If you can't use it, why own it? We think most show vehicle owners ask themselves this question more often than they'd like to admit. Bill Moore, a fitness trainer from Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, knows all about this dilemma.inline_mediumwraptextrightRight Front Angle30926961/features/bronco/1001_4wd_1977_ford_bronco1001_4wd_01+1977_ford_bronco+right_front_angle.jpgTrue

Ed Fisher of Hyde Park, Utah, is at it again. You've seen some of his other Jeeps in these pages, as his projects are always interesting. Ed recently called and told us he was buying a salvaged JK to build that had a small ding on the passenger side. Our curiosity about why a JK with a "small ding" in the side would be salvage was satisfied when the Jeep arrived. The passenger side was caved in from the rear of the front door back. Not to worry, Wolford Collision Repair in Logan, Utah, quickly had the Wrangler back to perfect condition.inline_mediumwraptextrightRight Front Angle26635654/features/jeep/1001_4wd_2007_jeep_wrangler_jk_unlimited1001_4wd_01+2007_jeep_wrangler_jk_unlimited+right_front_angle.jpgTrue

As off-road racing legend Walker Evans enters his second decade of rockcrawling, trail riding, and exploring, he wanted the ultimate vehicle - one that could crawl, haul, and do everything he asked of it, as well as be comfortable in inclement backcountry weather. Walker owned a 1974 CJ-5 he wanted to use as the starting point for his ultimate Jeep.inline_mediumwraptextrightLeft Front Angle30696333/features/jeep/0912_4wd_1974_jeep_cj50912_4wd_01+1974_jeep_CJ5+left_front_angle.jpgTrue

Jeff Ward wears two hats. He's both a car dealer and fabricator for Burnsville Off-Road. Because of this, he's in the perfect position to find good deals on Jeeps and build them up. His 2006 TJ Unlimited started as a mild-mannered used LJ. Once Jeff got his hands on it, he went to work.inline_mediumwraptextrightRight Side Angle26489149/features/jeep/0912_4wd_2006_jeep_wrangler_unlimited0912_4wd_01+2006_jeep_wrangler_unlimited+right_side_angle.jpgTrue

The Wolford family of Cache Valley, Utah, has been backcountry exploring for generations. Two of the off-roading Wolfords are father Al and son Tim. Al has a 2008 JK Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited and Tim owns a 2006 TJ Unlimited. Both vehicles have been to Mount Logan Off-Road, where the staff worked their magic and turned both vehicles into competent backcountry explorers.

SPECIFICATIONS

SPECIFICATIONS

Although the concept of a single do-it-all rig is a good one, that perfect rig proves to be an elusive creature. Rather than strike out on a quest for the Loch Ness Monster of trail rigs, the Ahrensberg family of Poway, California, wisely widened their stable to include two Toyotas.

SPECIFICATIONS

SPECIFICATIONS

Where do Hawaiians go to retire? After living in paradise, it's hard to imagine what change of venue would be a change for the better. After an illustrious career as a rental Jeep in Hawaii, this '06 TJ Unlimited somehow found its way to a pre-owned car lot in Poway, California. Steve Hallin met the Unlimited there and brought it home to roost in Lake Elsinore, California. This TJ gives new meaning to the idea of "active retirement."

We're YJ fans around here. There's no other Jeep model that's so well suited for buying and building and `wheeling. Even though the TJ is becoming more and more affordable to purchase as the JK era progresses, the YJ still holds the ace as the Wrangler with the most bang for the buck.

Part I of our Unlimited project covered the installation of a sound system from Crutchfield, along with body armor and winch. The only thing wrong with our very clean Unlimited was the top that looked as if it had been run over a few times. The bows were bent, the little plastic clips were broken, and the fabric was ripped. While Bestop offers Sailcloth Replace-A-Top fabric and windows for the TJ Unlimited, we needed the whole top, hardware and all. The only source for this is Mopar. A call to a number of dealers showed us that these tops are hard to get. The part number comes up, but the tops aren't "in the pipeline" as one dealer told us. A call to Quadratec saved the day. Quadratec sells Mopar products and had the top in stock.

Robbie Pierce is a busy man; but it's a good busy. When he's not busy running his company, MasterCraft, he's busy testing and racing his JIMCO-built Trophy Truck at SCORE off-road events. When he's not busy testing and racing he's busy in his Jeep tackling trails from Baja to Moab to the Pacific Northwest - all in the name of seats, of course. Like we said, it's a good busy.

Gordon (Gordy) Robbins of Logan, Utah, gets into the backcountry with his friends whenever he can. After selling his insurance agency to "retire," he purchased Sign Pros Graphic and Design in Logan and started again. Gordy's off-roading and exploring allows him to decompress and have some fun.

Why a Liberty? We figured it was the first question that most people ask John Mathys about his 2003 Jeep Liberty, so we asked him, too. Simply stated, John wanted something different from your everyday trail rig. The Liberty was also a good fit for his family and gear for weekend runs to any of his favorite destinations near his Lancaster, California, home. The trails in Big Bear, Johnson Valley, and Calico top the list but John has also made hauls to Moab, the Rubicon, and trails in Arizona, as well.

Ali and Frazier. The Hatfields and the McCoys. Cats and dogs. Rivalries have existed since the dawn of time. Jeeping is no different. Although the first "official" rockcrawling competition was only 10 years ago, four-wheelers have been contending for bragging rights for generations. Such is the case with Will Retzer and Jeff Brasher, two neighbors from Reno, Nevada. When Brasher moved to Reno from Salt Lake City five years ago, he was without an off-road vehicle, despite having owned nearly a dozen Jeeps previously. Retzer had a '98 Jeep TJ at the time that was mildly built to explore the numerous trails in northern Nevada.

You may remember Currie Enterprises' Helldorado TJ Wrangler package. The Helldorado TJ was built using parts that complemented each other and made a balanced Jeep that worked well everywhere. With the advent of the JK Wrangler, Currie Enterprises teamed with Kevin Hawkins to start work on a new Helldorado package. Kevin worked his magic on his own JK to make it worthy of the Helldorado heritage - a Wrangler that works as well on the freeway as it does on the trail. Not every detail you see here will be available in the production Helldorado package, but most of it will be.

Need to build a Jeep for the trail? Few things could be easier. Wanna build a Toyota trail rig? Close to a slam dunk. Now suppose you want to modify your Ford Ranger for trail work. That's a little tougher. While Ford Rangers have proven themselves as one of the best trucks ever built for prerunning and desert racing, they're not established to the same degree in the trail riding world. Matt Cawley of Tuscon, Arizona, can tell you all about it.

You may remember the Teraflex Adventure Prospector TJ in the June 2008 issue of 4WD&SU Magazine. In the feature we said, "... this Jeep may be the perfect mix of products that enhance the Wrangler's OE performance and allow it to tackle extremely tough trails with ease. Curt Hildebrand and Teraflex have done it again -- this time to a two-door JK.

When it comes to extreme JKs Mel Wade's '07 sets the bar. Mel got his legs in the off-road world building and driving Suzuki Samurais and buggies, but when his family started outgrowing the small-statured Suzuki, the newly launched 2007 Jeep Wrangler seemed like the ideal solution. Mel was more than familiar with the Jeep brand. Since he and his wife, Lisa, had opened their shop, Off Road Evolution in Fullerton, California, a couple years earlier, Jeep owners had become some of their best customers. The two also figured that the JK would serve as a great calling card for the business.

Saying a JK is "old" sounds strange, as they've only been available since mid 2006. But that's two years, and two years in the Jeep world can be a long time if a vehicle is ridden hard and put away wet. We got our hands on a 2007 Jeep JK Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon that had been one of the very first off the assembly line in 2006. This JK had seen 31,000 miles of tough use and little maintenance. For example, when we pulled the crankcase drain plug, black liquid came out that looked more like tar than oil. There was sludge in the oil pan. It was time for a project!