Remember the old days when you could saunter into a nearby AMC dealer and pick up a brand-new Jeep for $1,146? If you were lucky, the salesman might even have thrown in a PTO option for a whopping 96 bucks. The year was 1947, and back then you'd be hard-pressed to find a 4x-friendly service station, let alone a glossy magazine packed with information about improving your new Willys. In fact, it wasn't until our first issue in February 1962 that any printed information existed about modifying or improving 4x4 vehicles. Now, 43 years later, a meticulous look back reveals a few interesting trends that haven't changed much throughout the decades, and some others that have. Allow us to demonstrate.
Building Power
In the old days before electronics dominated every single function of an engine, you had to build power mechanically. For instance, this piece from August 1966 (right) on souping up the venerable Buick V-6, which featured modifications like boring the cylinders 0.030 inch over stock effectively, making a 248ci engine from the stock 225ci block. The article also talked about the idea of snagging a set of high-compression pistons from a different Buick V-8 and fitting them to the V-6, thereby raising the compression ratio from 9:1 to 11:1. The article goes on to feature power-adding parts such as an Offenhauser intake manifold, a Rochester carburetor, and a set of headers, which at the time resulted in noticeable power gains. We think this quote from Carl Offenhauser summed it up best. "It's a great little engine. Balanced, beefed, and honed, it will turn eight grand. Mark it up right, and you can increase the horsepower and add two miles per gallon in economy."
The Winch
Back in the early '50s, aftermarket bumpers were pretty scarce. A winch mounted to a common 4x4 vehicle was a rather advanced idea. In most cases, mounting a winch required considerable fabrication. However, as exposure increased, so did the demand. And in the case of electric winches in the early '60s, it was a period of exposition. Ads for electronic winches, never before seen by the public, graced Four Wheeler's pages. By 1966, winches were widely popular and several companies had mounting kits available for most 4x4 vehicles. The ad shown at right was taken from our June 1967 issue.
Inevitably, everyone who goes four-wheeling is going to get stuck. It's a fact of four-wheeling life as it was 40 years ago. Today, winches are fairly common on trail rigs. Subsequently, the days of home-brew fabrication have moved to other venues, like suspension and rollcages. As a result, thousands of options exist for consumers who want to install winches on their 4x4s. Everything from winch-ready bumpers to simplistic mounting hardware kits can adapt just about any electric winch on the market to practically any 4x4 built. Heck, even some of the OEMs are including winches on brand-new vehicles now. The Warn M12000 under the '05 Dodge Power Wagon is perhaps the slickest setup yet.