Jeep Junkie- Spring 2007

The Spring 2007 issue of Jeep Junkie is the second since the overhaul of FSJ(Full-size Jeep Magazine). It’s still done with a sense of humor and geared toward the average Jeeper who doesn’t have millions of dollars to spend.

The cover Jeep is a Grand Cherokee that started off as a 2wd grocery getter and has turned into a very capable trail only tube ZJ. Waggy front axle, 8.8 rear axle, Aussie/ARB lockers and 37" Iroks round out a cool crawler. "Big J" is one killer J-20. How can’t it be with 39" Boggers(on the 8th day God created the bogger), spooled Dana 60 and a ‘67 body. My favorite this month is the "No-buck XJ", not because it’s the greatest Cherokee or because it has all the latest parts. Nope this is a truck anybody can build. It’s simple but effective. Oh yeah, it’s also MY TRUCK! It’s looks a little different now but I still love it.

Project Bargain Beater gets brake upgrades and steering upgrades this month. The Cheap Distributor swap covers everything you wanted to know about AMC ignitions. Want to know how to install a digital dash? It’s covered. XJ fender flares on a FSJ? Read and find out how.

A couple of runs are covered, the 2007 Snowball Fun Run in New Jersey(no snow, doesn’t that suck) and a NAXJA run on the Rubicon.

www.jeepjunkie.com

Hot Rod- June 2007

There was a time when you could buy a Deuce coupe for $50. Then it went to $500. Then $5000 and so on. Eventually you had to pay stupid prices for any kind of Deuce. It didn’t matter if it was held together with rust, you still had to pay big bucks. The industry noticed and soon came the fiberglass body. Cheaper, no rust to fix and you didn’t have to pay ‘real Deuce’ prices. Then the purists screamed, ‘if it ain’t steel, it ain’t real’. So came the steel Deuce body to the market.

The same thing is happening to the musclecar market. Have you priced an old Camaro, Mustang or Cuda? Pay up sucka, at least if you want a nice example. Well, the industry noticed again and here came the repops. The June issue of Hot Rod has all the information on all the ‘new’ Camaros, Mustangs and Cudas, as well as the ‘57 Chevies. At first all you could get were convertibles but now you can have coupes/sedans as well. Sure they’re expensive but like the Deuce repos, there is no rust and every panel is straight. The musclecar will live on forever.

If ‘real’ steel is more to your liking then head over to the Bomb Factory. They have more cool cars and parts then one garage should have. Some of their Deuces are just amazing. A beautiful feature car this month is a Bobby Alloway built ‘67 Mustang owned by George Lange. Detailed underneath as well on top, this Mustang is cool as any rod you’ve ever seen. Alloway builds some amazing hot rods and this Mustang carries all the same great craftsmanship.

Tech articles this month cover sub-frames for your ‘67-‘69 Camaro, everything you wanted to know about air conditioning and a crate Hemi in a 1970 Duster. Also, a sorta tech feature is 10 great engines. Pretty neat stuff covering Grumpy’s small block, Garlits’ fuel Hemi, RMS pro stock big-block, Eddie Hill’s 4-second record setter and so on. Pretty cool stuff.

www.hotrod.com

Crawl- May/June 2007

Crawl is here, bow down! The newest issue of Crawl steps up again and delivers the goods. It’s got everything you could ever need in a four-wheel/off-road magazine. Great tech, detailed feature trucks(buggies!) and outstanding event coverage.

This month has some of the finest buggies/trucks in the nation. My personal favorite is Donald Hadden’s S-10 creation. Deuce and half’s, 44's, coilovers and streetrod quality paint add to up to one amazing truck. Graeme Tydeman of 4lockedfilms.com budget buggy is loaded with interesting details. Hummer wheels(dig the naked lady beadlock rings), flipped front 60, 4.3 Chevy, axle mounted winch finishes off one bad ass 6 Shoota. Darin Allison of Badlands Machine Shop fabbed up a cool four seat buggy. Darin went with twin 60's, Krawlers and all the other fun stuff that any self-respecting rig should have. You know I never wanted a buggy but this magazine is really starting to change my mind. You bastards!

Have an 8.8 rear axle under your rig? Then the article on Superior Axle’s "Super 88" kit should be of interest. It takes care of all the shortcomings of the 8.8, no more c-clips and better axles! Crawl welcomes Extreme 4x4's Ian Johnson(probably the best 4x4 show on tv) and his first article is on welding and its top notch. Its well photographed and easy to understand.

There is great coverage on W.E. Rocks all girl event, a trail ride with the Florida Flatlanders, the Big Meat run in Disney, OK, the 2007 Chile Challenge and quite a few others. They all sh

Four Wheel and Off-Road- June 2007

Tech
Suspension Special!
*Lifting a ‘05-‘07 Dodge, ‘03-now Toyota 4Runner, ‘07 Chevy, 4" long arm TJ, pre-runner style F150, ‘78-;79 F150/Bronco. Also a look at leveling kits.
*Killer new beadlocks

Features
*Propane powered ‘87 Chevy fullsize. Everyone needs Unimog axles
*The 5-day interview. Welcome Ali Mansour!
*Built To Grind truck(buggy?)club. There some very cool tube bending going on here.

www.fourwheelandoffroad.com

Car Craft- June 2007

Feature cars
*Bright yellow ‘72 El Camino, all home-built.
*1993 10-second LT1 Camaro. Way too clean!
*’71 Roadrunner. People should build more of this style.
*A simple and clean nine-second ‘71 Nova.

Tech
*V-8 power combos with prices! I want a 500ci Caddy. Torque baby!
*8.8 Ford rear-end details
*Rebuild your door panels. Or do what I do, just leave ‘em off.
*Fix your brakes. Gotta love the blown Buick.

And what issue would be complete without a Krass and Bernie cartoon.

www.carcraft.com

Rodder’s Digest- June 2007

Feature cars
*Hemi powered Deuce roadster. Fuel-injected 392, ET Fueler wheels(I want them!), semi traditional.
* 1932 Ford Sedan. Nice car but this feature proves once again why black cars aren’t seen much in magazine spreads. I can’t see it!
*’29 Model A Roadster. Bright yellow, Halibrands, tri-carbed small block Chevy. Just enough bumps to keep it real.
*1948 Chopped Chevy Truck. Chopped, dropped shop truck

Event Coverage
*NSRA Southeast Nationals
*Creepers Fun Run
*Penske Hot Rod Picnic
*Goodguys Southeastern Nationals

Tech
*Fabbing new fender braces
*Electrical relays with nice diagrams
*Spray-on insulation

And the great 15 Things segment, What if Nascar formed Nasrod? Damn funny and probably true. I do miss Lance though.

www.roddersdigest.com