I am disappointed in your article "101 Places to Wheel Before You Die" (June '08) since Black Mountain Park was not included. This is especially disappointing since there were few entries for the East Coast area to which this could be applied. I have been to many of the parks you included from this part of the country and Black Mountain Park is destined to become the premier East Coast park. It is obvious your staff has not yet been there. You have discredited your magazine by not including it in the Top 101. The park did get mentioned in your linked article, "This Land is Your Land," at fourwheeler.com, but it's incorrectly listed as "Blue Mountain."
Lynda Joyce
Alvaton, KY
In your recent "101 Places to Wheel Before You Die" (June '08), you missed one of the greatest places in southwest Missouri: The Southern Missouri Off Road Ranch. It's located 5 miles south of Seymour on Highway K. It's a little more than 900 acres of excellent wheeling for everyone from stock rigs to the wildest rigs. Trail rides to 8-foot waterfalls. They have RV sites in the making, campgrounds, brand-new very modern showers and restrooms, and a pavilion by the campgrounds. You need to bring some rigs here if you think you're up for the challenge. Trust me, you are missing out on one of the best parks in the nation.
Phillip Beisiegel
Marshfield, MO
In your "101 Places to Wheel Before You Die" article (June '08), you have Byrd's Adventure Center listed in Missouri. It is actually located in Arkansas, just outside of Cass on the beautiful Mulberry River. I would also like to thank you for getting the information correct on your Web site. You all are doing a great job, and I'd be more than happy to overlook this incident if a license plate or something of that nature showed up on my doorstep.
Andy Tharp
Conway, AR
Sounds like a fair trade to us. We were hoping that this story would generate plenty of reader mail to let us know of places around the country that we might've missed, and also for you to share wheeling spots with your fellow readers. Thanks to all who've written in thus far, and keep letting us know about any awesome new wheeling spots in your area.
I have finally gotten the chance to sit and read your "Don't Shoot That Horse" (June '08). I personally own a '71 Bronco. The body is almost completely rusted out-you literally can't go 12 inches from any spot on the body without running your finger through a rust hole. Maybe that's why I love it. I have two questions: Will a Bronco II body fit on the frame of my early Bronco (the frame, engine, and complete drivetrain are in perfect condition, minus oil leaks)? I know about the Chevy Dana axle disc-brake conversion, but what about Dodge? Believe it or not, I can't find any of the Chevys at our local junkyards. I see a lot of Dodges, though. I would think that a Dana 44 is a Dana 44. Is it?
Willie Suter
Thornhust, PA
Jp Magazine tech guru Christian Hazel replies: Oh God, please don't put that body on an early Bronco! That's just wrong. You'd be better off in the long run looking for a better early Bronco body. Check Craigslist for California, Arizona, or other states in the Southwest. Or buy yourself a small MIG welder and learn to install replacement panels.
As for the Dodge brakes, yes you can put them on the Bronco Dana 44 front, but you've got to swap to the Dodge knuckles, caliper brackets, rotors, calipers, and stub shafts since the Dodge spindle is different than the Chevy/Ford spindle. It's nice because the Dodge shares the same 5-on-51/2 bolt pattern as your Bronco. Just grab everything from the knuckles out on a '81-'93 Dodge 1/2-ton and you'll be all set.