johnson Valley Crawling - yj Crawling - Photo 33066327

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The last obstacle on Wrecking Ball is an 8-foot vertical waterfall. Normally it is driveable, but it didn't look good for us in our 97-inch-wheelbase YJ. Pat Curl managed to drive it with the help of a few guys on a strap to keep his Jeep dirty-side down.

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154 0503 01 z+johnson valley crawling+crew

Pat Curl's '58 CJ-5 worked like a champ, walking through pretty much everything. The Buick 231 V-6 is mated to a Turbo 400 auto tranny, and behind that sits the old-school Dana 20 T-case. Pat runs a simple spring-over with Rubicon Express springs in the front and XJ springs in the rear to give him a few more inches of wheelbase. At a short 90-something-inch wheelbase, Pat's rig worked extremely well (with the exception of a power-steering pump, which sounded like a dying animal).

The last obstacle on Wrecking Ball is an 8-foot vertical waterfall. Normally it is driveable, but it didn't look good for us in our 97-inch-wheelbase YJ. Pat Curl managed to drive it with the help of a few guys on a strap to keep his Jeep dirty-side down.

Quinn Moss-Pultz's YJ sports the factory 4.0L engine. Behind that sits a stock AX-15 tranny and an Atlas T-case. The Dana 60 rear and Dana 44 front are stuffed with ARBs and 5.13s. Randy's Chromoly Dana 44 axles and U-joints made sure the 37-inch Krawlers didn't break anything.

Phil Burum showed us that it's all about gearing. Horsepower is nice, but not always necessary for rockcrawling. His '94 YJ sports a 2.5L motor, which pushes his 39.5-inch TSLs without a problem. A Klune-V sits in front of his stock NP231 T-case, and the 35-spline Dana 60s front and rear ensure that his tires don't write checks his axles can't cash.

The ledges of Wrecking Ball are always a blast. This one gave a few people problems. The washed-out ledges proved difficult; even 37-inch tires seemed a bit small.

What fun would a party be without rides? Bored and looking for cheap thrills, the guys managed to turn a spare tire (mounted on a spindle, hub, and bearings) into an incredible puke-o-rama carnival ride. Apparently drinking and spinning on a spare tire can make you sick ... who would've thought?

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