via West County Explorers Club: There’s a beautiful ’68 Jeep Wagoneer 4×4 on ebay right now. Back then the Wagoneer was still made by Kaiser (formerly Willys). As for this black-plate example, the seller reports about 800 miles on a rebuilt Buick 350 V8, a TH400 automatic transmission, and a 4-inch, all-spring lift (no blocks)….
La Aduana: M35A2 “Deuce-and-a-Half”
If you’re looking for a tough-as-nails off-roader, I don’t think you’ll get more bang for your buck than this 6×6 M35A2 “Deuce-and-a-Half” Army truck.
Camel Trophy, The Land Rover Years
via West County Explorers Club: This video details the last ten years of Land Rover’s involvement with the Camel Trophy. It’s 90 minutes of non-stop action beginning in 1989 with Defender 110s in the Amazon to Freelanders driving across Tierra del Feugo in 1998. In all of the other years the Discovery features prominently. You’re probably familiar with a few of these segments. It’s nice to see them all strung together. Enjoy.
Gear: Binocular Review
These are all good binoculars. After spending some time with them though, some differences have emerged. Here are my impressions.
VOTD: Driving in Sand Tracks
via West County Explorers Club: Here’s an excellent video from South-African 4×4 expert, Andrew St. Pierre White, showing how to drive in sand, especially in deep tracks.
Thanks thanks for the tip, Greg!
La Aduana: ex-Swedish-Fire-Brigade Unimog U1700L/38
This truck, and its square-jawed, 1980s brethren represent my favorite iteration of the Unimog concept.
The Library: Good Books on the Outdoors
As you plan your summer trips, it’s always good to brush up on your outdoor skills.
They all make great reads.
VOTD: Jeep, Mighty FC
On the trail as a comparison, they bring along a 1964 Jeep Forward Control crew cab. It’s funny to see the two together. The Mighty FC looks like a bulldog. The old Forward Control looks like a loaf of bread. It’s great to see footage of both of these truck on the road!
Spotted: FJ62/FZJ80 Mash-up by TLC
Via West County Explorers Club: Jonathan Ward, of TLC and Icon fame, shows off what he calls a “142,” basically an FJ62 on an 80-series chassis. This truck was built through TLC, his Land Cruiser restoration shop in Southern California.
As you can imagine, this was an extensive rebuild. Even the engine was replaced with a GM Vortec unit. They went through the truck inside and out and everything looks to be first class.
VOTD: Dubai Desert Ride on a KTM
via West County Explorers Club: This beautifully shot video takes you off-road through the desert near Dubai on a KTM 525. A Honda XR650R rides alongside.
Well done, guys!
La Aduana: 1974 Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer 710 Hardtop
These extraordinarily capable trucks were built in the 1970s for the Swiss military by the Austrian manufacturer
Steyr-Puch (who, coincidentally, also build the G-wagen for Mercedes-Benz).
Snow Recovery Day
A couple of weeks ago I headed up to the Mormon Emigrant Trail in the Sierra Nevada to get into the snow and practice our recovery techniques. We were doing recoveries soon enough, however.
VOTD: Mercedes-Benz G-Class
Here’s something for all of you G-Wagen fans, a short promotional film for the Mercedes-Benz G-Class.
La Aduana: 1979 Nissan Patrol LWB
Here in the US, the Patrol always seemed (to me anyway) like the lost icon of Japanese four-wheel drive.
Spotted: Nicely Modded Mitsubishi Montero
I’m really impressed with the thought and detail Greg put into his truck. It’s a capable off-roader that I’ve enjoyed seeing in action.
La Aduana: 1990 VW Golf Country 4×4
via West County Explorers Club: What happens when a 4×4 makes love to a Rabbit? You get the VW Golf Country 4×4. According to an older Bring a Trailer article, only 4000 of these were ever produced and none of them were officially imported to the US. This 1990 model, however, is reported to have…
VOTD: In Asia, Episode 4: Cambodia
In mid-December I wrote about Vincent Urban and Clemens Krüger’s on-going Vimeo series, In Asia, the first three parts of which had already been posted. The series documents the sites seen by the two filmmakers and a friend as they traveled on a two-month journey in a Land Rover Defender through Southeast Asia in the Fall of 2010. I’m happy to report that Part 4 has just been released. It covers mostly Cambodia.
Clink the vimeo link in the video for Vincent’s notes and descriptions. Enjoy.
To find the others in the series, see the links below:
VOTD: Barstow to Vegas Dual-Sport Ride
via West County Explorers Club: The 2011 AMA District 37 Barstow to Vegas Dual-Sport event took place at the end of last month. Here’s a nicely documented and narrated recap of the 2009 event.
The two-part video is about an hour long and is a little slow to get going but there’s some great footage of guys on BMW R1200GS and F800GS bikes working their way through sandy, rocky canyons, dry river sand washes, and some fantastic flat-out desert riding, including the use of a roll chart for navigation.
Part 2, around 14:45 even shows a guy jumping his big GS over berm.
Here’s Part 2: http://youtu.be/qvgqL0-b83U.
And here’s a link to the event, in case you’d like to take part next year: http://www.labarstowvegas.com.
VOTD: VW Beetle, Antarctic Overlander
via West County Explorers Club: What vehicle did the overland-savvy Australians take with them on a year-long research expedition to Antarctica in 1963? A Land Rover? A Toyota Land Cruiser? No, they took a practically bone-stock VW Beetle.
It looks almost comically unassuming next to the hard-core Swedish Snow Trac seen in the background of one of the shots in the film but the humble Beetle reportedly held its own against the harsh, icy terrain.
There you go, the Type 1 Beetle. The most popular car in the world and the first production car on the Antarctic continent.
Spotted: 1941 Ford GPW “Jeep”
This jeep carries 48-star flag from days before Hawaii and Alaska joined the union.