EXPLORING EXPLORER
Exploring the mountains around Midvale, Utah, is Mike Swank in his '93 Ford Explorer. A 6-inch lift from Superlift with extended radius arms helps to improve articulation and altitude. The body was boosted another 3 inches to help clear the 35-inch Goodyear MTR tires. Two sets of 4.56 gears were installed to help turn the bigger tires, and a Detroit Locker was stuck into the rear axle to work with the Lock-Right up front to provide traction. A Kurtz Kustom Motorsports air induction kit and a Dynomax after-cat exhaust improve the Explorer engine's ability to breathe.
NEVADA S-10
Dayton, Nevada resident Joe Choat enjoys exploring Nevada's extensive outback in his '97 Chevy S-10 ZR2. He made the truck far better than stock by installing a BDS 5-inch suspension lift and a 2-inch body lift. That cleared the way for 33x12.50-inch Big O XT tires on 15x8 American Racing wheels. A K&N air intake system and a set of headers and a dual exhaust help the 4.3L V-6 move the S-10 a bit more quickly than it moved when it rolled out of the Chevy factory.
BUCKING BRONCO
The Fitzgerald family of Denver, Colorado likes to get out and explore their surroundings in this '69 Ford Bronco. The original Dana 30 front axle was swapped out in favor of a Dana 44 equipped with a Lock-Right. A Warn full-floater kit was then put on the rear Ford 9-inch axle. An NP435 four-speed manual was then swapped in to help the Bronco creep along. Lift comes from a 3-inch suspension system that clears a set of 35-inch BFGoodrich Mud-Terrains.
FAB FORD
Ronnie Lopp of Mauckport, Indiana owns this tricked-out '98 Ford F-150. Under the hood is found a 4.6L Triton V-8 that has been equipped with a JET Performance chip, a K&N air filter kit and a custom exhaust system. A Fabtech 6-inch lift and a 3-inch body lift came next. After that, a set of 39.5x15 Super Swamper TrXus tires were mounted onto 16x10 Weld aluminum wheels. To polish it all off, a booming audio system was put into the interior.
ON DUTY
Rob Kollmansberger of Windsor, Colorado built this fine example of an '01 Ford F-250 Super Duty. It sports a Fabtech 8-inch lift with dual Rancho shocks front and rear. Custom traction bars with spherical rod ends were fabbed up to keep wheelhop to a minimum. A Fabtech front prerunner bumper and a Fabtech spare-tire carrier were also used. Under the hood rests a V-10 engine that is boosted by a Vortech supercharger, Banks stainless steel headers, a BBK throttle body and custom 2 1/2-inch exhaust with Flowmaster mufflers. The stock axles were then stuffed with 4.88 gears to turn the 38x15.50 Parnelli Jones Dirt Gripz on 16.5x9.75 American Racing wheels.
CRUISING
It is not too often that we see a built Toyota FJ-80 Land Cruiser, so we were especially pleased to see that Matthew Messmer built this nice '96. Under the hood rests the factory inline-six that is equipped with a turbo-charger and intercooler. For suspension, a 6-inch-lift House suspension system was used. This made room for 35x12.50 Super Swamper SSRs on 16-inch aluminum wheels. To improve traction, a set of ARB Air Lockers was hung in both axles. Up front rests an ARB Bull Bar, along with a Warn 10,000-pound winch to pull the 'Cruiser free when all that traction isn't enough to maintain forward progress.
SCRAMBLED
Mark Beguelin cruises around the many trails near his hometown of Reno, Nevada in this '81 Jeep CJ-8. The Scrambler retains its factory six, but it's fed by Mopar fuel injection. The engine sends power to a T-176 four-speed manual and then a Dana 300 transfer case. Up front is an eight-lug Dana 44 equipped with 4.10 gears and an ARB Air Locker. In the rear is a Ford Sterling with another Air Locker and 4.10 gears. Both axles are located by a spring-over suspension that features Rancho 9012s on extended mounts. A Klune-V underdrive was also installed to help the Jeep creep on its 35-inch Yokohama Geolandars.
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