Take a bunch of vintage rigs over a run like the Sierra Nevada's Rubicon Trail, Moab's Poison Spyder Mesa Trail, or Big Bear's John Bull Trail? You'll be there all day winching and wrenching, right? Nah. You don't need super-mega-secret Low range, monster tires, or 300 hp to tackle tricky trails. All you need is a Jeep and a driver who can keep a level head.
Just like a wave that breaks into a cliff and gently rolls back to sea, we're seeing a renaissance in the off-road world. The high-water mark of tube buggies with monster gizmatic suspensions is slowly giving way to moderately simple lifts, sane tire choices, and full body panels. Old school is back in session and recess is in the rocks.
So when we heard Adam Sparks, the dude behind one of our favorite Web sites (www.earlycj5.com), was going to be in town, we told site members we'd bring the cameras if they brought the Jeeps. The meeting place was Big Bear Lake, California, and the trail was the none-too-easy John Bull Trail. In the end, we wound up with a smattering of vintage CJs through the ages in varying degrees of build-from bone stock ('66 CJ-6) to kinda crazy (author's '53 DJ-3A). Enjoy the old school stuff? Want to see more of it? Then drop us a line at christian.hazel@jpmagazine.com and tell us about your vintage trail run. Give us more than a few months' advanced notice, and chances are we may join with cameras in tow.
Although the author's attempts...
Although the author's attempts at making the run in his bone-stock '48 CJ-2A failed ("A Comedy of Errors," page 48) Hazel (big) and Hazel (little) hit the trail in the world's most recognized DJ. Aside from a new alternator mount and a Howe double-pass radiator, it's the same DOHC shortstar-powered rig running an SM420, Dana 300, Currie 9-inch with 5.38s and a Detroit Locker (front), and True Hi-9 with a spool (rear) that you've seen in these pages before.
Perhaps the participant with...
Perhaps the participant with the huevos mas grandes was Reid Norden, driving his lovely wife Jill's ber-rare '54 Willys concept vehicle built for the '55 auto show circuit. It's amazing how forward-thinking those Jeep engineers were back then when you consider how very similar the '54 concept comes to a modern Unlimited Rubicon. Reid's '67 CJ-6 isn't finished and his dad used to desert race back in the '60s, sponsored by Brian Chuchua, so he had more than enough pull to attend.
Curt Stephens handily snaked...
Curt Stephens handily snaked his '70 CJ-5 through the trail with zero damage. Curt's '70 enjoys the factory 30-spline flanged Dana 44 with 4.88s and a Power Lock as well as a Buick 225 sporting the factory oil bath air filter. The T-14 tranny, Spicer 18 T-case, and Dana 27 front are all stock as well, but the Saginaw steering, the 4-inch lift, and the Warn overdrive are upgrades. In addition to the bitchin' 15x8.5 aluminum slot wheels, the rig also enjoys 33x10.50-15 BFG MT tires, an 8,000-pound Warn winch, twin fuel tanks (for a total of 35 gallons), and a satellite radio.