INBOX

BY KEN BRUBAKER EDITOR@FOURWHEELER.COM

RESCUED SUBURBAN

After trying to buy it for a few years, I finally rescued this ’70 K25 Suburban from under a bunch of sequoias on Palomar Mountain in Southern California. It has an SM465 four-speed, electric overdrive, NP205 with a hydraulic PTO for the 12,000-pound hydraulic winch, and an Eaton rearend. It took me one day to get it driving and three days to clean it.

INSPIRED BY COLONEL MUSTARD

I’m responding to the Trail’s End article on the flattie (Jul ’22). It’s a great story and hits home as I also have a ’51 CJ-3A and it has been a labor of love since I found it in 1994 totally beat, rusted out, with a seized 283ci small-block Chevy, but it had the adapter for the V-8 and that made it worthwhile.

Keep up the coverage of homebuilt, low-budget backyard rigs. There’s stuff there I think we can all relate to.

I was wheelin back in the ’70s and ’80s in SoCal. Started with a mostly wrecked ’66 Bronco, then later a homebuilt hot rod 4x4. Pismo was our go-to place, as was Death Valley, Mojave Desert, El Mirage, and Anza Borrego. Life got in the way, so wheeling was put aside. Now, 40-plus years later, I’m 73 and wheeling again, but now in eastern Washington state.

Thanks for the great articles!

JEFF VIA EMAIL

Fast forward as time, money, and knowledge came along, it now has a 350ci small-block with fuel injection, original three-speed with overdrive, power steering, disc brakes, lockers, on-board air, A/C, and whatever else could be squeezed into it. For me, it’s a keeper. I was inspired by Colonel Mustard (Column Shift, Oct ’11). Your stories do inspire so keep them up, especially on flatfenders, they are still around. Remember the saying, it’s not a real Jeep if it doesn’t have flat fenders!

RALPH VIA EMAIL

RESTO-BEATERS FOR THE WIN

I really enjoyed your article, “Resto-Beater” in Trail’s End, in your July ’22 mag. I can relate to backyardbuilt budget four-wheelers since I’ve had a couple. I’d put his “Ugly” up against any $50,000 rig.

My current rig is a ’48 CJ-2, but very little Jeep is left. It sports front and rear axles off a Toyota pickup using 5.29 gears and ARB Air Lockers. Its power comes from a 4.3L Chevy Vortec TBI engine backed up with a four-speed auto with overdrive. It’s also got a twin-sticked Dana 300. My homebuilt sits on 37-inch Super Swampers mounted on 15-inch beadlocks.

There are no creature comforts other than a tilt steering wheel (more of a necessity with the cramped cab) but does have a Warn 8274 winch and onboard air with a small air tank. This is one of those builds where you work with what you have.

WHERE TO WRITE

Address your correspondence to Four Wheeler, 831 S. Douglas St., El Segundo, CA 90245 or send an email to ken.brubaker@fourwheeler.com. All letters become the property of Four Wheeler, and we reserve the right to edit them for length, accuracy, and clarity. The editorial department can also be reached through the website at fourwheeler.com. Due to the volume of mail, electronic and otherwise, we cannot respond to every reader, but we do read everything.

RS VIA EMAIL

5.3L FLATTIE

I just saw your article (Firing Order, Jun. ’22) regarding the upcoming magazine being dedicated to the flatfender. My story is a bit similar to yours, although it was my dad who always spoke about his time in high school and helping a couple of friends get an old flatty running. Over the years I have owned three CJ-5s, a ’63 Willys wagon, two TJs, an M715, and now an M38 (sort of). All of my Jeeps have been modified to some degree, with the last two being heavily modified (M715 and M38). I love the old military stuff.

My current Jeep, the M38, has been lengthened to a 91-inch wheelbase. I constructed the frame out of 2x4-inch tubular steel. The front end, cowl forward, has been stretched 6 inches. It runs a 5.3L LS engine with LS1 intake to fit under the hood. The 4L60E is mated to a Bronco Dana 20 T-case, and the axles are Wagoneer Dana 44s with chromoly ’shafts. It also has lockers, 1-ton steering, and four-wheel discs. It is equipped with a Warn 8274 winch and 37-inch tires on black steel wheels with inner beadlocks. It has custom sliders, a spare tire carrier, six-point cage, and custom 20-gallon stainless fuel tank that sits partly under and partly above the rear floor. And, of course, it is olive drab in color.

I love driving it and taking to the trails. Although I’m from Illinois, I much prefer western trails such as in Colorado and Utah.

Here’s a picture. Love your magazine, although I do miss Jp.