Indholdsfortegnelse for February 2020 i Four Wheeler

EDITOR@FOURWHEELER.COM VISUAL WINCHING Warn Industries introduces the Spydura Nightline. The new winch line takes the company’s Spydura synthetic rope product and adds color and increased function. Each rope is made from ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) with a UV-stable coating. The new red-and-black weave also integrates a 3M light-activated reflective strand into the rope. This improves visibility during recoveries and provides a custom look when spooled onto a winch drum. Other Warn Spydura Nightline products include winch rope extensions and soft shackles. INFO: Warn industries, 800/543-9276, warn.com LEGAL LED Baja Designs announces the company’s first street-legal light line, the Squadron SAE. The new lights are based on the Squadron Series off-road lights, but the Squadron SAE lights are said to be street-legal fog/driving lights. Each Squadron SAE light features four LEDs and…

editor@fourwheeler.com THERE ARE MANY WINCHES AVAILABLE FROM THE AFTERMARKET, each with unique power, pull, and performance features. And that variety makes it easier to narrow down your choice to the one that will best match how you intend to get stuck (or such). The winches you see here are available directly from their manufacturer or the company’s distributor, and you might be surprised to learn where else you can buy many of these winches: Amazon, Home Depot, Walmart, and Kmart. COMEUP USA What: Seal Slim 9.5rs and 12.5rs Tech: Those numbers stand for availability of both 9,500-pound and 12,500-pound pulling capacities. These two are about half an inch shorter than their Seal Gen2 Series relatives. The Seal part of the name refers to its IP68 submersion capability. Quote: “One important…

jered.korfhage@fourwheeler.com THERE WERE NO PROMISES OF PERFECT weather, clean socks, or anything remotely easy. The year was 1996, and three-person teams representing Land Rover North America dealerships were assembled for an event called TReK. Though the 1,000-mile excursions were not re-created, TReK aimed to borrow from the venerable Camel Trophy’s skills challenges and build a two-day event that not only showcased the capabilities of Land Rover vehicles, but also the ability of the invited Land Rover retailers to come together as teams and put the rigs and their driving skills to use. Challenges included mentally and physically engaging activities mixed with precision driving and teamwork, and every team drove a similarly outfitted Land Rover vehicle. Jump forward 23 years, and TReK has returned to North America, just ahead of the…

jered.korfhage@fourwheeler.com WELCOME TO THE MotorTrend Group Tech Center for Day 3 of Four Wheeler’s Week to Wheelin’ vintage Bronco build, presented by Golden Star Classic Auto Parts. In the last two stories, we visited Classic Truck Supply in Plain City, Ohio, where our early Bronco body was assembled from Golden Star Classic Auto Parts sheetmetal, sculpted to perfection with 3M body products, and coated in a rad two-tone BASF paintjob. From there, the body traveled to California, where our team of master builders made quick work of getting the Bronco onto a rolling chassis. Jason Scudellari and Christian Arriero, of the MotorTrend Group Tech Center; Christian Hazel, editor of 4-Wheel & Off-Road magazine; John Lehenbauer, Diesel Power tech editor; Jim and Mitch Creel, of Wild Horses 4x4; Matt Dinelli, of…

SCOUT’S HONOR Here is a picture of my ’75 IHC Scout II XLC. Original factory paint and arrow striping, original IHC 345ci V-8 with Stan’s Headers, Dana 60 rear and 44 front, 3.73 gears, spring-over conversion with Rancho 2½-inch suspension lift, 35-inch Mickey Thompson Baja Claws on American Racing directionals, Bushwacker flares, custom stainless steel rocker, quarter, and lower door panels I fabbed myself, Bestop soft top, padded rollbar, and push bar. Won First Place at the 25th annual Rocky Mountain International Harvester Rendezvous in Kremmling, Colorado! CHERYL HUERTER VIA EMAIL DIY SCOUT I just got through reading my May issue of Four Wheeler and read that you were asking for pictures of Scouts. Here are pictures of mine. Ninety-nine percent of work all done by owner—which means I did…

editor@fourwheeler.com LONG BEFORE MINIVANS RULED THE ROADWAYS AND FOLKS were strapping tents to their roofs, fullsize vans were king. It didn’t matter if you were a tradesman, hippy, or wide-eyed adventurer, a fullsize van could be easily adapted to fit your needs. With the explosion of overlanding in recent years, it’s no surprise that we’ve seen a reemergence in the fullsize van platform. However, few have been beating the van drum longer than Ujoint Offroad owner, Chris Steuber. His business is one that specializes in modifying the ’92-to-current Ford E-series vans. While Ujoint offers everything from bumpers to roof racks, it’s primarily known for its four-wheel-drive conversion systems. This brings us to the ’02 Ford E-350 feature you’re reading about today. While it’s a far cry from the retired ambulance…

editor@fourwheeler.com TRAVIS CHRYSTAL HAS A SAYING WHEN IT comes to how he built his ’71 Chevy K10: “stupid-simple.” Examples: After selling his ’06 GMC 1-ton dualie and completing a restoration on his ’69 Chevy Camaro, he was bored and wanted a new project. “It needed to be something stupid-simple with parts easily obtained, which for me was pre-1978 iron.” On buying his K10 off Craigslist: “Small-block Chevy, SM465/205 with a 12-bolt rear, and Dana 44 front equals stupid-simple and pretty tough. We negotiated a price and I drove it home.” One more: “I wanted to go with fuel injection versus carb, even though it adds some unnecessary complexity and deviates from the stupid-simple objective some.” There was plenty of stupid-brilliance in these decisions, which contributed to why it took only…

editor@fourwheeler.com BIGGER. BOLDER. QUIETER. QUICKER. Smoother. Stronger. Smarter. Those are just a few of the words that came to mind when we wrapped up a couple of days behind the wheel of the ’20 GMC Sierra HDs, both gas and diesel. The four-wheel-drive Crew Cab 2500 and 3500 dualies we drove made it clear that GM’s halo brand on the truck side is determined to keep leading the way on the technology and towing fronts, all the while refining ride and handling. As we’ve previously covered in detail about the new Chevrolet Silverado HDs, the heavy-duty ’20 GMC Sierra 2500/3500s share the same chassis, underpinnings, and drivetrain. For example, the new chassis of the Crew Cab with the standard bed now sports a wheelbase of 158.9 inches compared to the…

jered.korfhage@fourwheeler.com WHEN BUILDING ONE OF THE FIRST JEEP GLADIATORS TO HIT THE TRAILS AFTER THE TRUCK’S release, it was only natural for Mel Wade, owner of Off Road Evolution, to do it in a big way. Before digging into the truck, however, he made sure to put the new Jeep truck through some thorough off-road tests to see just how well the Gladiator performed in its stock Sport-level trim. Compared to other stock pickups in its class, he was quite pleased with its composure over bumps and during low-speed navigation of obstacles—not to mention being able to peel back (or completely remove) the top. Nevertheless, the Gladiator’s hours in its unmodified state were dwindling. The goal was to go from bare bones to bugout-built and get the rig onto the…

JERED.KORFHAGE@FOURWHEELER.COM Stuck with a nasty bout of the 4x4 blahs? Fear not, our medical specialists are standing by to tug you out of the doldrums with a dualie-dose of Chevy-powered, sled-pulling, wheelstanding action. As we flipped back through the Four Wheeler appointment book, we landed on August 1985 and something that used to be our project monster truck—an ’81 Chevy dualie, which lived with Larry Lee, vice president of circulation and promotion at Four Wheeler at the time. Larry enlisted the help of Don Ferguson, Four Wheeler’s manager of new products and promotions, to send the dualie to medical school, making sure it graduated with full honors. Larry wanted the truck to be an over-the-top, crowd-pleasing machine, and Don was up for the challenge. The dualie’s stock engine was replaced…

EDITOR@FOURWHEELER.COM Ford Now Offers Off-Road Leveling Kits for Ranger & F-150 Ford Performance Parts has stepped up its game—for the first time, it’s making leveling kits available for ’15-’19 Ranger and F-150 4x4s. The package includes Ford Performance 2-inch front lift levels, coilovers, and Fox shocks (Ford worked with the company on special internal valving), equaling more ground clearance and better approach and departure angles, not to mention a suspension tuned specifically for these two trucks. The kit costs $1,495, which does not include installation, but any Ford dealer can do the deed. ’20 Land Rover Defender Things to know about the Land Rover Defender: It’s back. The Defender 110 and short-wheelbase Defender 90 will be available in 2020. Highlights include that the engines will be the P300; a turbocharged…

editor@fourwheeler.com IN FORT WAYNE, INDIANA, YOU CAN’T GET RUN over except by someone who once worked at International Harvester, or had a relative that did. More than 33 years after that company ceased to exist, many of the 10,000-plus Fort Wayne residents who once worked there still talk about their years at “Harvester.” Starting in 1923, International built most of its big trucks in Fort Wayne, and later the legendary Scout from 1960 through 1980. Also there: a test track, International’s Engineering and Design Center, a Truck Sales Processing Center, and a Master Parts Depot. Many vendors were located in Fort Wayne just to service International. The Fort Wayne Truck Plant 1, which closed in 1983, was once called “The Heavy Duty Truck Capital of the World,” and 1,527,299 heavy…

EDITOR@FOURWHEELER.COM STOPPING F-150 Q I own a ’90 Ford F-150 4x4. It has a front TTB Dana 44 axle with a tag number 610335-3. I use Warn Premium locking hubs. I need to find some new wheel hubs or hub and rotor assemblies. Per my axle tag number, the Ford hub and rotor part number is F3TZ-1102-AA. I am unable to find these anywhere. They are obsolete. Raybestos produces a hub part number 4943R and a hub and rotor part number 66297R. Some sell and advertise these parts for fitting ’80-’86 and ’89-’92 trucks. Although, some claim these will only fit ’80-’86 models. I contacted Raybestos and the company said these will not fit my ’90 F-150, only ’80-’86. The company claimed to have at one time produced a wheel…