why not bring the jeep pickup back?

short open bed with optional softtops?

could be cool if it was done right.

Somebody already converted a Rubicon about a year back.  I forget what they called it, but it was done really clean.  It looked like a modern day CJ-8 Scrambler.

I thought that I read about Daimler/Chrysler producing some for over seas, but none for the U.S.  Somebody correct me if I'm wrong about the above though.

I'm with you though skblazer.  I would like to see the Scrambler come back in the form of the Rubicon and then a less aggressive version like the regular Jeeps.

Scoutnut 

yeah i like Scramblers, i only seen few tho.

but i was talking about more of using the wrangler as the base. maybe make a subframe for the tail section. maybe make a whole new jeep all around, wrangler with a boxed frame and pickup bed. make it sporty and aggressive.

something new cuz they have not made anything really cool in a wile. other than the rubicon and liberty. but the rubicon is just a normal jeep with some mods... its nice but not really new.

chevy needs to make a true offroad blazer, there going down the *** tubes and who wouldnt like a solid axle blazer with OX lockers an upgraded 4.3. 35s and some goodlooking bumpers... charge whatever but i just wanta see it

The custom rubicon I was talking about was called the BRUTE.  It was exactly what you said.  A wrangler (rubicon package) with an extended frame and a bed attached much like the old Scrambler. 

I don't think it would look as good if they disconnected the bed from the cab like they did with the Kaiser Jeep.  I know that the BRUTE was revealed at the SEMA show and coverage of it was done by both Peterson's and Four Wheeler.  Search the websites for that name.  It's pretty cool.

I too would like to see both Ford and Chevy come out with something like Jeep did.  The older Bronco's would have been a perfect platform for a true four wheeler right off the showroom floor as well as one of the older K5's.  You're right about Chevy taking a dive though.  Nearly all their vehicles suck nowadays.  Their performance muscle cars died back in the 70's when the Camero was a real muscle car.  They still have a market with the Vette, but it doesn't even compete with the Mustang Cobra, Cobra R, Salleen or Rousch packages.  The Dodge Viper and Venom only sell about as many as the Vette too.  I'm not a big fan of the Tahoe or the Suburban.  The only cool Avalanche I saw was the UA and that's after they scrapped the plastic, beat it on the rocks and mud, and put 10K into it.  The new pickup has a cool looking front end though.  That's about it. 

Ford shouldn't have killed the Bronco by turning it into a soccer mom ride.  The expedition is nice, and I've used them off road and seen others done up right, but it's not exactly small and nimble.  I've seen some really cool stuff done with the Explorer though.  A couple clubs here in the Phoenix area have really done a good job with them and could compete in any 4x4 arena.  I don't even need to say anything about the Super duty.  I do hope that Ford works the bugs out of this new 3 valve 5.4l.  I think it has a lot of potential offroad, especially with the new frame, wider leaves and outboard shocks.  It was a good move when they ditched the torsion bars in favor of the coils.  I'm kind of excited to see what happens with project Race 150 and how offroad worthy the new F-150 is.

Scoutnut

i dont really think all of chevys going downhill right now. just there blazer line. and now the s10 line (colorado as a replacment)

o well i dont really care anymore by the time i buy my own new factory truck ill be.. what like 25-30? in 10 to 15 years whos to say. ill allways love blazers just for them being cheap for parts but i would never ever buy a new one.

i do like the 1500 to 3500 class my dad has a 99 1500 with 33s on it.

but i also like the f250s, a guy i know has one and it really goes good got a chip and a few bucks in it.

any new diesel is cool now, if i were to get a new truck i would go diesel

diesel blazer... naw kinda a waste.

o yeah i might be able to get a ford taurus for free or really really cheap dint look at it yet but its a 96-98 hope to fix it up sell it and get me a set of 44in Superswaper tsls. or just beat the piss out of it

yeah I like Chevy's 2500 HD, but the pickups are about the only thing that I'ld buy. 

I'm with you as far as Diesel's go.  I've heard that Ford is supposed to be working on a V6 turbo diesel that will go in the F-150 here in a couple of years.  It's supposed to get around 25 mpg and still have good hp/torque.  I hope the rumor is true.  If it is I'll be buying one here in a few years as my daily driver and retiring the Scout to trail duty alone.

Scoutnut 

yeah that sounds good

once you make your scout all offroad you will wish you did it sooner. you get much better options you dint have before. what size tires do you have?

hydro steering is something to start looking around for ... look for the double sided rams and a control box (not real sure what they call them) once i get going on mine that what i hope to run.

o yeah.. im at my dads we made our own line locks for the brakes (front and rear) made studs not bolts (studs are much stronger) for our hubs. made a super super heavy driveshaft that would twist our ff14 bolt in half before breaking (allmost 1/2 thick) replaced a ujoint and fixed the rear torque arm.

things are going good on it. ill tell you what we did this sunday, maybe monday night.

I was running 33's, but recently bought 35's.  I'm running the factory Dana 44's f/r.  Now the IH 345 isn't really big on hp, so I could probably get away with running 37's or maybe even 38's.  However, it is a torque monster.  I'm running heavy duty drive shafts with 1430 u-joints I believe.  I've got 6" in the SOA susp. and 3" in the body lift.  With the cross over steering I have and the extended shock mounts f/r I can really get a lot of flex out of it when I disconnect the front anti sway bar.  With the rear locker, the tera low 3.15 gear reduction kit, and my factory 6.32:1 granny low I'm really able to go quite a few places.  I'm working on designing and building my own f/r bumpers and some rock sliders as well.  All of them will be based off of D&C Extreme's designs.  I've got a winch I need to put into the front bumper so it'll be a wee bit different. 

Once I commit it to the trail life, I won't be to concerned about the body and I'll do a bunch of the more extreme trails that are really designed for the Jeep and Samurai crowd.  Once the body has been munched it won't really matter.  If my axles give me problems then I might go with the warn shafts and CTM joints to bring them up to Dana 60 standards.

What have you and your dad done to the S-10?  What about your own project?

Scoutnut

this weekend was kinda lame we met up with some guy and a toyota fourrunner (i think it was a fourrunner) anyways this was a noob and wile he wasnt a bad guy he just dint know anything. he said he paid 400 dollers for this tailgate and he wasnt joking... he had to fly out to CA! to get it now i live in PA. thats a hell of a trip for a pos tailgate. he had 600 dollers invested in the whole thing (trip out trip in). and he told first me then my dad and we just looked at him like.. are you nuts?

first his "locker" seemed to not lock then his bumper looked like it was about to kamikaze into a tree then he broke his toyota bairfield axle on the passanger side. i dont like how they set them up if they break the axle locks up and is very had to pull around and steer or drive wile one tire is locked up.

so we took a break and wile he took his axle apart we fled the area to find some new trails then named them "of death" ( we name everything of death if we break or winch up it ) so we have the rocks of death hole of death curb of death hill of death and it goes on. its just kinda funny tho to make people wonder.

so we cut a few trees down broke a valve stem out on "new trail of death" its like a hill a whole bunch of import sized rocks and trees. but you can get it with 35s if you really liked dents. fixed the stem without takeing the tire off the bead (yeah you can do that we found out). then went to see our new guests were doing.

they had it riped apart and what a lota crap that came out of that mess. smacked it all back and we went after maybe 2 hours all around. then we went on some real good hill climbs and headed home.. kinda a short ride but some wheeling beats no wheeling.

what did we do to the blazer? lots man its hard to start where. what really do you wanta know about it? its on the heavy side the next one is gona try to stay light as i can. i dont have a 350tune port like my basterd dad. i think ill have a 4.3 but they really run good i think i like the little chevy 6 and i seem to see them more and more.

i dono what suspention im gona run yet nothings really in place its all up in the air, we think were gona get about 2-3 more blazers in by this spring about. and im real sure there gona be free or really cheap.

i think one has a bad motor ones got a bad tranny and ones just junk so ill swap trannys since i have around 4 more that will go in (3 autos 1 stick) and well see where i stand n stuff.

and whats a quick way to sell parts i have 2-4 dana44 front ends one with a locker and a few 10 bolts also. and a np205 or 203 or 208 since im not really sure what its out of and i dont really care right now. i got them trannys that are good and 5 transfercases.

i was thinking about using a dana 44f ford and see if the cases can take a beating before the 44 snaps. but i want 38+ so i might be looking at a 60 and if i do that im using a chevy-dodge frontend and swaping a np 205 if i have 38s

sound good? i think a 205 with 4.56:1 axles would be good (lowrange is 1.96:1 or 2.0:1)

o yeah some web page- they got pics of our trails were not in there club but for some reason they took pictures of us. (beatup blue blazer) and Ian (teal jeep with 44inch hogs)

http://pub121.ezboard.com/fblacklistwheelersassociation40687frm19.showMessage?topicID=4.topic

some more pics http://pub121.ezboard.com/fblacklistwheelersassociation40687frm19

and the main pagehttp://pub121.ezboard.com/bblacklistwheelersassociation40687

if you really look there not on the same trail as us (they park there trucks) and that last pic isnt stuck.. i dont think anyways i know i put it up the very same way last time... but that was without snow.

have fun but they took pics of the gay trails just to get in the place. they think about there jeeps too much i dont blame them but hey who wants to see the start trails?

Another idea for your front axle would be to keep the D44 and upgrade to Alloy shafts (Moser & Warn make some good ones) and CTM u-joints.  Since you'll be replacing the center section with a fullcase locker and low gears you won't have to worry about the D44's one weak point, the spider gears.  If you do this then you'll have a lighter axle that gives you more ground clearance and the strength of the Dana 60.  Not to mention rebuildable u-joints with lifetime warranty. 

From the pics I saw, it looks like you do more than just mud.  Are you sure you want to go with such a weenie t-case?  2.0 and lower is downright lame, even with 4:56 gears.  I don't know what auto tranny you might go with, but chances are that 1st gear isn't very low.  However, you can always go with a better torque converter.  Personally, I like manuals.  Mine has a 6.32:1 granny low.  What's the overall crawl ratio you want to have?  4.56 x 2.0 = 9.12  That means that you're going to have to have either one helluva tranny or get a t-case with lower gears.  Teralow may have a gear reduction kit for the 205 though.  Let me know what you decide to go with and what combo. 

You should tell that guy with the Toy to invest in a Birfield eliminator kit.  Toyota axles are actually quite strong once you ditch the Birfields.

I like the idea of going light on the next S10 build up you and your dad are doing.  The D44 axles with performance shafts is a good way to get strength without a lot of weight.  I'm not sure if Chevy makes a V6 that'll put out (you'ld know better than me) so the 350 sounds like it could be your best bet.  What tranny's do you have?  Do you have any really light one's that could help cut down on weight, but are still fairly strong?  Good luck on the build up.

Scoutnut

its like i said still in the air you never know what might show up for parts

i was thinking about a dana 300 first if i can get one.

yea 205 is lame but its stong with 38s i might be ok tho but on the high side

i like the dana 44 idea i have one with a locker in it now but kinda selling it.

4.3 will power what ever i do unless i get a 350

the 4.3 is a really good motor wile its kinda on the light side too. im not really worried about trannys i have how many. ill be with my dad or someone so blowing one up wont be too bad and ill have a back up in it when i put it in.

the blue blazer has a atlas 4. something

tell you what that thing is trick tho twin sticks and ballvalves (one for front one for rear) can get you out of stuff the coolway

but its 6:30 am and my mom thinks im looking at porn or something and about to miss the buss- hate that im still doing that crap

hey where are you located? you told me i bet i forget that stuff.

i gota find the papers for TTC my dad wants to go there (yeah its in CA)

I'm located in the Phoenix, AZ.  Rockcrawling Mecca, not a lot of mud though. 

I was thinking, considering how much mud you deal with, a manual probably wouldn't be the best way to go.  I'ld go with the strongest auto you have and put a mean torque converter in it.  The Dana 300 t-case is definitely a good case, plus tera low sells a 4:1 gear reduction kit for it.  Just replace the tailshaft (weak point) and you're in the money.  Not to mention it's gear driven (strong), and the cost of putting in the tera low kit would be cheaper than going with an Atlas t-case.  You would definitely have a trick ride.  You certainly won't be going very fast if you decide to take it on the highway, but you'ld do well off-road.  Shaving weight by going with the 4.3 is definitely a good idea.  The gearing would take care of the rest. 

I read in either Peterson's or Four Wheeler that if you're sporting an auto than you should shoot for a crawl ratio of 80:1 (so as not to overpower your brakes) and if you're sporting a manual then you should shoot for 100:1.  I think the 100:1 is a little overkill.  Someone once told me as long as you can pull up to an obstacle, release the clutch and not stall out, you have enough gearing.  You may not have the traction cause you're tires are spinning, but you have the gearing.  Just something to give you an idea of what to shoot for.

Thanks for the pics, that ranger never should've attemted that mud hole with those tires.  I thought the S10 with ground hawgs would've made it though.

Scoutnut

yeah i am looking to run an auto - i think its a t400 in the blazer now. and its the very same one that came with the k5 and that thing was a true pos. never had a problem with it yet tho. gearing really helps

crawling with a stick - and i mean really doing stuff takes a lot of skill

and its skill that wile is good to know but its skill that i would lack right now. and an auto does make you use your tires better. less slipping

the dana 300 i still like the idea of that if i get one for a deal. but i dono where to really look for that stuff. i only know chevy deals not jeep. how much should i pay for a good dana 300? ill make the sticks to save 100 bucks and the tailshaft will be put on hold for a wile

o yeah a friend of mine is looking for a goodlooking bumper for an F250. he just asked me so i dint look yet what do you think? summit is nice for "look at me" stuff. and this truck will never offroad. well they might call it that but its not really. 

Dana 300's are becoming a little rare, but you can still find them underneathe some of the older jeeps, late 79' Scouts and most 80 Scouts, and older Bronco's.  As far as pricing goes, I've heard of them going for $500, but I don't think I would pay that much for one.  I'ld sooner go with the Dana 20 or Dana 18 which is also gear driven and has a strong aftermarket following.  Tera Low makes a 3.15 gear reduction kit for both of them.  I have one and love it.  Also I've heard that there is a rare military dana 20 that came factory with a 4:1 low range.  A friend of mine's CJ7 came factory with one.  I think his is a late 70's CJ7.  Check out the Teraflex website for Tera Low products.  www.teraflex.biz

Working a clutch, a break, and the gas is definitely something that takes some practice.  When I first got my Scout, I hadn't had much experience behind a manual, especially offroad.  I couldn't get up a 12" ledge without stalling out and sliding down the steep slope that preceeded it.  Now I've progressed to the much harder trails (not extreme mind you) and can rock climb just fine.  I think I may need some lower diff gears though.  The Scout stalls out to easily when I release the clutch while climbing.  That means that I don't have enough gearing.  The problem is that I've already put a Detroit into the rear and if I was to drop the gears I'ld have to buy a new Detroit because 3.73's are the lowest I can go with the Detroit I have.  Major bummer.  Right now my crawl ratio is only 74.  If I went with 4.11's then I'ld have around 82, if I went with 4.56 then I'ld have almost 91.  The problem is that I'ld really sacrifice mpg and highway speed.  Not to mention I'ld have to sell the rear detroit and buy a new one.  I might start looking into that when I retire it to trail only use. 

As far as a front bumper for your buddies super duty.  If he's not taking it offroad then it doesn't really matter.  If he wants a prerunner look, then he should check out Summit or www.randyellisdesign.com.  He has a nice addition to the bumper that'll hold 4 8" offroad lights.  the USD has a really nice functional bumper built by ARB.  I guess it really just depends on how heavy or light he wants to go.  There are bumpers that probably weight around 500-600 lbs. and are more beef than you'ld ever need, then there are those that weight under 75 lbs. covered in chrome and wouldn't last a min. offroad.  Form or function, I suppose that's your buddies call.

Scoutnut

well thats what i ment. he will never really offroad or smack a tree(s) with it. its for looks really

i found about 4 dana 300s on ebay for much less than 500 bucks

i have seen what a dana 300 can take and i think its as stong as ill ever need it.. and if its not its not a big deal.