No matter what you do, an '88 Wagoneer isn't going to be a sports car. Don't tell Larry Miller of Blissfield, Michigan, that, because stabbing an AMC 401 with Edelbrock aluminum heads, an Edelbrock cam, an Edelbrock intake, an Offroad Thunder 650 carburetor, Harlan Sharp Roller Rockers, and Thorley Headers into it sure is a step in that direction. The TF727 got a Trans-go shift kit, while the NP229 just screams uncle from all the abuse. Skyjacker 4-inch lift springs clear 325/60R15 BFG All-Terrains wrapped around 15x10 Turbines.
This '05 LJ in Rubicon Flavor sports a six-speed NVG246 tranny, a 6-inch Nth Degree lift, and Bilstein 5100 shocks to clear 315/75R16 Goodyear MT/Rs on the stock Rubicon rims. Don Nywening of Wind Gap, Pennsylvania, also mentions that he added a Warn 9.5ti winch, a Wilderness Expedition rack, a Tuffy Products rear security drawer, Source onboard air, a Hi-Lift Jack, and a Cobra CB. With all that weight, more power was needed, and it came in the form of a Jet Performance chip, an Airaid intake and throttle-body spacer, and a Banks Monster Exhaust. Protection comes in the form of a homebuilt steering-box skid, a Pro Comp front bumper, a Genuine Steel rear bumper, and a stainless steel front differential skid.
This '06 Rubicon Unlimited replaced Chef's '04 Wrangler X that he sank in a pond just before Christmas 2005. This Cincinnati resident tells us that after dunking the X, it smelled like dead frogs until he traded it in for this Unlimited. The Unlimited is enough to get there and get back. With a 2-inch BDS lift, stock air lockers front and rear, and stock Goodyear tires, there should be no problem in overdriving the drivetrain. Chef added a K&N intake to the engine and takes along a Tabor winch and Hi-Lift Jack wherever he goes.
Or at least that's what Terry Drury's wife thinks of his '67 Jeepster. In 14 months, it went from a rusted-out Jeep to this beauty you see here. A 4x5-foot piece of 18-gauge was used to make patch panels, while the hood was replaced with a fiberglass unit and the top was replaced with one from Bestop. The 225ci V-6 is still providing power to the stock axles, with a Detroit Truetrac added to the rear. Super Swamper 31x9.5R15 TrXus Radials wrap the American Racing rims, and a 2-inch lift for the rear fixed the dragging rearend look.
We think that Jacob Taden of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, must be a comedian. He tells us that he built this '88 MJ to be a good, reliable, off-road, trail Jeep. We've yet to see a good trail Jeep that was reliable, but with a Skyjacker 3-inch lift, Skyjacker front lower control arms, and Skyjacker Nitro 800 shocks controlling things, maybe Jacob has a chance. He also added JKS bar-pin eliminators, while the rear got a 3-inch add-a-leaf and Mickey Thompson Classic II rims were shod with TrXus Mud Terrains in a 31x10.50R15 size. The five-speed manual, inline-six, and NP231 were all left unmolested.
After only a billion hours and working through some snowstorms, Pam and Horace Sutton of Burlington, New Jersey, have done a nice frame-up restoration on their '83 CJ-8. The 258ci six-cylinder got a Weber carburetor and an HEI distributor while the transmission and transfer case were just rebuilt. The axles received 4.56 gears, lockers, one-piece axles (in the rear), and four-wheel disc brakes.
We just like the irony of using an '04 TJ Rubicon for something that has nothing to do with its namesake. Chris Miles of Ontario, Canada, sent us quite a few pictures of his stock Rubicon at the Sweet Peas Mud Bog. We have to say, it was dirty in all of the pictures, and we don't even know what its real color is. So here's a picture of a stock Rubicon swimming in the mud. And, presumably, having a grand old time doing it.
This '00 Wrangler belongs to Mike Mische of Long Beach, California, and from the looks of things, he knows how to have fun wheeling his Jeep. This picture was taken in Moab, Utah, as were all the others he sent in. All of them make us want to get out of the office. The 4-inch Rubicon Express short-arm lift provides clearance for the 33x12.50 Goodyear MTR tires wrapped around 15x8 Eagle Alloy rims. He stuffed ARBs in the front and swapped in rear Ford 8.8 axles, geared the Jeep to 4.56, and took it wheeling.