time we've wrenched, broken, bartered, and stolen our way to a few running rigs. Finally, on the first weekend of March we invited some cronies along with similar rigs and headed out to the desert to see what our piles could do.

Fred Williams

David Freiburger and Rick Pw

Jerrod Jones

The 4-Wheel & Off-Road staff headed to Salton City and Truckhaven Hills recreational area during the Tierra Del Sol Desert Safari to initiate the first Cheap Truck Challenge. This was a perfect place to go, since the event brought lots of vehicles, but since it's like a giant sandbox, you can get away from everyone and still find places to play. Plus, the terrain is very forgiving without too many body-crushing rocks and death-defying cliffs (though there are some). A three-way race/photoshoot had us all bombing down a wash. Jones was taking it easy, Pw and Hot Rod Editor David Freiburger were just happy to be out of the office, and Williams was making every squirrel under the hood scream as he tried to keep up.

Day one started with our ragtag group trying to find each other in the midst of the TDS Safari. Editor Pw's Old Guy Club (OGC) had arrived from many miles away to get to the desert, sip some beverages around the campfire, and go wheeling, but it was Pw himself who was running late that first day. When he finally arrived with DED touring buddy Freiburger, we had the normal handful of last-minute repairs before we could wheel. Freiburger was spray-painting a new MSD ignition box so it would match the olive drab of the rest of the CJ-8.

From the start, this exercise in fiscally responsible wheeling was intended to prove that fun in the dirt doesn't need to cost a ton, especially if you have a can-do attitude, are not scared to take your time and scavenge parts, and are not trying to impress everyone with how much money you spent on paint and chrome. It's true that most of the vehicles that made it to the dirt also exceeded the budget in one way or another, but none of them were pushed beyond budget for aesthetic reasons, and most of the inflation was due to parts breakage before the actual trip started (some of us just had to do some "testing" while waiting for others to get their junk done).

So you might ask, "Who won the Cheap Truck Challenge?" And truthfully, we don't care. Editor Rick Pw's junk was pretty cheap, but he didn't drive it to the desert, but rather towed it there and back with his lux-o-camper. Technical Editor David Kennedy didn't drive his Bronco either, but that's because it's gone beyond cheap and into the Kennedy-project Bermuda triangle, where trucks get super modified but rarely finished. Feature Editor Jerrod Jones drove his Dodge Lawg there, though it wasn't really his. At some point in the past year, Kennedy bought it from him, but then Jones bought it back, but never paid Kennedy, so technically a Kennedy project did make it to the dirt, but with another driver. Either way, it was almost a day late, and not exactly the best suited for some of the tighter trails, though the big 440 and Parnelli Jones driving style made up for that. Finally, Feature Editor Fred Williams showed up on time, slept in his junk, wheeled it hard, and drove it there and home under its own power. Of course, he also had the slowest rig, and lost tons of plastic parts on the trail, not to mention that driving his junk was more an exercise in physical fitness than skill since it had no power steering. The fact is that what we were really after was fun with junk, and we found tons of it. Going cheap is great because you are so carefree about carnage, and if any one of you readers start building a cheap rig and get it in the dirt, then we've won. Yes, we want you to support our advertisers, but even more so, we want you wheeling instead of sitting at home in front of the TV. Stay tuned and we'll definitely do more with our junk. And next time you should come along.

There's a running joke amongst the staff of this magazine and the friends of Pw that he's always the one everyone is waiting on while he fixes his junk. But the truth is, Pw doesn't care. If it means he gets to spend longer days and nights in the dirt, then he's happy. And when the boss is happy, everyone's happy.	Further wheeling revealed that Pw's junk had a few issues with tires, mostly that they were old, didn't really hold air or stay on the bead very well, and were sorta bald. Other than that, they worked great.	We were trying to find a replacement for Randy Ellis' busted Dana 30 hub (broken the night before in a 1 a.m. trail ride).
From our friends Jimmy to Richard to Ned, we had the entire spectrum of 4x4 building budgets covered. Jimmy's tractor chugged along all day, Richard's daily-driver flatty worked flawlessly, and Ned's high-zoot mobile was the epitome of a top-end trail machine.	Everyone was ogling over Soni Honneger's amazing 20-ton milspec motorhome and Cummins Diesel Scorpion--still the baddest buggy of all time.	Sometimes even the best-built rigs need a little push. However, it's hard to play bumper cars when one rig is a high-dollar Lexus.
The first trail was through the keyhole where the big CJ's had a tight squeeze, but the smaller flatfenders had no problem. This notch has been formed from the years of wind and water erosion.	Williams' little Suzuki flexed like a river barge and didn't steer much better, but it sure made for exciting pictures when he would try to climb something and the baby Swampers would grab air.	As dusk grew near, the crew started having a few issues. Williams' exhaust got mushed during a steep climb, Ned Bacon gave his TraiLex some new bodywork and removed the driver-side mirror, and Tim Hardy crumpled his rear quarter-panel when Freiburger dragged him out of a tight spot.
Just before we returned to camp, Hardy listened to Williams' world-class spotting and tried a little hill descent that was just barely 4 feet tall, but still enough to dump him on his lid. A simple winching from Freiburger's Warn 8274 had him righted, and us headed back to camp.	As most of the OGC hit the hay, Williams headed to main camp in search of Kennedy and Jones who were seriously M.I.A. He found them standing over their big brown Lawg, which for some odd reason had sprung a small engine fire. Who would ever guess that a log would catch on fire?	Later that night, Williams again showed his world-class spotting skills as he convinced Jp editor Johnny Cappa to roll his Monster Jeep J-truck onto its side, smashing the cab, but thrilling the crowd.
Day 2 arrived with Kennedy and Jones ready to wheel the Lawg. However, most of the OGC had to hit the road, so we invited UA attendee Too Tall Ted along in his early Bronco. Our first goal was to get the Lawg stuck.	Too Tall Ted had no problem keeping up with us, and even came home with a few dents, one from the trail and one from Pw's Jeep.	Pw's Jeep sprung a leak in its radiator hose, but an application of some Edelbrock PowerBond tape had his cheap Jeep up and running quickly.
By the end of the day, we all had a blast and realized that wheeling with friends in cheap 4x4s is always better than wheeling by yourself with a built rig. Plus, if you don't have lockers, it's good to bring your staff along to help push.	Jones is the opposite end of the spectrum from Pw. He doesn't like little Jeeps, he does like loud music, he's not a fan of body damage, and he hates to go slow. So when Jones is behind the wheel of his big brown Lawg, there was usually gravel flying.