Backyard Wheeling: Supersonic DED - Fixing The Jeep

131 1010 Backyard Wheeling Supersonic Ded Vintage Gates Commando Whitewall

During the tire hunt we found this incredible vintage relic: a Gates Commando whitewall! Sadly, there was just one at the llanteria, but for $20 we had to own it.

During the tire hunt we found this incredible vintage relic: a Gates Commando whitewall! S

That's more than you needed to know, and also more than we knew at the time that we were trying to fix the Jeep. Thankfully, the engine itself was the least of our worries. We rebuilt the carb (with mismatched but forced-to-fit Holley parts), made a fuel-pump fix out of virtually nothing, changed the oil, and fired it up to discover a nice purr-but not until we had rewired the entire Jeep front to back, then somehow internally welded together the stock generator, forcing us to convert the engine to use a Delco alternator. But no matter how thrilled the Supersonic was to be alive, it wasn't going to party with locked up brakes. And when we rebuilt the brakes (from the master cylinder all the way out to the wheels), we found other happy things, like jacked-up endplay in the Dana 44 and front wheel bearings and races that were so scary-destroyed that you'd call us superheros for driving on 'em. Of course, mangled bearings love it when you install the very used, 33-inch-tall Swampers that you bought from the local llanteria. Oh yeah, we had to weld the frame back together too. And we decided that the one lonely bolt holding the body to the frame was at least half as many as we needed.

So this was a wrenching-heavy DED, but it was real living. And you know the best thing about drowning in suburbia during your vacation? It feels so good when you leave and finally hit the road.

131 1010 Backyard Wheeling Supersonic Ded Broke Down Jeep On Trail

Sooner than later, we hit dirt. And broke down. Repairs are virtually a goal of a Dirt Every Day jaunt.

Sooner than later, we hit dirt. And broke down. Repairs are virtually a goal of a Dirt Eve

After the five-day overhaul, we were dirt-bound, heading northwest outta Dodge (Peoria, whatever) and headlong into denial about the brutal overheating problem. Ignoring it served us fairly well. We found the Supersonic to have precisely 3 more horsepower than an original 134ci flathead-four, but we split gears with the Jeep's ancient Warn overdrive to make up for gutlessness. Yeah, this thing had a Warn O.D.! We cheated death a few times on the backroad journey home, but really, the worst thing that happened on our way back from the DED was the new traffic roundabout in Wickenburg. Fail.

Follow our travails in the photo captions, spend a few minutes wishing you were us, and then go do this kind of stuff yourself. Meanwhile, we'll be back with another Dirt Every Day adventure as soon as we can find an even more freakish, more abandoned cheap Jeep to play with. Got one? You know who to call, or email 4wheeloffroad@sorc.com.

Once we were on the road, the lack of a master-cylinder cover panel became intolerable, with incredible heat blasting through the big hole in the floor. This elegant solution ensued.
Once we were on the road, the lack of a master-cylinder cover panel became intolerable, wi
In Aguila, Arizona, we found a roadside flea market and paid $8 for all these old tools, including some genuine Ford wrenches.
In Aguila, Arizona, we found a roadside flea market and paid $8 for all these old tools, i
The Supersonic was pumping oil out of the filler tube at highway rpm, so we stabbed a hole in the air cleaner, threaded in an old spark-plug antifouler, and ran a hose from the fill tube. That and a sock tied around the fill cap, and we were set.
The Supersonic was pumping oil out of the filler tube at highway rpm, so we stabbed a hole

In Wenden we finally stuck on the overheating solution of a recovery bottle. It didn't work, but was quite stylish.
In Wenden we finally stuck on the overheating solution of a recovery bottle. It didn't wor
In Wenden, Arizona, we stopped at the Outback Saloon, said to have been built in the early 1920s as the first poured-concrete building in Arizona. Supposedly it was also the nearest telegraph station to the historic Harquahala Smithsonian Observatory south of Salome. We had a Corona, told the bar owner where we were going, and asked him to tell anyone who came asking that we were headed northwest on dirt.
In Wenden, Arizona, we stopped at the Outback Saloon, said to have been built in the early
Score! This was an abandoned '43 GPW with a weird inline-six swap of its own.

We could not identify the engine, but we were pleased to know we had alternate transportation if we needed it.
We could not identify the engine, but we were pleased to know we had alternate transportat
This is the site of Camp Bouse, one of 12 such camps created in the Arizona desert for Patton's Army in 1942. This place was used to test an English idea where huge floodlights were designed to blind the oncoming enemy in battlefields. That didn't work out so well.
This is the site of Camp Bouse, one of 12 such camps created in the Arizona desert for Pat
This was neat! Ned Bacon and Kat found us in the middle of nowhere after checking in with the bartender back in Wenden. They were on a two-month adventure in the Synchro and planned to stop at the Overland Expo (we were too cool and late for that), then head to the NORRA 1000.
This was neat! Ned Bacon and Kat found us in the middle of nowhere after checking in with

After a campout and very subpar biscuits and gravy in Parker, we split ways with Ned and Kat and sadly had to roll back to La La Land on Highway 62. There we found one of the Southwest's several random, inexplicable shoe gardens. We'd lost a flip-flop out the side of the Jeep earlier in the trip, so we left behind its mate here. Highway 62 is also the site of many miles of rock decorations along the railroad bed. It's like graffiti with rocks.
After a campout and very subpar biscuits and gravy in Parker, we split ways with Ned and K
Our two-rig caravan, visited the 1909-1937 copper mining site of Swansea, then headed onto the pipeline roads for a rollercoaster ride of tightly spaced peaks and valleys, where we almost died a few times when the Supersonic didn't have the stones to climb the hills without big momentum.
Our two-rig caravan, visited the 1909-1937 copper mining site of Swansea, then headed onto
Finally, the fuel pump died, and we replaced it with an electric. Then it was through Twentynine Palms, California, and into Johnson Valley, where it was 100 degrees below zero in the open Jeep. But we'd rather suffer in a Willys than be numbed in a comfort box. We'll always live to DED another day.
Finally, the fuel pump died, and we replaced it with an electric. Then it was through Twen