The Big Eliminator is only...
The Big Eliminator is only run once a year, so if you don't make it up the first time, you have plenty of time to think about what to do differently before you get another chance.
Editor Cappa ruffled more than a few feathers with his March '07 editorial in which he claimed, "Rockcrawling is boring." If that did not put enough of a bull's-eye on his back, Cappa went on to praise the Formula Off-Road competitions of Scandinavia and asked, "We have the American know-how and components to build these things here, so where are they?" The answer, as unlikely as it might be, is Ohio.
Ohio might be more famous for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and college football than for good four-wheeling, but people in the Buckeye State still take their Jeeping seriously. Very seriously. Gravelrama is an annual ritual that draws thousands of off-road racers and fans to the small town of Cleves, Ohio, every August. Located only half an hour from the major metropolitan center of Cincinnati, Gravelrama has everything from camping to funnel cake, with gratuitous amounts of horsepower thrown in. The centerpiece of Gravelrama is the notorious Big Eliminator. Standing seven stories high, with a length of 175 feet and an angle of about 75 degrees, the Big Eliminator is the closest thing that we have to the Formula Off-Road here in the United States. Check out gravelrama.com for more info.
 Chris Osantowski has been...  Chris Osantowski has been running his "Tin Man" Willys at Gravelrama for the past five years, but the vehicle has a long history. It was originally built by Joe Dunlap, a tinsmith, which is where the name came from. |  Damian Bowers is a second-generation...  Damian Bowers is a second-generation Gravelrama participant in his '69 CJ-5. The parts list reads pretty good for a Jeep he calls "Leftovers." It includes a 321 small-block Chevy hooked up to a Powerglide two-speed automatic with a trans brake in front of a custom chain-drive transfer case. |  Doug and JoAnn Reuther's '76...  Doug and JoAnn Reuther's '76 CJ-7 has a 500 horsepower AMC V-8 running on E85 fuel. The rest of the drivetrain is relatively stock, yet somehow lives behind the big power. |
 The Dana 30 front axle under...  The Dana 30 front axle under Jim Montgomery's '73 CJ-5 is hard-mounted to the frame, since the front tires are usually in the air after the vehicle gets moving anyway. The Jeep uses a Bischoff Engine Service alcohol-injected 331ci small-block Chevy that cranks out over 650 horsepower. |  Rodney Ripberger's single-seat...  Rodney Ripberger's single-seat CJ-5 uses a stretched front clip to accommodate the extended wheelbase for more stability when climbing the Big Elim. |  Doug Reuther, Jr. was the...  Doug Reuther, Jr. was the youngest competitor ever to make it over the Big Eliminator at age 16 back in 1998. His '86 CJ-7 has a heavily modified 4.3L V-6 with Brodix heads that makes nearly 500 horsepower on 110-octane race fuel. |
 A lot of the Jeeps at the...  A lot of the Jeeps at the event were still running AMC engines. Scott Campbell's CJ-7 has a full-roller 360 with a Holley carb that sends 600 horsepower to the TH400 and chain-drive transfer case. The CJ-7 has one of the more advanced suspensions that we witnessed at Gravelrama. He runs coilovers at all four corners with a four-link in the rear and a three-link in the front. |  The first run for each class...  The first run for each class is made from the bottom of the hill to the top. Everyone that makes it to the top then advances and the runs start part way up the hill. The final round is run for time between the timing lights on the incline, but even if you are the fastest, you still have to make it over the top under your own power for the run to count. |  When we say that these Jeeps...  When we say that these Jeeps are running a chain-drive transfer case, we aren't talking about an NP231. The chain-drive allows ratios to be easily changed for different track conditions; it's lightweight and allows for a longer rear driveshaft in short wheelbase Jeeps. |
 The Harney clan brought three...  The Harney clan brought three of their "Hayshaker" Jeeps to Gravelrama to run all of the different events. Kyle Harney is a third-generation racer and shared driving duties with his grandfather Richard in this '47 Willys-bodied '77 CJ-7. |  Rusty Searle added longer...  Rusty Searle added longer '74 front fenders and hood to his '68 CJ-5 when he lengthened the wheelbase. Searle's Indian Uprising runs a 204ci Pontiac four-cylinder with a 4-71 blower. It runs on alcohol and the little-engine-that-could sends 600 horsepower through the Powerglide and chain-drive transfer case. |  "I lengthened the front of...  "I lengthened the front of the Jeep 12 inches to keep the front end down, but it doesn't help that much," Stacy Presley admitted to us. A rear three-link helps the 35x15 paddles (with 18 scoops each) hook up to the gravel. The '46 CJ-2A has evolved over the years. The current iteration has a 700 horsepower 343ci small-block Chevy that spins up to 11,000 rpm. |