Four Wheeler February 2020

Everyone has favorites. For example, if you looked inside the Four Wheeler cooler during SUV/Pickup Truck of the Year or the Easter Jeep Safari, you’d find a varied collection of beverages. There’s Dr Pepper (Holman), water (Hazel), semisweet iced coffee (Korfhage), Coca-Cola (Brubaker), and the list goes on. Favorites carry over into the wheeling world as well. Most wheelers have a favorite place to wheel—a place where they’d abscond to without a second thought if they could drop everything and leave immediately. For me, it’s the high country of southwest Colorado. I think about trails like Black Bear Pass and Imogene Pass frequently, even when I’m sitting at my desk pretending to work. Of course, I like just about every place I’ve wheeled, but the San Juan Mountains are my all-time favorite.…

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 not pay anyone to do…

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 four-cylinder likely worth 296…

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 is rated at 2,480…

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 Chris found…

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 trucks were built…