“Hey, look at that road. Is it worth taking?” I can answer that question. It always is. It doesn’t matter if the road is graded, two-track, or a trail; if it stretches off into the distance, drops into a canyon, goes over a mountain, or gets lost in trees or rocks ahead, it beckons the backcountry explorer with a siren song that’s impossible to ignore. Yes, even graded, easy roads are worth taking. You never know where that road will lead.

Back in 1976, I met two freshly minted second lieutenants who had just graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy. As soon as they were commissioned, these two had done what most of us did, which was to purchase a new vehicle. One had a new Triumph TR6 and the other owned a sparkling Fiat 126 Spider convertible. I was driving a Jeep CJ5 with a 304 V-8.

It was September 1962. My teacher passed out California and Arizona road maps she had ordered from Chevron in order to teach us about our local area, as well as about how to read a map. I was hooked. Looking at maps can take you on adventures without leaving home.

In this issue is the beginning of our Gen IV YJ project, a 1989 YJ Wrangler built so we can enjoy trail riding and exploring the way we used to do it.

I received an email from a friend of mine, Phil Toney, a retired Jeep engineer who had been at Jeep since it was owned by AMC. I thought it interesting. You may, too…

Press releases arrive every day here at 4Wheel Drive Magazine. Recently, we received a press release from Mopar. Here's a portion:

This 4Word isn't about off-roading, but from your letters and emails, I know some of you have wider vehicular tastes than just 4x4s. I do, too.

More than 1,000 Jeep owners are expected to return to Butler, Pennsylvania, on August 10-12 for the second annual Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival. Festival organizers announced that online registration is now available for Jeep owners and volunteers who want to be involved in the event, which attracted more than 30,000 visitors to the birthplace of the Jeep in 2011.

Tom Kingston from Spidertrax Off-Road is an engineer. He recently blogged about the results an independent testing lab found when testing domestic and imported wheel spacers. This is important information, so with Tom's permission, I want to share his blog with you below:

Last month I told you about purchasing a TJ Unlimited.

Stewart, owner of Drivetrain Unlimited in St. George, Utah, is always stumbling across good Jeep deals. He somehow procured two YJ Wranglers, the first a red four-cylinder in good shape but with no transmission, the second a black six-cylinder ’89 that didn’t look too bad once you looked past the accumulated dirt.

A friend of Stewart’s wanted the red YJ, so they removed the black Jeep’s 4.2L I-6 and AX15 transmission and installed the tranny in the red YJ using an adapter from Advance Adapters. They also removed the black YJ’s carpet, center console, and soft top, although Stewart threw an old spice soft top on it to keep the sun off the dash. The Jeep then sat in Drivetrain Unlimited’s parking lot collecting cobwebs and dust. Every time I visited Stewart, the YJ called to me. After some negotiation, we agreed on a price and the black YJ became mine.

In recent 4Words, I've talked about new vehicle electronic woes and their lack of reliability. When I wrote about driving to Moab in an open CJ, it brought back so many good memories that I decided to buy a used Jeep.

In this issue, there's a recovery equipment guide, as well as a feature on winch maintenance. Since we've always advocated going off-road with a friend so if anything happens everyone gets home again, why would a winch matter? Well, you or your friends might get stuck (we all have). Alternatively, you might run across someone else who's in trouble and could use some help. If you're a member of the fire department or search and rescue in your area, this equipment can save lives.

There's a 1989 YJ in my shop behind the house. Working on it’s been a walk down memory lane. The 258 carbureted six still runs just like it did when new–lots of low-end torque and no performance at higher rpm. It leaks where almost all of them did. Oil is coming from the rear of the valve cover, the selector shaft seal in the tranny, and another phantom transmission/transfer case leak that’s proving elusive to find. The front pinion seal is bad, probably because the YJ has so much driveline vibration it can’t be driven faster than 55 mph. Aftermarket leaf packs raise the Jeep too high and the spring’s center pins are inexplicably 1.5 inches too far back up front and 1.5 inches too far forward in back, decreasing the wheelbase to 90 inches. Turn the leaf packs around you say? No, because the military wraps need to be attached at the frame hangers, not the shackles. Some of the U-bolt nuts were held on with two threads, which pulled out as soon as a socket was placed on them. The tach, speedo, water temperature, and clock are functional, but the oil pressure gauge is pegged on 80 and the fuel gauge swings lazily from “F” to “E” all the time. This Jeep even has cruise control. When activated, it accelerates, decelerates, and then deactivates. The seats didn’t match the rest of the interior and were a dirty brown.

I have always liked muscle cars. I even tried to turn my very first vehicle, a trusty 1961 Chevy pickup, into a muscle car by swapping in a Chevrolet 348 tri-power V-8 (it didn't work. It was still an old truck). This year's SEMA Show had plenty of Chevrolet Camaros and Malibus, Ford Mustangs, Dodge Chargers and Challengers, Plymouth 'Cudas and Road Runners to see and drool over. The cars ranged from perfectly restored models to rat rods (is a muscle car old enough to be a rat rod?) with modern drivetrains.

My November 2011 editorial wasn’t kind to Jeep JK electronic and front axle woes. I need to clarify and expand on that editorial, as it sounded as if I was saying new Jeeps were garbage and every other vehicle was perfect.

It was cold. The stick-on thermometer on the dash read 28 degrees as the feeble heat trickling from the heater was quickly snatched into the darkness by the icy fingers of desert air that whipped into the Jeep. Slouching down as far as possible didn’t help. The only thing I could do was press on shivering toward dawn and (hopefully) warmer air.

We spend a lot of time talking about JK Wranglers and how well they work in the dirt. They do. When they’re running, that is.

We’ve changed our name! After a couple of decades, 4Wheel Drive & Sport Utility Magazine is now 4Wheel Drive Magazine. The “sport utility” portion of the title was confusing people, even at Source Interlink Media, our parent corporation. Every time we wrote about trucks or a 4x4 vehicle that wasn’t a utility or sport utility vehicle, we’d hear about how we were supposed to cover sport utilities only. That’s not true.

This month, I’m turning the 4Word over to Assistant Editor Kevin Blumer, who’s going to update us on what’s happening in Johnson Valley, California.

Plans are underway to make Jeep history in Butler, Pennsylvania, once again. Butler is the birthplace of the Jeep, and now the community is creating its own signature event called the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival to be held August 12-14.

For two months, you’ve put up with my reminiscences of Baja. I’d like to tell you about just one more trip down there.

A few years ago, during my stint at Off-Road magazine, I wrote editorials about three memorable trips to Baja California. I’ve received some requests to run them here in 4WD&SU, as our readership is more interested in this kind of thing. I’ve decided to do it. Here goes

We need your vehicle! We're bringing back our Trail Rigs section, but changing the name to Readers' Rigs. It's easy to get your 4x4 featured in this section. Send a JPEG photo of your vehicle, along with a list of modifications you've made and a description of why you built it and what you do with it, to kevin.blumer@sorc.com. You and your 4x4 will soon be famous.

Smash!
The windshield of the H1 cracks as a branch hits it while we tear through the Baja backcountry. I’m driving as hard as I can, trying to keep up with Rod Hall, who’s driving an identical H1 and is now far ahead.

Recently Assistant Editor Kevin Blumer was cited for speeding on the Pismo Dunes. He had been driving toward the highway in the dark when a vehicle came up behind and tailgated him. He sped up a bit to get a safe distance away. As soon as he did, the red-and-blue lights came on, and it turned out to be a California state ranger. Kevin stopped and received a citation. This kind of enforcement isn't good for anyone except the state coffers that receive money from these bogus citations.