Four-Wheel Jamboree Nationals

If you're just tuning in, each year, off-roaders gather in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, for the Bloomsburg Four-Wheel Jamboree Nationals. Bloomsburg is all dirt, all the time. Street trucks are allowed in the parking lot, but that's about it. Between the arena and the rest of the fairground areas, there's plenty to peruse. Monster trucks and NMRO Mud Dragsters put high-rev, high-octane entertainment on the menu. The Bloomsburg Fairgrounds were also dripping with show-'n'-shine rigs.

Although there was no shortage of action in the central arena, and acres of highly polished sheetmetal on the sidelines, the author passed it all by. OFF-ROAD was in Bloomsburg looking for "regular-guy" trucks: those which are usable and attainable.

Last month, five of nine "regular-guy" trucks from Bloomsburg were showcased. This month, we're wrapping it up with the final four of the nine.

Deep-Fried Duramax

Can one truck make it from Florida to Baja and back without consuming a drop of fossil fuel? Michael Lokey and the crew at Lokey Trucks are going to find out. The '06 2500 HD is equipped with a Golden Fuel Systems vegetable-oil conversion system, along with just about every other thing that could possibly show up on a chase truck bound for the Baja 1000.	A clean sweep was also executed on the truck's tail section. The leaf packs were set aside in favor of this monster-size Rock Krawler/Pure-Performance trailing-arm system. Spring wrap is completely eliminated, so U-joints live longer. The system rides on coilover shocks - buttery smooth. As with the front end, major cutting and welding is required to properly install this system.	Jeremy Purick and the crew at Pure-Performance deleted the stock IFS system in favor of a coilover-equipped solid front axle. Based on a Dodge 2500 4x4 front axle, the long-arm four-link system provides 8-10 inches of lift and the correct bracketry to locate the links under the HD's chassis. This system requires major cutting and welding to install, so it's best handled by a competent off-road shop.
A TireGate makes for plenty of bed space and holds one of five Toyo-wrapped American Racing wheels and a Hi-Lift jack. A Power Tank is also along for the ride. For more information about this truck, check out www.lokeytrucks.com.	Big-boy trucks such as the Duramax Chevy are often seen as examples of wastefulness and excess. Imagine telling your favorite green crusader that your truck is powered by recycled vegetable oil instead of diesel. A Golden Fuel Systems conversion makes it possible.	Radflo shocks were used on the Lokey Duramax chase truck. Plans called for this HD to be used as a chase truck for Mc Millin Racing during the 2007 Baja 1000. Since the course went all the way to La Paz comfort and reliability were paramount. There's many a mile between La Paz and the U.S. border.

One At A Time

Although the Super Duty took the fullsize truck market by storm in 1999, this writer still prefers '92-'97 F-350s. These trucks have classic good looks. The diesel-powered versions have the proven 7.3 under the hood instead of the trouble-plagued 6.0 that showed up later. Tom Smith, of Ford City (yes, really), Pennsylvania, uses his '97 in almost every facet of his life. From their roof-rack vantage point, Tom's family and friends had a first-class view of Bloomsburg's monster-truck action.	Ford's 7.3L Power Stroke diesel motivates the big crew cab aided by a K&N intake and Edge electronics.	Thirty-eight-inch Pro Comp Xterrain tires mounted to Ultra Type 61 wheels clear the stock sheetmetal thanks to Pro Comp springs and shocks. When this truck isn't working hard building custom homes or transporting friends and family, it gets to play in the hills of rural Pennsylvania.
The roof rack is an integral part of Tom's business. Tom, who is a carpenter and contractor, builds custom homes. Old-school post-and-beam construction is used. Tom fells the trees himself and has the resulting lumber milled locally by Amish sawyers. At the job site, Tom uses a block-and-tackle system to do the heavy lifting and positioning to get the posts and beams into place. It's not a quick process. Tom builds one custom home at a time and averages one home per year. The craftsmanship is meticulous. Quality clearly dominates quantity here.		Here's one of the custom homes in Tom's portfolio. Good things clearly come to those who wait.

Mad Bud

From what I gathered, Elwood "Bud" Sayre of Hanover Township, Pennsylvania, is the quiet type who prefers to let his truck do the talking. Bud's '78 Bronco has a lot to say, starting with the paint. A friend was learning to do flame paint schemes, so Bud let him use the fullsize Bronco as a canvas to practice on. Job well done.	The flame scheme continues to the tailgate, which is what you'll be staring at should you get stuck in a Pennsylvania mudhole and need Bud's services to pull you out.	'78-'79 Broncos showed up with 351 or 400 Midland motors. The Midland 351 and 400 were choked with smog-control equipment that cut out as much performance as it did emissions. The original motor is long gone, replaced with a free-breathing, healthy 460. An Edelbrock four-barrel feeds the mill.
Most of our hoods are clean on the topside, filthy on the bottom side. This one's spotless. At the same time, this rig gets used in the rocks and mud of Pennsylvania. Bud's Bronco is a functional, real-world truck that just happens to clean up nicely.	Even though the factory-installed motor was a dog, the rest of the OEM drivetrain was respectable. Bud's Bronco uses a bombproof four-speed manual tranny behind the swapped-in 460 V-8. Ford's 9-inch rearend is the stuff of legend, and the high-pinion Dana 44 front axle is a durable welterweight. The coil-sprung radius-arm front suspension combines a smooth ride and backwoods durability. Superlift's bolt-on suspension parts add enough height for a set of 37-inch Goodyear MT/Rs mounted to 15-inch American Racing Outlaw IIs.

Buy It Now

Ford's '66-'77 early Broncos are highly sought-after vehicles. No one knows this better than Kerry Lauer II of Berwick, Pennsylvania. Kerry first spied his '74 Bronco on eBay. A bidding war ensued, which ended with Kerry opting for the "Buy It Now" option. For his trouble, and the seller's asking price, Kerry was rewarded with a vintage machine that's also highly usable.	A Spartan interior complements the "function-first" theme of this rig. "What's the point of having it if you can't use it?" Kerry asks. The brake pedal now pushes on a set of swapped-in front discs for superior stopping power. Thirty-five-inch Super Swamper SSRs grip the terrain.	Ford's 351 Windsor is a good mill, especially when installed into a compact rig like the early Bronco. The power output comes in extra handy when Kerry has a chance to face down his favorite off-road terrain: deep mud. Although the 351 works well, the carburetor's performance has the owner wishing for fuel injection instead.
Skull graphics of various sizes and configurations adorn every panel. The owner-applied paint both tolerates and camouflages scratches. This is one Bronco that's no show pony.	This '74 has a grille and a grill. The propane-fired grill plugs into a receiver hitch on the front bumper. This is a "real-man's" front bumper. No doubt Tim Taylor would approve.

RIPP'd JK

Jeep's JK Wrangler has a great chassis and a lukewarm engine. V-8 engine swaps are rightfully popular, adding sought-after horsepower and torque. We spied this supercharger kit from RIPP Modified that may have JK owners leaving their 3.8 V-6 engines under the hood. Based on a Vortech impeller-style supercharger, the RIPP kit is designed to be a 100-percent-bolt-on upgrade that adds nearly 100 rear-wheel horsepower to an otherwise-stock JK engine.

For more information:, check out www.rippmods.com or call (718) 442-4723.