Submission Information
4-Wheel & Off-Road welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must include an address or a telephone number so the sender can be verified. Once verified, your name may be withheld at your request. Letters published in this magazine reflect the opinions of the writers, and we reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, brevity, or other purposes. Due to the large volume of mail we receive, we regret that we cannot reply to unpublished letters or return photos. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, an EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file.
Write to:
Editor
4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704.
Email to:
4wor@sorc.com
New Reader
Reader: I can't wait for my next issue already. This is one of many car/truck magazines I get, but one of the few I read cover to cover the day I get it. I do wish you would have more articles and tech info for the IH crowd though. One thing I have to know-where can I get a set of the retro white wheels on the cream retro Tacoma on page 18 of the Mar. '09 issue? I have to have some for my '00 Tacoma.
Patrick Ray
Starkville, MS
Editor: Thanks. We don't have the info you need on the wheels, but give Toyota a call and tell them how much you liked that solid-axle truck, and see what they say.
Hankook Tire Test
Reader: First off, I would just like to say that you guys have the best off-road magazine out there! I just got my Mar. '09 issue, and while going through and reading the articles something caught my eye. I don't mean to be picky, but on page 28 in the "All-Terrain Tire Shootout," the green Land Rover on the left has a Hankook sticker across the top of the windshield. Wouldn't it have made sense to put the Hankook tires on that vehicle? Besides that, I loved the test since I am considering the BFGs for my '01 ZR-2. Thanks for putting out such a great magazine and keep up the good work. I will be a subscriber for life!
Brandon Baldwin
Gate City, VA
Editor: Thanks for the kudos. It's nice to hear the good side as well. The windshield banner shouldn't have been on the vehicle at all, considering we were testing the three different tires. In the end, it doesn't make a difference and didn't influence our decision, but nice catch!
Happy Readers Rock!
Reader: Hey guys, just wanted to let you all know that I think you all do a great job putting out a first-rate magazine. I have read your magazine for years, and I now subscribe. It seems like every issue has someone bitching about the prices of your projects and the parts to build them. Well, from someone that never will be able to afford the kind of vehicles you all build, I still think they are awesome. The main reason I get your mag is to see what a properly built rig will do and how they look. I have done more splice jobs on vehicles than anyone could imagine and am proud of every one of them. There have been some real lookers too, but they all have been a lot of fun. Anyway I personally think you all do a great job. Keep up the good work.
Brady Alcorn
Eminence, MO
P.S. If L. Fox (previous In Box letter writer) thinks the subscription cost is too high, tell him to let me know and I will sell some old Jeep parts or something to make the 18 dollars so he can enjoy your all-premium mag for another two years.
Editor: Thanks for the compliments!
Tech Tip Of The Day
Reader: In the article "Getting Tanked" (Feb. '09, which I got in December, which still irks me), you say that "fuel pump replacement is challenging at best without a second pair of hands to insert the pushrod." Small-block Chevys have a bolt on the front of the block that can be removed and replaced with a longer one that will hold the pushrod in place. It makes fuel pump installation a breeze. Just remember to take the longer bolt out and replace it with the shorter one when finished. I once blew up an engine because I left the bolt out and blew all the oil out the bolt hole.
Also, you had asked for editorial errors. The appendix has "Gas Tank Swapping" and "Bombproof Ball Joints" in the wrong order, or maybe they are in the wrong order in the magazine.
One more thing, people often write in threatening to cancel their subscription because of one thing or another. Have you ever had time to follow up on those threats and see if they actually cancel? It would be great to help these readers out and cancel for them. Even better would be to ban them from future subscriptions.
Mark Myers-Russo
Temecula, CA
Editor: Thanks for the info. It's been a while since we replaced a mechanical pump on a small-block, what with the advent of fuel-injected engines. Yes, we had swapped story position at the last moment, which is why the Table of Contents is wrong. And as for following up on who subscribes and who cancels, that's one more thing we don't have time for. We'll concentrate on those we have, not those we don't.
Jeep J8 Insanity
Reader: I read with great enthusiasm and frustration in the Apr. '09 issue that the Jeep J8 production has begun. I was blown away with the fact that a vehicle many of us would buy is being manufactured in Egypt! I have owned a highly modified flatfender since 1968, and own an '80 Unimog. I just don't understand why this vehicle is not being made in the USA. They would sell fast for plowing snow, off-roading, and being just a great vehicle. Please don't give me a BS line about emissions and safety. I am a mechanical engineer; you and I know it's just not true. So can you tell us what's up with this continued insanity?
William Turner
Harrison, ME
Editor: Yeah, we would buy one too, but sorry, there is no way that the vehicle would be economically capable of passing safety and emissions requirements. Almost anything can be done if money were no object, but Chrysler still needs to make a profit, which is a little dicey right now...