A pair of Procar black reclining buckets make up the front seating, while the stock CJ rear seat still hangs tough out back. Autometer Sport Comp gauges residing in a TnT Customs dash panel tell Mark what he needs to know about the Jeep's vitals, a Grant GT steering wheel gives him something to hold onto, and a Sirius Radio takes the humdrum out of waiting to get to that next obstacle. A custom 6-point rollcage protects all the occupants in the event of a rollover, and a CJ-style black bikini top keeps the sun off the front seat occupants.
It's been a while since we've seen a quarter-elliptic suspension under a Jeep, and while it wouldn't be our first choice for suspension, it sure does work well. The big Buick motor is big, powerful-did we mention big?-and not a Chevy so that was nice to see. The rear high-pinion axle obviously drives on the coast side, which is less than ideal, but Mark has yet to break so much as a single tooth.
Like I said at the start of the article, at first I just about walked straight by this Jeep. But one thing led to another, and soon I was crawling around under it in a McDonald's parking lot. There is a lot of really clean work done on this Jeep, from the rear tube-frame section, to the rollcage, to the belly skid, to the entire custom built exhaust. Add into the mix that big Buick engine, the vacuum canister to keep the brakes happy, Mark putting up with my asking an hour's worth of questions about it in that parking lot, and how well this Jeep works out on the trail, and I was sold.- Pete Trasborg