Hey, Tarzan, wanna wrestle with that tree? This photo doesnt show the streaks from the paintbrush that Alvin White used to paint his 85 CJ-7 Ferrari yellow but theyre there like rays of sunshine. He thieved the Jeep from the previous owner for $50. It came with a running 258 six-cylinder, a Dana 30 front, and an AMC 20 rear. He added $1,300 for wheels, 35-inch Boggers, 4.56 gears, and Lock-Right lockers. Yeah! Next time were in West Virginia, Alvin is taking us Jeep shopping and maybe to a couple of painting classes! |
Good advice for West Virginian wheeling: Open up a can of spinach. Itll make you big and strong like Popeye and J.M. Rosseau. Its spin city through a waterfall on The Notch. |
Www-dot too-bad-we-didnt-get-a-picture-of-Chads-interior-dot-com. The TJ has a yellow bedlinered dash. OK, some might say thats a bit much, but if youre going, you might as well go all the way. And Chad did with nonstock components like front and rear Ford 9-inch axles, a Detroit front, an ARB rear, 4.56s, a Rubicon 6-inch, and TSL/SXs in size 38. More off-road gear consists of Kilby on-board air, a Runck bumper, bead locks, a custom rollcage, and a Warn 9500 winch. If youre still curious about Chads interior or undterior, you can check it out at www.barroffroad.com. |
Jason Anderson got caught scrambling through one of the numerous rock gardens on The Notch. His sprung-over Scrambler does its dirty work with a 4-inch Skyjacker lift, a 360 engine, an NP435, a Dana 300, 4.56s, lockers front and rear, on-board air, dual batteries, and 35-inch SSRs. Need a Jeep beautification project? Wed be happy to sponsor your project with a shiny red 4-Wheel & Off-Road license plate. |
Just a walk in the park for Wes Rollins, vice president of Carolina Off-Road Extremists. His 86 CJ-7 has an injected 258 inline-six, an NP435, and a Dana 300 with 4:1 gears. The 7 is supported by a Dana 30 axle up front and a Dana 44 axle in the rear, both of which are locked by Detroit. Meats are 37x13 Interco Tough tires for tough terrain Boggers on MRT bead locks. |
Hidden deep in the trees of the southern corner of West Virginia theres untainted mud, mush, moss, and mountaintop camping thats far too rugged for anyone less than a true explorer to plot. Having friends with this kind of prerequisite, Rob Atha of Fayetteville, West Virginia, began to mastermind the yearly Off-Road Jambo childrens charity event for the off-road populace who enlist the use of their 4x4s. Weighing trail possibilities, mountainly accommodations, and the cause, his team coordinated faces, places, and butt-kicking rigs. Want to know something more? All of the proceeds were donated to the Fayetteville Toy Fund whose purpose it is to aid local children. Those 400 little childrens smiles were just one of the reasons we traveled the John Denver country road to check out what WWVs mountain 4x4 culture had to offer.
Backyard Built to Wheel
Were always being asked, Where can I go wheeling in __________ (fill in the name of a place)? In most places, as in West Virginia, you have to know somebody with land they are willing to let you ride on. The Notch trail is such a place. The privately owned, tree-canopied trail is actually a 60-acre homestead that houses a gnarly obstacle calledyou guessed itThe Notch. With a dirt-face wall on one side and a series of off-camber mossy boulders on the other, the grooved obstacle is some quality get after it wheeling.
One driver acted like a bull in a china shop, which you must do if you want to make it. The trick is to gas it out, causing your rubbers to burn through the mucky muss (mud plus moss) and allowing you to bump up the trail. Trail Leader Daren McMorris shepherded our group through a few warmup rock gardens before heading resolutely to the big un. You could, if you wanted, drive directly and precisely to the gnarly obstacle. Or if youre the type that eases into the hard stuff, you can circuitously dote on abundant mossy rock gardens including one that is nicknamed Devils Featherbed. Or you can plow through muddy stream crossings or drive up (or down) a 12-foot waterfall.
The Quarry
Remnants of an inline meteor shower are conveniently disguised as a man-made drainage channel or could be seen as a no-sissies rockcrawlers play area. The Jambo promoters decided that the area should have a suitable 4x4 name. So after thinking about it, they came up with Swiss, which is also the name of the town its in. Swiss is so primitive in terms of rockcrawling that even the local species of wildlife were impressed with the means of movement. Find rocks and they will come. Nearby you can cross creeks, motor through a big ol mud hole, step up steep banks, and ascend a few waterfalls.
Other area trails like Twentymile, Pine Knoll, and Armstrong Mountain offer stimulating views. Curious about how you can crash next years course? It will be held July 4-7, 2002, at the Ace Adventure Center in Oak Hill, West Virginia. For more info check out www.offroadjamboree.jump outdoors.com, or contact Rob at 304/469-2399 or Ace Adventure at 888/ACE-RAFT.