Ken Bolton's '67 Jeep CJ-5 modified for sand drags, Walker Evans' '72 F-100, and R.A. Clay's Marmon-Herrington were the first featured vehicles in 4-Wheel & Off-Road. You could probably tell by issue number one that we dug just about anything with wheels. Through the decades we've continued to bring you an in-depth look at racers' building secrets, what your fellow readers are driving, the functional, weird, and functional and weird trucks, vans, buggies, and conversions we've found at events, shops, and in the mail. Here's a look at some of the best-we skipped 1998 since we've still got nine months of awesome possibilities.
1978-1979
Jeepsters, an Austin-Healy 4x4, and a Land Cruiser with power brakes and an auto tranny were among what was called the best back then. But probably the most notable truck to appear during those years was Bob Chandler's F-250, Bigfoot. What got the staff and readership's undergarments in an uproar were its tall stance (the rocker panels were 8 feet 6 inches above the ground), weight (9,200 pounds), and horsepower (400, thanks to the 460ci Ford mill). Other worthy notes were its 11,000-pound military front axle and the 18-22.5 Firestone Super All-Traction tires wrapped around 22.5x14 wheels.
1980
"In Praise of Older Chevys" was how we presented Fred Chavez's '65 1/2-ton. The Corvette-yellow skin, the Carter/Edelbrock-beefed '69 350 Chevy V-8, and the low-geared T-case and tranny from a '77 Chevy were among the $7,000 mods. Although its stock appearance was retained (OK, other than the rollbar, the in-cab 'cage, the Cepek rubber, and so on), Fred built a strong, sano Bow Tie that no doubt became the inspiration for many more vintage buildups. Another fave (actually, favorite freak) from 1980 was Don Wolfe's Quad Rod, a '33 Chrysler with a shortened body, a '51 Jeep front diff and a '74 Ford passenger car rear, '74 GMC front discs, and a chaindriven transfer case. Hey, it made appearances at both hot rod shows and off-road events, so who's to laugh?
1981
This was a tough year to choose cool vehicles. There were many. There was Terry Dye's Mello Yello '53 Studebaker, Jim Hedrick's 9-foot-tall, 9-foot-wide Beast, featuring a shortened '53 2 1/2-ton military troop carrier frame and a GMC 1/2-ton pickup body (making it a '68 GMC), and Glenn Ehrler's four-wheel-drive '54 Chevy station wagon (thankfully it wasn't considered a freak). But cover truck Gunslinger was considered one of the tops because of owner Marc Beguelin's attention to detail. Or because its western theme brought out the cowboy in each 4-Wheel staff member. The '77 F-150's 40-tip flame paint scheme and "horse-power" mural helped Marc score a bunch of national show trophies, but it didn't stop him from actually pounding the truck off-road. His pickup was one of the first examples of a show-and-go ride. It may have had chrome, a combo of blue and black crushed velour and velvet inside, and painted shocks, but Half-Ton Will Travel also had a 4-inch suspension kit and 35.5-inch Hawgs for hitting the dirt.
1982
OK Jeep fans, 1982 was the year of Raddness-the '78 CJ-5 belonging to Steve Williams. It took to the air for the May cover and proved that making a love connection between a Jeep and a Chevy was the right thing to do. Now, we can't blame you for considering the revolving emergency lamp a tad dated, but the fact that Steve built the Chevy CJ from a pile of destruction allowed us to overlook that. The hybrid had a 450-horses-makin' '69 350ci Chevy V-8, a '69 Muncie four-speed, custom driveshafts, 12-15 Cyclone RV-Trac tires on 10-inch American Racing rims, a Steve-made MIG-welded rollcage, an aluminum dash, and a soft top. But let's not forget that 1982 also brought us Douglas Gibbs' Interbaker (the body of a '51 Studebaker Starlight Coupe mixed with the framework of a '44 International Harvester F2 four-wheel-drive military dump truck), Gilbert Justiss's former field ambulance, a '51 Dodge B3PW (guess Steve and Gilbert thought 1982 had a medical theme), and Ed Arnold's first-one-in-California 6.2L diesel-stuffed '82 GMC.
1983
Bronco Mania! Gael Morgan's monster Bronc was front and center on the June cover. Yep, people were building monsters but not always for show. Some were built to be-dare we say it-functional, such as Gael's '81 XLT. You may not see the function of 48x25.00-20NHS Goodyear Terra tires, but for a mud whumper, big rubber was where it was at. But spinning 'em was gonna take some effort, so among the needs was a blown '64 Ford 427ci V-8 and 3-inch dual exhaust-rumor had it the Ford could do 100 mph in 15 seconds. Obviously the stock axles wouldn't cut it, so Gael bolted in 2 1/2-ton military axles front and rear (which got him 6.72 gearing) and a transfer case from a 5-ton military vehicle. Toss in a tractor-size steering system, custom-made leaf springs (the rears were arched 14 inches) and traction bars, and an 8-foot-tall measurement, and what's not to like? Well, maybe the $45,000 price tag and the four miles to the gallon (aviation fuel, no less). Others to hate to love or love to hate in 1983 were Ron Witter's '79 Toyota with a 14-inch lift, Carolyn Nelson's Chevy 400ci V-8-powered '79 Chevy Luv, and Jeff Wall's '78 Dodge W150 with hydraulic tilt front end and gold-anodized rollbar, grille, bumpers, and mirrors.