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$5.99us $6.99can december 2009 volume 43 n0.12

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p hotography scottnewell swife i have found my meaning in life is to provide interesting stories and x-rays ­scott newell you might remember scott our sales guy from his picture in the april 2009 editorial he was the one who flipped off his skateboard on a mini-ramp and broke his femur he really outdid himself this time with a broken shoulder that occurred during an offroad incident thanks for being a team player scott.

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december 2009 vo lu m e 43 n u m ber 12 70 features 26 playing the ace dual-duty k5 blazer technical 52 dropping temperatures in your drivetrain adding tranny pans and diff covers on the cover this month we caught up with two sweet suvs ones that were around before someone coined the th term suvs in fact we bet the designers of these two vehicles would roll over in their graves if they heard us call them suvs 32 resampled cool ole first-gen bronco 54 58 62 events/adventure/misc 36 dunefest arrives in southern oregon biggest sand dunes on the west coast chevy suspension upgrade ord chevy options for 73 to `87s freespinning a dodge swapping unit bearings for rebuildable hubs 43 best shots of 2009 editors choices of their favorite pictures of the year adding a suspension to an old dodge making an old dodge more off-road worthy 82 84 easy breathing big block holley tops a big block ford 460 66 best engine swaps gusto s favorite engine picks 66 caged up bronco cage s radius arm kit theme building engine power 70 factor 10 stroking a 351 windsor departments off-road rant off-road unloaded desert dirt off-road rides off-road hardware long-term updates race results 78 one zex-y wet shot of nitrous adding a wet shot of nitrous to a jeep i-6 10 12 14 16 20 24 90 6 off-road december 2009

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© 2009 hankook tire america corp 1450 valley road wayne nj 07470 1-800-hankook

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editorial jerrod jones senior editor jordan may managing editor patrick vuong contributing editors jon acuff kevin blumer alex gauthier jay kopycinski colin mclemore dale saters editor-in-chief editorial intern web producer agustin jimenez jason gonderman art direc tion design art director brad crowder the truck group on the web www.off-roadweb.com www.4wdandsportutility.com www.4wheeloffroad.com www.dieselpowermag.com www.fourwheeler.com www.jpmagazine.com www.minitruckinweb.com www.sporttruck.com www.truckinweb.com subscriber services 800 926-5783 international phone 386 447-6385 offroad@emailcustomerservice.com p.o box 420235 palm coast fl 32142-0235 please include name address and phone number on any inquiries back issues to order back issues visit www.primediabackissues.com or write us at off-road back issues 2900 amber ln corona ca 92882 cost is $6 each plus $3 shipping and handling please specify what magazine and issue date if this is not specified your check/money order will be returned to you please wait 3 to 4 weeks for delivery editorial contributions welcomed but editors recommend that contributors query first contribution must be accompanied by return postage and we assume no responsibility for loss or damage thereto manuscripts must be typewritten on white paper and all photographs must be accompanied by captions photo model releases required on all persons in photos off-road reserves the right to use material at its discretion and we reserve the right to edit material to meet our requirements upon publication payment will be made at our current rate and that said payment will cover author s and contributor s rights of the contribution contributor s act of mailing contribution shall constitute an express warranty that the material is original and no infringement on the rights of others mail contributions to off-road magazine 2400 e katella ave ste 1100 anaheim ca 92806 occasionally our subscriber list is made available to reputable firms offering goods and services that we believe would be of interest to our readers if you prefer to be excluded please send your current address label and note requesting to be excluded from these promotions to source interlink media llc 261 madison ave new york ny 10016 attn privacy coordinator advertising information please call off-road advertising department 323 782-2649 related publications classic trucks custom classic trucks european car 4 wheel drive sport utility magazine high performance pontiac gm high tech performance honda tuning hot bike import tuner lowrider lowrider arte mini truckin muscle mustangs fast fords off-road popular hot rodding street chopper street rodder super chevy surfing truckin vette and other specialty magazines reprints for inquiries of 100 or more call reprint department at 281 419-5725 audit bureau of circulations printed in u.s.a copyright © 2009 by source interlink magazines llc all rights reserved printed in the usa.

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publisher advertising jeff nasi 323 782-2649 jason bukolt warren kosikov nick green david hamilton dvin keshish miguel moreno scott newell virginia wright glenda mack associate publisher group advertising director advertising sales representatives advertising operations coordinator administrative assistant when you choose skyjacker® you can rest easy knowing the necessary time and testing has been done to design a suspension system to meet the level of perfection you deserve we look forward to maintaining your trust and condence and plan to not only meet but exceed your expectations .as well as our own choose from our extensive line up of chevy dodge ford jeep nissan and toyota lift kits anaheim 2400 e katella ave ste 1100 anaheim ca 92806 714 939-2400 los angeles 6420 wilshire blvd los angeles ca 90048-5515 323 782-2000 new york 261 madison ave new york ny 10016 212 915-4000 detroit 333 w fort st ste 1350 detroit mi 48226 313 964-6680 chicago 500 n dearborn st ste 1100 chicago il 60610 312 396-0600 tampa 9036 brittany way tampa fl 33619 813 675-3500 truck group doug evans howard lim ira gabriel douglas mccolloch robert munoz amy diamond pauline atwood svp/group publisher vp/group publisher vp sales marketing editorial director group art director group operations director senior operations director officers of sourceinterlinkcom pa nies i n c chairman and gregory mays chief executive officer president and chief operating officer president source interlink distribution president source interlink media chief administrative officer chief financial officer james r gillis alan tuchman steve parr douglas bates marc fierman general counsel cynthia l beauchamp source interlink media llc president steve parr president of digital media greg goff svp chief creative officer alan alpanian svp operations chris argentieri svp manufacturing kevin mullan production svp integrated marketing vp finance brad gerber colleen artell co n su mermarketing sou rc einterlinkm ed i a l lc svp single copy rich baron vp circulation planning arlene perez operations consumer marketing enthusiast media subscription company inc vp consumer marketing tom slater for an authorized skyjacker® dealer near you call 1.866.4.a.dealer ext.1175 or visit us on the web at skyjacker.com

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at the beginning of the month i had put together what i now see as a really negative editorial december 2009 is the last issue of what s been an absolutely crappy year for almost everyone in the usa and elsewhere and i was by jerrod jones really gonna blow it out with a little rant about what s been ticking me off lately i didn t realize it at the time but i had become completely burned out due to workloads stress etc fortunately i just finished a trip that seemed to be such a high point in life for me that i came home and threw away both my old rant and subsequently my negative outlook that needed to be gotten rid of no one needs useless negativity and a positive story even one without any point seems so much more beneficial therefore let me tell you how my attitude turned around this year better late than never after years of not remembering what a non-truck-related vacation even looked like i left on a four-day motorcycle trip with two friends heading up the coast of california on the pacific coast highway we ventured off with the sole intention of pounding street for four days with no particular place to go we had no reservations no plans except to not run out of fuel and my blackberry had broken the day before the trip perfect the very first day we made it way too far way too fast so we took a sideline and ended up in oakland at a friend s house the pseudo plan was to wake up early and head out the next morning after a good night of fun we ended up crossing city limits at about 1 p.m and didn t make more than 100 miles in a straight line before we were railroaded by wine-and-cheese hour and two flirty lobby girls at the bodega bay lodge and spa yeah sure make fun of us for the wine and cheese but the place had an awesome hot tub and they gave us the biggest room in the hotel we were happy to park for the night about 15 hours and 10 pounds of food and fluids later we were ready to ride north the next morning it was early saturday afternoon when we passed fort bragg in mendocino county and decided that waking up in oregon on sunday morning and being at work on monday was a bad plan it was hard to turn around it was getting more and more beautiful with each passing mile of course we never broke the 55-mph speed limit but we managed to make it back to san francisco that night to stay at another friend s house giving us a much better chance of reaching home the next day sunday morning we left for a long ride back on the pacific coast highway during tourist 10 off-road december 2009 season but we managed to make it all the way back without anyone breaking down or crashing the entire trip as long as i live i ll never forget hitting the road with my buddies hairpin corners with gravel in them my friend s terrible pre-coffee morning disposition trying to push each other into the ocean in full moto gear licking moss off a tree jacuzzing with hotel employees the redwoods the beautiful beaches and all the nice people we met along the way it was an absolute great reminder of just how lucky i am to be alive and that s how i snapped out of my funk it s important to take a few minutes for yourself and to spend time with family and friends once in a while if there s one thing i m asking of you this month it s to take some time to relax and enjoy yourself you ll feel better for it in the morning where you want to be on november 14 you want to be at clean-dezert s annual barstow cleanup we re hoping you ll be able to make it out there to help us adam and the rest of the crew at clean-dezert pick up as much trash as we can out of the desert we completely understand if it s too far away for you to join us so let me suggest that you ll all be there with us in spirit if you pick up the next piece of trash that you see on the ground if you are close enough to join us then we ll see you out there you can check out more information at www.clean-dezert.org this month we not only explored some great ways to make some real power in your engine we also hit up 1970s and `80s truck suspensions there are a lot of us still rocking the 4x4 technology familiar to us in the 1980s and there are some absolutely awesome things you can do to these trucks to make them perform like the champs they are this is actually the first of a mini suspension series we re skipping january s issue because it s racing season but february s issue will have some great `90s-era suspensions in it and march s issue will be showing off some great hd suspensions for your chevy dodge or ford work chase and tow trucks or

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editor s note if you want to say or ask something email unloaded at jerrod.jones@off-roadweb.com or write unloaded off-road magazine 2400 e katella ave ste 1100 anaheim ca 92806 remember we re giving away swag every month to the author of our favorite letter be sure to include your address so we know where to send your goods and because we lost our copyeditor please know that we are not going to be copyediting your letter if you are going to be hating on us so you better check it over well before sending it our way thanks this month our letter writers are all receiving a copy of trucks gone wild 7 mega truck entertainment has brought you this seventh edition with crazy off-road action from florida vermont minnesota north carolina and dennis anderson s muddy motorsports park you can check out your own copy at www.trucksgonewild.com by jerrod jones chevy solid axle swap abs great article on the abs upgrade to older axles in the may 2009 issue page 84 the truck you all did it on seems to have a kit for the axle swap true or false or is that just somebody s really clean fab work if it is a kit can you identify it for those of us who want to tread where that truck has gone thanks austin university of iraq school of warfare class of `04 austin that truck does in fact have a solid axle swap kit that you can buy it s a partial solid axle swap kit made by cage offroad www.cageoffroad.com it comes with the upper shock hoops and coil buckets the radius arms and shocks but you ll have to provide a steering system brake lines and the axle and the dynatrac abs kit if you want it it s basically a 79 bronco kit like the one we checked out this month page 66 with some minor changes made to retrofit onto a shaved ifs chevy 4x4 at a reasonable price if you have any ideas please let me know christian hayes draper ut christian unless you have some huge emotional attachment to your bronco which i can completely understand if you do then i d suggest letting your 95 bronco go to some guy looking to build a prerunner and instead looking for a 1995 or 1996 bronco that someone has kept in pristine condition there are some broncos out there that were garaged and preserved and you can find them online or you could even use a vehicle locator service to track down exactly what you re looking for when they pop up i ve seen low-mileage pristine broncos go for around $20,000 once you find an almostnew bronco a good local shop for you to head to would be mount logan off-road www.mt.loganoffroad.com they can help you take a bronco that s in great condition fix anything that is wrong with it and give it all the off-road modifications you d want this way you might actually still have a few bucks left over with your bronco completely gutted as it is it will cost you over $40,000 to piece it together with brand new parts glass front end and 33-inch tires do you have any back issues on modding second-gen 4runners this way all my friends always say i have really neat trucks i think because the prerunner style is very different here in pennsylvania keep up the great magazine and put in more prerunner-style trucks and suvs especially toyotas steve enders thomasville pa p.s do you guys sell t-shirts steve that 93 4runner will definitely be a cool truck to build with some fiberglass on it to my knowledge i don t believe there are any back issues on building second-gen 4runner prerunners but the 4runner is basically the same chassis as our 93 toyota project truck so i think following that buildup might be useful to you for suspension i d suggest checking out a downey off-road suspension www.downeyoff-road.com or a total chaos suspension www.chaosfab com we ve tried the downey suspension and are about to try out a total chaos suspension on this truck but i think you d be really happy with either kit by the way there s a good chance you re going to have to do some firewall clearancing to fit 33-inch tires unless you do a body lift oh and if you want to buy a shirt you can email jerrod.jones@off-roadweb.com to purchase one for $15 or rebuild or buy new i saw the white 1994 ford bronco in the august 2009 issue of off-road and my heart sank i own a 95 bronco that is completely gutted out to the bone no engine to tranny no fuel tank no interior no windows nothing i m not a mechanic and i m physically disabled but i need something reliable with off-road qualities i have about $40,000 to my name and instead of buying a new truck off the dealer lot i d prefer to have my bronco made brand new i see shows like overhaulin on tv and i was wondering if there was a place like that i can take my bronco to restore everything 12 off-road december 2009 toyota prerunners dear off-road i have two favorite magazines off-road and toyota 4wd owner i have owned many toyota trucks and i always end up turning them into prerunners you guys obviously cover this the best now i have an 06 tacoma 4x4 trd with a 6-inch pro comp suspension 17x9 american racing wheels 35-inch tires and a pro comp light bar and lights i ve just bought a 93 4runner v-6 and already started on the mods i plan on a 4-inch double-shock kit a fiber-

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editor s note submit your dirt to jordan.may@off-roadweb.com co m pile d by agustin jim en e z yamaha contributes toward ohv access reducing yamaha has granted more than $300,000 towards safe responsible ohv riding and access in the first half of 2009 the yamaha ohv access initiative granted more than $110,000 in cash and equipment to atv riding clubs national forests local land managers recreational conservancy advocates and other members of the greater ohv community in the second quarter of this year bringing the program total thus far to $958,000 since the program s inception yamaha supports the access initiative s mission to promote safe responsible riding and open sustainable riding areas for the future generations of wheelers to enjoy yamaha field staff and dealer partners have been directly involved in various projects such as trail cleanups and planting more than 1,200 seedlings in the san bernardino national forest as part of ohv trail and reforestation projects twelve yamaha grants guaranteeing responsible access to our nation s trails were awarded to fund projects that directly impact the access safety and sustainability of ohv riding areas across the country for more information visit yamaha motor corp www.yamaha-motor.com stopping distance for big rigs the national highway traffic safety administration recently issued new stricter braking standards that they believe will save lives by improving large truck stopping distances by 30 percent according to the nhtsa the new braking regulations will save 227 lives annually and will also prevent 300 serious injuries the law would only apply to truck tractors and not single-unit trucks trailers and buses the nhtsa says that the new regulation will reduce property damage costs by over $169 million a year the new standard which will be phased in over four years beginning with 2012 models will require that a tractortrailer traveling at 60 mph come to a complete stop within 250 feet the new standard requires big rigs to stop completely in a distance that is at least 105 feet shorter then the old standard which required a complete stop within 355 feet the new regulation is expected to speed up the introduction of the latest brake technology into america s freight hauling fleets as well as help truck drivers avoid collisions with other vehicles for more information visit national highway traffic safety administration www.nhtsa.gov or ohv tour for a cure off-road enthusiast cj rena johnson is on a nationwide crusade to raise cancer awareness johnson along with her pink polaris ranger rzr is visiting private public local state and federal atv and ohv parks to spread the word and raise money for various charities including american cancer society american breast cancer society leukemia and lymphoma society and st jude children research hospital the program works by having sponsors groups businesses participants and spectators as well as other riders pledge donations to the charity of their choice johnson said that she wanted to show that off-road enthusiasts are an active community involved in helping to improve our lives and the lives of those around us locally statewide and nationally we are going to take the nation by storm conquering every atv and ohv park in our path to raise money and have fun while doing it johnson said johnson s website has an updated list of places ohv tour for a cure will stop so people can get involved and catch a glimpse of johnson and her pink polaris ranger rzr wheeling its way through local trails for a good cause for more information visit cj rena johnson www.cjrenajohnson.com or polaris industries www.polaris industries.com afe releases new cummins exhaust manifold for 5.9l advanced flow engineering has released its new bladerunner exhaust manifold for the popular 2003-to 07 dodge ram cummins with l6-5.9l afe s new bladerunner exhaust manifold is made out of 0.25-inch-thick wall cast 304 stainless steel for maximum durability under high heat conditions as compared to cast iron units and is also a one-piece unit that was built with reinforced ribs between each exhaust port to increase the strength and eliminate the cracking found in most stock and aftermarket units the manifold also features two egt probe ports to provide you with the ability to measure egt s on both of the banks of the exhaust manifold the egt ports are positioned inline with the air stream for an unrestricted exhaust flow for more information visit afe www.afepower.com 14 off-road december 2009

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for a dealer near you call 888-317-8630 or visit www.dickcepek.com

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