Four Wheeler May 2018

Some of the 4x4s I’ve owned have been what some people would consider “junk.” That goes for some of the cars I’ve owned as well. In the late ’80s I bought a beat, rusty ’77 Toyota Celica as a winter car so I didn’t have to drive my restored International Scout II on the Northern Illinois road salt. The Celica was black with a manual transmission, and was probably pretty darn nice when it was new. I commuted an hour to work in the car each day. The car’s heater made minimal heat, so on really cold days I had to wear a balaclava, stocking cap, gloves, and coveralls just to keep marginally warm. These were the same items I wore when plowing snow with an old Ford 8N tractor. The…

KEN.BRUBAKER@FOURWHEELER.COM SHOP BRONCO While looking at the article “1967 Bronco Sport/Utility Service Truck” [Jan. ’18] all I could think about was our shop truck back in the day. My brother David drove this while in high school for our family garage “Auto Barn.” We did 4x4, tractor, and auto repairs. I included the only picture I can find. I have been reading Four Wheeler for about 50 years now (is that even possible?) so thanks for the great magazine. NORM SHARPE VIA EMAIL Thank you for the note, Norm. We’re happy we could spur some old shop truck memories. And thanks for the very cool photo of your old Bronco! HOW YOU CAMP PART 3 In response to your “How Do You Camp?” Firing Order [Nov. ’17]…I average about 50 nights a year camping out of my ’06…

EDITOR@FOURWHEELER.COM It’s open now: the Mopar Parts Distribution Center in Romulus, Michigan, aka metro Detroit. If you find yourself at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California, you might find yourself at the new Porsche Design concept store, where there will be basic info about the brand’s vehicles and products (apparel, eyewear, fragrance, and other things that do not come to mind when you think Porsche). What you won’t find: Porsches. No testdrives nor sales here. GM is adding Marketplace to some of its Chevy and GMC vehicles. This is a commerce platform for buying food, drink, fuel, hotel, and more using the in-vehicle touchscreen. “The First Super Sport Utility Vehicle”—that’s Lamborghini, self-branding its Urus SUV. Or SSUV if you’re cowtailing to Lambo. A U.S.-based Volkswagen exec has been sentenced to seven years in prison…

Catch these shows on motortrendondemand.com Mar 09 Dirt Every Day, Episode 74 Mar 12 Hot Rod Garage, Episode 63 Mar 14 Head 2 Head, Episode 99 Mar 19 Roadkill, Episode 78 Mar 23 Junkyard Gold, Episode 6 Mar 26 Roadkill Garage, Episode 28 Mar 28 Engine Masters, Episode 33 Mar 30 Put Up or Shut Up, Episode 10 Apr 02 Roadkill, Episode 79 Apr 04 Ignition, Episode 190 Apr 06 Dirt Every Day, Episode 75 Apr 09 Hot Rod Garage, Episode 64 Apr 11 Head 2 Head, Episode 100 Apr 16 Roadkill, Episode 80 Apr 20 Junkyard Gold, Episode 7 Apr 23 Roadkill Garage, Episode 29 Apr 25 Engine Masters, Episode 34 Apr 27 Put Up or Shut Up, Episode 11 Apr 30 Roadkill, Episode 81 May 02 Ignition, Episode 191 May 04 Dirt Every Day, Episode 76 May 07 Hot Rod Garage, Episode 65 May 09 Head 2 Head, Episode 101 May 14…

jered.korfhage@fourwheeler.com IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR WHEN WE RECEIVE the long-awaited tax refund check from the government that we can put toward repayment of debts, savings accounts, profitable investments—or straight to the garage for 4x4 parts. We just happened to recently spend four days hunting through the aisles of the SEMA Show, searching for items we know you’ll want on your shopping list. Whether you have a few dollars or a few thousand to spend, you’ll find something droolworthy on the following pages. DANA BLUE-COATED PERFORMANCE U-JOINT What: How do you get more life out of your universal joints? Dana has the answer: make them blue! Thousands of hours of salt spray and mud testing suggest these joints are better at resisting the crusty rusty stuff than the competition, and did we mention…

jered.korfhage@fourwheeler.com VETERAN FOUR WHEELER READERS MIGHT FIND this build nostalgic. In fact, you might even recall a very similar rig churning through the sand on the May 2012 cover of Four Wheeler. That truck was an ’01 Ford Super Duty affectionately known as “Stubby,” and it was one of the stars of the 2012 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. In 2012, BDS Suspension partnered with Ernie Vole of ROK Industry to build Stubby, and since then, the company couldn’t stop thinking about the flaming-orange shortbed single cab. Using Stubby as inspiration, the goal of this build was to bring a bigger and badder F-250 to SEMA in 2017. The shortbed single cab combination is still not an available option from Ford, which only meant more engineering magic was required in the BDS…