Savvy CJ
VEHICLE: '83 Jeep CJ-7
OWNER: Brian Pikerowski, Clear Spring, MD
TIRES: 35x12.50-15 Goodyear MTRs
WHEELS: 15x10 American Racing
SUSPENSION: 4-inch Superlift, 2-inch body
DRIVETRAIN: 258ci engine, T-4 tranny, Dana 300 transfer case with twin-stick kit, Dana 30 front with Powertrax locker, AMC 20 rear with Detroit Locker and one-piece axles, 4.10 gears
PERFORMANCE MODS: K&N air filter, ACCEL ignition
OTHER DOODADS: Ramsey 8,000-pound winch, trimmed fenders with TJ flares, braided brake lines, diamond-plate corners and rocker, custom front and rear bumpers, hand throttle
FUNNIEST WHEELING INCIDENT: At one time thinking 31-inchers were going to be the biggest tire I wanted
BEST MOD: Detroit Locker
Taco Con Playa
VEHICLE: '02 Toyota Tacoma
OWNER: Mike Finck, Long Island, NY
TIRES: 315//75/16 Pro Comp X-Terrains
WHEELS: 16x10 Weld Sidewinders
SUSPENSION: 6-inch Fabtech
DRIVETRAIN: V-6 engine, stock everything except front locker
PERFORMANCE MODS: K&N air filter, Poweraid throttle-body spacer, Gibson exhaust
OTHER DOODADS: Braided brake lines, off-road lights, billet grille, Warn multimount winch
Xtra-Cab Exploration
VEHICLE: '85 Toyota Xtra Cab
OWNER: Jared Dunlop, Concord, CA
TIRES: 33x12.50-15 BFGoodrich Mud-Terrains
WHEELS: 15x8 chrome American Racing
SUSPENSION: 6-inch spring, 2-inch body lift, Rancho RS 9000 shocks
DRIVETRAIN: Marlin Crawler gear-reduction unit, Detroit Lockers front and rear, 4.88 gears
PERFORMANCE MODS: K&N air filter, Flowmaster mufflers
OTHER DOODADS: CB radio, matching spare tire!
BEST MOD: Flatbed
WORST MOD: 33-inch tires (should have gotten 35s)
Moogler
VEHICLE: '94 Jeep Wrangler
OWNER: Christopher Hewls, Hickory, NC
TIRES: 48-inch Michelin XMLs
WHEELS: Avalanche bead locks
DRIVETRAIN: Vortec 350 engine, SM465 tranny, flipped Dana 300 transfer case, Dana 60 front, Dana 70 rear
Old Skool
VEHICLE: '52 Jeep CJ3A
OWNER: Don Richter, Bend, OR
TIRES: 35x12.50-15 Pro Comps
WHEELS: 15x10 Weld Typhoons
SUSPENSION: Spring-over conversion using Wrangler springs
DRIVETRAIN: 350ci engine, SM420 tranny, Spicer 18 transfer case, 1/2-ton Chevy axles, 5.13 gears
PERFORMANCE MODS: Bored engine 0.040 over, flat-top pistons, roller rockers, Edelbrock Q-Jet carb
OTHER DOODADS: 8,000-pound winch, Summit seats, six-point rollcage
BEST MOD: Power steering
Kyle's K5
VEHICLE: '76 Chevy K5 Blazer
OWNER: Kyle Macklin, Lindenwood, IL
TIRES: 39.5x15-15 Swamper TSLs
WHEELS: 15x10 aluminum
SUSPENSION: 6-inch
DRIVETRAIN: 350ci engine, TH350 tranny, NP203 transfer case, Dana 44 front, GM 12-bolt rear
PERFORMANCE MODS: Edelbrock intake manifold, headers, dual Flowmasters, K&N air filter, flex fan
OTHER DOODADS: Steering stabilizer, off-road lights
BEST MOD: Lift kit and Swampers
WORST MOD: Need lower gears
Seasoned Wheeler
VEHICLE: '71 Ford Bronco
OWNER: Hugh Wright, Folsom, CA
TIRES: 38x12.50-15 Swamper TSLs
WHEELS: 15x10 Rock Crawlers
SUSPENSION: 6-inch coils, 5-inch leaves
DRIVETRAIN: 302ci engine, NP435 tranny, reverse-rotation Dana 44 with welded diff, 9-inch rear with spool, 4.11 gears
PERFORMANCE MODS: Engine balanced
BEST MOD: Power steering with chromoly tie rod and drag link
Submission Information
Hey readers! We appreciate you sending in pics of your rides, and we'd like you to keep doing so, but we encourage you doing it via e-mail from now on. We can still receive 'em by the slow, old snail-mail, but you'd make our lives a lot easier by sending us a submission electronically. Digital photos must measure no less than 1600 x 1200 pixels (or two megapixels) and be saved as a TIFF, EPS, or a maximum-quality JPEG file. Please send them to jerrod.jones@primedia.com. Also, we haven't included any submission form in quite a long time, yet you all seem to be able to figure out what we need just by looking at the story. What smart readers! We definitely appreciate it, but we were hoping you could add something else to your future submissions:
We'd like to know (1) Is everything working the way you want it to? and (2) What would you change? We'd be grateful if you'd include this new information instead of your Worst Mod and Best Mod. So grateful, in fact, that we'll send 4-Wheel & Off-Road license plates and stickers to the first 50 e-mail submissions that include the new information.
Write to:
Readers' Rides 4-Wheel & Off-Road
6420 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515
fax 323.782.2704
E-mail to:
jerrod.jones@primedia.com