Four-wheeling; a great sport that can involve anyone. You don't
have to be rich, famous, good-looking, a great conversationalist, a
lobbying politician, or even have a job. It gaps all boundaries and
draws in all sorts. The reality of old that it's a male dominated
sport is changing, rapidly. Reality is bending and reshaping in the
direction that more and more women are seen on the trails, and more
importantly, in the driver's seat.
The Fine Lines Of A
Jeep
When it comes to fines lines, no on other than a
rusty old jeeper considers the Jeep a model contender. But for
Lynda's Jeep, the fine lines are more of an artist's
touch.
What kinds of women you wonder? All kinds. Married, single, mom's,
sisters, young, and old are pumping the go-go juice in copious
amounts and showing up their male counter parts all over the
country. A good example is Lynda Forney of Salt Lake City, Utah.
What kind of lady is Lynda? How about an independent businesswoman
with over 1,000 skydives in her logbook as well. Lynda may limit
her jumping out of perfectly good airplanes lately but she has
found another occupation to keep the adrenaline pumping. Lynda
started four wheeling many years ago with Tony Fugit. Tony himself
owns a beautiful CJ-7 with V-8, lockers, etc. But Lynda went her
own way by purchasing a 1969 CJ-5. The Jeep was essentially stock
in the beginning and has evolved over the years to be one of the
cleanest and most functional CJ-5's on the roads, dirt or paved,
anywhere.
Crawler
The CJ has a set of ARB's stuffed within the pumpkins along
with a 3.54 ring and pinion. The overall crawl ratio
rounds-out to a 65:1 low range -- not bad for those long highway
hauls.
The jeep's first major overhaul came about six years ago when it
went into friend Jim Petersen's garage in Farmington, NM. It
received power steering, ARB air lockers, a 465 4-speed Chevrolet
transmission, and a Dana 30 from a later model CJ-5 to get rid of
the closed knuckle system and the addition of front disc brakes.
This worked just fine with the stock Buick Dauntless 225 V-6 and a
Rancho 2.5" lift. However, in life, all things must change. Four
years later the jeep went back to Farmington, NM after Jim opened
All-Wheel-Drive Off-Road Center for a major overhaul. First was the
complete disassembly of the entire jeep. Then a new frame was
found, since the original one weighed about 50 pounds more from all
the welds to fix the cracks produced by years of off-road use. A
frame from a 1973 CJ-5 was found in good shape and was shortened
three inches to match the '69 wheelbase. The frame was also boxed
inside, double plated on the outside, up front, and Advance Adapter
motor mounts were welded on to hold the 1994 S-10 4.3L Vortec V-6.
A McLeod hydraulic system with a Luk clutch was used to get rid of
the troublesome linkage clutch of before. The same 465 Chevrolet
transmission was reused along with the stock Dana 18 with its
2.46:1 low range. The axles were left alone as well with their
ARB's and 3.54:1 gearing. This gives the jeep around a 65:1 low
range. Plenty for all applications but still allowing decent
highway speeds.
Tanked
In full expedtion mode, Lynda can top-off the tanks for a combined
25 gallons of gasoline. The stock tank which sits beneath the
driver's seat holds 10 gallons, while a pirated 15-gallon tank from
a CJ-7 rests in the rear.
Under the hood the little V-6 fits nicely. A front grille from a
CJ-6 was donated for its favorable mounting of the radiator. A
heavy-duty three-core unit at that. A stock clutch fan is used and
a fan shroud was custom built to match up and pull as much air as
humanly possible. All the wiring for the motor was built by Howell
engine developments and the GM computer was mounted on the inside
driver's side kick-panel. Out of the dust and moisture that could
damage its components. The rest of the wiring for the jeep is
covered in black wire loom and looks as factory as if it just came
off of the showroom floor. The firewall on the driver's side is
where the jeep's detailing comes into view. The frame mounted
clutch and brake pedals were discarded and moved up to the
firewall. The firewall itself was re-enforced with two plates of
metal and painted to match. The brakes up on the firewall are from
an '89 Jeep Wrangler complete with power booster. The clutch
hydraulic reservoir and piston is mounted on it as well.
The Dirty Down Low
In abundance on this rig are 2" receivers which are set up
to serve a slew of purposes on a moments notice. This one
serves as a step stool but can be used with a winch mount, a
cooking stove or even a vise. The receiver extends through the
cab and is mounted solidly to the reinforced body.
On the inside you will see other parts of the CJ-6 donations.
Namely the dash, clutch and brake pedals, and steering column. The
seats were left stock with new seat covers and complete carpeting
covers the floor. Stewart Warner gauges were installed along with
stainless knobs. The original under seat gas tank was retained as
well as the under seat storage of the passenger's side. Lynda
wanted the cool air in the middle of summer a Vintage Air
heater/A/C/defroster compact unit was added under the dash. This
happily did away with the troublesome vacuum style heater and
really feels good on those warm Utah days. The stock compressor
from the Vortec was re-used with a matched drier and condenser and
the custom lines for the A/C were built at D & D Auto in
Farmington. A small unit it may be, but definitely puts out the air
and fits nicely under the dash, completely out of view.
A Pink Air Cleaner?
Yes. Thank you kindly. But beneath that pink air cleaner awakens
the prowess of a fuel-injected 4.3 Liter Vortec motor. The
compressor which sits to the left powers of the compartment pushes
bone-chilling air conditioning to the cab of the CJ.
To keep the interior clean and dry a Windbreaker top from Rok-Gear
was installed. This top is unique in that the side of the top can
zip up into the bikini top to allow a true conversion. Purple in
the top matches the purple on the roll bar and the stripes and
triangle southwestern design applied by Rick at Rick's Auto Body.
Unnoticeable rocker guards run the length of the short vehicle and
actually wrap underneath and are incorporated as part of the body
mounts. On the back right another gas cap indicates the presence of
a second fuel tank installed in the rear. The 15-gallon gas tank
was pirated from a CJ-7 and contains the main fuel pump for the
motor. This gives Lynda the capability to carry 25 gallons of gas
on longer trips. The rear tank is used mainly for day trips and the
under seat one is used for longer rides to keep the smell of the
original tank from stinking up the interior which those tanks are
notorious for. The fuel is transferred from the original tank to
the rear tank by a low-pressure pump. The spare tire carrier from
Currie Enterprises was modified to fit on the CJ and provides a
great mount for the CB antenna. The stock taillights were reused to
keep a little bit of authenticity but had to be moved up to allow
room for the carrier.
Up Front And Above The
Spring
The stock Dana 27 was replaced with a beefier Dana 30 from a newer
'73 CJ-5. The result: disc brakes and open knuckles.
Up front the bumper is from Currie Enterprises as well and a Warn
winch mount for a TJ was used to mount the Warn XD9000I winch,
painted to match of course. The front marker lights are actually
Harley Davidson motorcycle lights and gives the vehicle a cat's-eye
look. A plate made from sheet metal was fabricated to cover all the
wiring and lines and really cleans up the front end.
Hardley A Harley
But, you will find a set of Harley Davidson front marker lights on
each side of the grill, serving as a set of cat's-eye blinkers
The Rancho 2.5" Lift with Rancho RS 5000 shocks were re-used
because of the jeep's good four-wheeling capabilities before the
re-do. 33" BF Goodrich tires on 15 x 10-inch wheels finish off the
package. Last minute additions include the fabricated rear license
plate bracket incorporating a light and the capability to flip-up
for easy removal of the lug nuts if needed. Although this jeep is
destined to see a few car shows as an entrant its owner prefers to
use it for what it is built for. That being on the rocks at Lynda's
favorite playground, Moab, UT. Being only three hours away from
slick-rock heaven has allowed Lynda to hone her rock-crawling
capabilities to the utmost perfection which are in proportion to
the cleanness of the jeep. Four-wheeling with her all day you
quickly learn that she is not afraid to hit the rough stuff and
drives this clean jeep with best of the hard-core men. If you see
her on the trail I'm sure she wouldn't hesitate to pop the hood,
kick the tires, and pull out the jeep dusting brush for anyone
interested in a look-see.
The Tail End
As you can see, there's a clean contour to the Jeep, and the rack
is swing-out tire rack is certainly no exception. Since the Currie
rack isn't a direct bolt-on for the '69 CJ-5, Lynda enlisted the
help of Jim at All-Wheel-Drive for a bit of fab work.
The Lowdown
The engine is a 4.3L vortec from a 1994 S-10. The V-6 fits
nicely and replaces the stock Dauntless 225 that originally resided
from the factory. An Optima Battey, custom shroud, and brake
booster and master cylinder hint to the large amount of custom
fabrication done to this CJ. The firewall was actually double
plated and allows the strength needed to move the brake and clutch
up off the frame.
The dash was pirated from a CJ-6. Additions include Stewart
Warner gauges, Vintage Air A/C system, Mico brake loc, under dash
stereo, stainless knobs, and full carpeting finish out the
upgrades. The steering wheel itself was left stock to keep a little
nostalgia but a power steering for wheeling was a necessary
addition to steer with the front air locker.
The Inside Scoop
Piarated from a CJ-6 and outfitted with an assortment of amenities,
the dash does justice for those creature comforts. Take a look
at the AC system snugged-up beneath and the Mico
Brake lock.
Detailing is everywhere one looks on this vehicle as seen in
the hand painted V-6 emblem on the side.
The southwest design protrudes down the side of the vehicle as
well as over the hood. Unnoticeable are the rocker guards that
carry into the frame and are actually part of the body mount design
itself.
The extra gas cap on the passenger's side carries down to a
15-gallon rear gas tank pirated from a CJ-7. This gives the vehicle
25 gallons of carrying capacity and Lynda does not use the under
seat tank unless needed to minimize the fumes that always seem to
permiate into the old CJs with these type of systems.
Cat-eye turn lamps on the front were purchased at the local
Harley-Davidson motorcycle shop in Farmington, NM. They give a
little extra touch that a quality vehicle has.
The rear Dana 44 was left stock with its flanged axles and
3.54:1 gears. 11-inch drum brakes and ARB Air Lockers were added to
improve the climbing and stopping characteristics.
The front end Dana 30 replaces the stock Dana 27 and came from
a 1973 CJ-5 with the favorable disc brakes and open knuckles. It
also received an Air locker.
The front and rear bumpers are from Currie Enterprises. Jim at
All-Wheel-Drive, where the vehicle was mostly assembled, modified
the bumpers to fit. The rear taillights also needed to be raised to
allow the swing-out carrier to fit.
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