Larry Minor's Sand Jeep
While Larry Minor is a legend in the world of motorsports, his Jeeps are legendary. While we're stretching the boundaries by calling these tube-chassis, fiberglass-bodied monsters Jeeps, they look the part, and for something as sinisterly enjoyable as they are, that's close enough for us.
Cappa: OK, I have no idea where half the stuff on this Jeep comes from or how to fix it, but I want it! I've seen Larry Minor blast up dunes faster than Rosie after a Hostess truck. I'm sold. And it's not even four-wheel drive.
Hazel: Anything with more than 1,000 hp has to go into consideration. But having ridden in this thing, I can honestly say I've never been in anything that accelerated as hard or that put as wide a smile on my face. It's pure function for the sake of having fun.
Bill Doyal's M35A3
Basically, take a military M35A3 6x6 truck that's not yet available to the general public, add one hell of a nice camper with granite counters, birch cabinets, and even a full bath, and then enjoy the outdoors with all the luxury of air-ride suspension, onboard heater, A/C, compressed air, microwave, and probably even Internet and cable (we're speculating on that last one).
Trasborg: Bill Doyle's A3 camper. It seemed kinda cramped to me inside, but a deuce with air and all the amenities of home? If this were an M-725, Bill would have a restraining order on me by now.
Cappa: You can't even buy an M35A3 and his has been converted into a camper! Everything from the monster winch, double bead-lock wheels, CTIS, (CAT engine?), and add-on overdrive just oozes cool. I have no idea what I would do with it, but I want it. But I know one thing for sure, if World War III ever broke out, it would be cockroaches and me.
Colin Peabody's '48 VJ Jeepster
What!? Two 2WD Jeeps in one top-10 list-have we gone soft? Maybe a little in the middle, but if you can't appreciate a relatively rare, super-clean, stock-looking-yet-under-the-skin-updated vintage Jeepster, then we don't want to know you. Despite looking like it just rolled off the assembly line in Toledo in 1948, Collin's VJ is tricked out with an even-fire Buick V-6, a 9-inch rear axle, and even a Mustang II IFS front suspension. Modern driveability with vintage vibe. Ooooh.
Trasborg: Colin Peabody's Jeepster. If I could get over sitting so low, I'd build a Jeepster just like this. Sure, it wouldn't win any stoplight drag races, but all the original stuff was there, with some period-correct trinkets to boot, with all the reliability of a later drivetrain.
Hazel: Aaaarghlkdghgl (muffled drooling sounds). With the exception of needing an injected Mustang 5.0L engine and a T5 stick tranny, this thing would make the perfect daily driver.
Terry Estes' '67 M-715
Few vehicles hold the off-road clout of an M-715. Maybe it's the military hardware, the no-nonsense lack of amenities, the beefy running gear, or its ability to fit 42s with hardly any lift. Regardless, Terry's built-for-rocks version walks the walk, even if it belches 6.2L oil and smoke in the process.
Cappa: Sorry, Hazel, Trasborg, and Nasi, but your M-715s don't hold a candle to this one as far as cool factor. Did I mention I like trucks?
Hazel: It's cool, but as soon as you bob the bed on an M-715, I think it loses all its mojo.
Trasborg: Regardless of the fact that Cappa loves taking every appearance of an M-715 in the magazine as an opportunity to knock one of the staff's M-715s (this one being no exception), I likeM-715s, and I particularly like this one. I agree with Hazel about the chopped bed.