If the Jp staff is going to take a vacation, er...work trip to the Hawaiian island of Oahu, then we're going to get in as much wheeling as possible. But what to do and where to go? Cappa did some searching on the Internet and, in addition to naked tattooed chicks, he stumbled across the Oahu Jeepers club, who graciously invited us to tag along with them in our rental Jeep for a day.
The Oahu Jeepers are made up of local Jeep enthusiasts, so that is to say almost every member is an active military, retired military, or civilian military contractor. We wondered why so many military guys owned Jeeps and found out that while stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan, or other nasty places for an extended time period, a vast majority of their pay is withheld because their living expenses are covered by Uncle Sam. Once back home, they get their withheld pay in a lump sum that usually gets spent on whatever they were dreaming about while overseas. In most cases, that's a shiny, modified Jeep.
The club took us to the severe western edge of the island to a place called Kaena Point. It was easy to find once we jumped onto Farrington Highway because it's literally the end of the road. Kaena Point (open to the public) is a beautiful, wandering trail that offers everything from sand, rocks, twisties, and climbs for the wheeler. It also offers offshore fishing, diving, surfing, and hiking for the day-tripper. For more information on the Oahu Jeepers, check out the club's Web site at www.oahujeepers.com.
Ken Kelly was not only our...
Ken Kelly was not only our club liason who set up our trail ride, he also sported one of the bigger Jeeps we saw on the island. His '87 XJ was equipped with the 4.0L, the infamous Peugot tranny, and a Dana 44 rear with limited slip. An 8-inch Skyjacker lift clears room with a little fender trimming for the 35-inch BFG MTs on 15x10 Eagle Alloy simulated bead locks. Ken has yet to re-gear the axles, but he's ahead of the game, having bought the mostly built rig for $2,800.
If you're into nachos and...
If you're into nachos and rollers that flex and test your suspension, you'll love wheeling in Oahu. Between the opposing holes dug by the vast number of open-diff vehicles, the wind, the rain, and the volcanic soil, there was lots of flexing going on. Eric Willman's '98 four-popper lets it all hang out with open diffs and 31-inch BFG ATs cleared by a 2-inch coil spacer lift.
Dubbed the "King of the Cheap...
Dubbed the "King of the Cheap Mod" by us, Bernie Swetman's '92 4-cylinder XJ had a lot of inexpensive and homegrown pieces. Aside from the 3-inch Rough Country lift and 31-inch Pro Comp tires, Bernie scrounged a '94 engine into place, made his own brushguard and sway bar disconnects, used pieces of old mufflers to weld up rust holes, and even removed the carpet inside to install custom mud stains.
Although the terrain of Keana...
Although the terrain of Keana Point isn't what we'd call hard core, there are several off-camber rocky climbs that require your attention. Nathan Francisco spurred the 4.0L in his '03 Wrangler to get up this example. His rig uses a 2 1/2-inch Rubicon Express Super Flex lift to clear 32x11.50-15 BFG Muds on 15x10 black steelies.
Wheeling Kaena Point is like...
Wheeling Kaena Point is like driving a meandering Baja, Mexico, road (without all the trash and abandoned vehicles). Stu Meek threw 4.56 gears in the stock axles and a 4-inch Rough Country lift to clear 33x10.50s on the stock 15x7 rims. The 4.0L six had plenty of grunt for those times the trail wanders into soft beach sand.
Todd Maki wasn't a club member,...
Todd Maki wasn't a club member, but he fell in with our group in his '97 4-cylinder TJ. When he got back from Iraq he bought the rig from his Sergeant for a song with the 2-inch lift and 31-inch Wrangler AT/S tires already installed.
We couldn't get over the scenery...
We couldn't get over the scenery at Kaena Point. From the ocean on one side, a lush mountain slope on the other, and sandy beach all around, it was quite a departure from the bleached terrain of Southern California we're used to. The remnants of this old bridge serve as a reminder to when there used to be a maintained road around Kaena Point.
The Wrangler X package gets...
The Wrangler X package gets you all the factory goodies that we consider basic necessities in a Wrangler, like the 4.0L engine and manual tranny. Garry Nakamura, however, took his '03 Wrangler X a few steps further with a 3 1/2-inch Rubicon Express Superflex lift, 33-inch BFG MTs on 15x8 black steelies, and 3.73 gears in the axles in place of the 3.55 factory cogs.
Perhaps the highest-dollar-rig-of-the-day...
Perhaps the highest-dollar-rig-of-the-day award should go to Will O'Brien for his '04 Wrangler Rubicon. The rig was 100 percent stock, because it could be. Factory lockers, Dana 44 axles, and a 4:1 T-case meant that Will didn't so much as slip a tire all day.
Paul Herrera's '91 XJ was...
Paul Herrera's '91 XJ was nearly stock, save for a 3-inch Rough Country lift and 32x11.50-15 BFG ATs on the stock 15x7 wheels. With open diffs in the Dana 30 front and Dana 35 rear and the sway bars still hooked up, Paul spun the tires more than once. But careful lines and good driving got him through the trail with no problems.
When Christopher Noell was...
When Christopher Noell was doing his duty in Afghanistan he dreamt of owning a Jeep. As soon as his feet hit American soil, he took his back pay and bought himself an '04 Wrangler X. The 4.0L rig is stock, except for a 4-inch Pro Comp lift and 33x12.50 Pro Comp muds on 15x10 Extreme Alloy wheels.