Nothing Special's 2022 SMORR Trip

[Gary Lewis]

That would explain the "electric" sound for Bam Bam.  The fan and the compressor seem to hide the sound of the engine.

But he sure can 'wheel that thing!  He is not only capable but has built that Jeep to be capable as well.  I'm guessing he's done somewhat like you've done and gone back from time to time to modify it when some component limits things.

Which brings me to your Bronco.  Are you planning any changes?  From what I could see the only thing that limited you this time was the rear bumper.  But were there other things you noticed?

[Nothing Special]

I was talking about Rojo (Fuzz's red Jeep), not Bam Bam (Jeff's Army green Jeep).  Bam Bam also has a 4.3L, SM420 and an electric fan.  But he's running a Detroit locker in the front and an air-actuated OX locker in the rear.  And he doesn't have an air leak so you don't hear his compressor all the time.

And to say that Jeff has done things somewhat like me is doing Jeff a grave injustice!  I've maybe done things somewhat like him, but no where near the level he has!  He's played with springs (arch, stiffness, length, even changing his wheelbase a little).  He's had something like 4 different locker combinations.  He's changed gear ratios.  He's punched holes in his bed to make room for longer shocks to give him more travel.  He's even made new gears (as in cutting teeth and getting them hardened!) for his transfer case to get different crawl ratios (because you can't buy different gear ratios for the Spicer 18 transfer case anymore).  So yes, he plays around with things a LOT to try to make it work better!


Plans for changes to my Bronco?  Not really.  I want to make the skid plate that I'd planned for last summer but never got to.  And I have some maintenance to do (transfer case is leaking front the front seal and the rear driveshaft picked up a vibration).  I do need to get the exhaust re-routed (I can't remove the oil drain plug with it where it is), but I'll probably just take it in for that.  The upholstery on the seats is wearing out pretty badly, and the top is ripping a lot, so those need attention.

I might try to do something with the front bumper.  I'd like to get it bent back away from the body and maybe reinforce it.  I'm not going to do anything with the rear bumper.  I don't think I could make it much less obtrusive while still protecting the body as well as it does.  And it's holding up great.

The only thing from last summer's project that I'm not perfectly happy with is the tie rod and drag link.  I did catch them pretty good on a couple of rocks.  But I don't have any ideas of what I might reasonable do, so right now I'm not planning anything.

Project-wise my truck needs some love next.  Or more accurately I need to replace my truck, and I expect its replacement to need some love.  I'm hoping to find a much less rusty '90s crew cab and put in a 351 and a 5 speed.  But there's more negotiation needed there.

For major projects on a trail rig, I'm "building" a couple of new vehicles in my head.  I'm not ready to share my bad ideas until/unless the builds get out of my head and into the garage.  Right now I really can't justify a second trail rig even to myself (and I'm not getting rid of the Bronco!) much less three.  So we'll have to see what life brings to see if even one of them becomes reality.

But until then I think I'm pretty happy with where the Bronco is.  I think if I make it any more capable on the trail I'll either hurt its road performance or make it more likely that I'll mess it up too much off road.  Right now it's a lot of fun to drive of trails that are not incredibly likely to bend it up.  I don't want to make it so good that those trails aren't fun anymore!

[Gary Lewis]

Oops!  I got the wrong Jeep.  

Interesting that he's gone through all of those changes to get it "right" - at least right for what he does.  Cut his own gears?  Wow!  That is a lot of serious work.  And it is interesting that he has the same locker combo I have, although reversed.  I can see the advantage of the Detroit in front as it'll come in when needed but not until then.  (I'm still happy with my arrangement.)

I think you have a good point - your Bronco is quite capable and if you make it even more so you risk messing up the body by taking it on even more trails.  Plus, you might make the ones you've just been on pretty easy.

But it can't hurt to rework the front bumper to make it stronger to provide more protection.  And if the rear is holding up and protecting the body at the same time, maybe it is "just right".

Hmmm, a new rig?  Inspired by Ed's buggy?  Maybe a D44 up front and a 9" out back, both strong enough to take really large tires and a bit of torque?

As for a different truck, maybe put a Bullnose swap on a later truck?  Something from out in Dane's neck of the woods?

[Nothing Special]

Big Blue has a TrueTrac in the rear, doesn't he?  That's a gear-type limited slip.  Bam Bam has an automatic locker in the front.  Much more "positive" in that it will NOT spin just one tire under any circumstances, but worse highway manners.

I had an automatic locker in the front of my '95 F-150 for one winter and said "never again."  I don't mind one in a rear axle, even on the road in a Minnesota winter.  But in the front the highway handling "quirks" are way too dangerous.

But after having a selectable in the front I'm rethinking that.  I still will never have an auto locker in the front of something that I might drive on a snowy freeway.  But when climbing a hill with a selectable in the front I need to lock it every time I'm moving forward so I CAN move forward, and then unlock it every time I need to back up so I can steer.  Going forward up a hill the steering is fine with it locked as it will pull the front end where it's pointed.  But backing down a hill it's kind of like the front brakes are locked all the time and they just slide straight downhill no matter what direction you point them.  And sometimes it binds up and doesn't release right away.

If I WAS going to do anything to the Bronco to try to improve its off-road performance I'd put an auto locker in the front.  I'm not sure I'd like that better, but it seems that I might, so I would like to try it.  Or maybe an automatic locker in the front and a selectable in the rear?  But that's getting into a lot of money and a lot of work for marginal improvements, so I'm sure I won't be doing any of that.


For the truck I do like the idea of an '80s body.  But that's getting into a lot more work than "just" an engine and trans swap.  Plus I think it'll be hard enough to find a solid '90s crew cab let alone an '80s crew cab.  So maybe just the front clip???  And then the bed so the fender lines match up?  But still a lot more work.  So realistically, no.

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, BB has the TrueTrac in the rear.  And while it may not be 100% positive, it is positive enough that I've had the rear walk sideways on me several times in dicey conditions.  So I wouldn't want it for the front in a street-driven rig.  But on the trail it might be just about right.  Or a true auto-locker.

I wasn't aware of the problem of a selectable locker when backing down a hill.  I've not done that so didn't know.  But on the trails like you ran at SMORR I can see that being a big problem as you back up frequently.

Given that, I can see the beauty of an auto-locker in front for a trail rig.  So maybe for that rig you are designing in your head.  

On the new truck, I was thinking of a Bullnose front clip.  Yes, the bed wouldn't match, but most people don't seem to know.  And you can always graft on Bullnose bedsides.