PVD 11-9-07

This years trip to Panamint Valley was as usual "the best trip ever". We got an opportunity to do some of the old favorite runs as well as discover some new and interesting things we hadn't seen before. Best of all we got to do it with some friends who hadn't done it before.

A group of us caravaned up there early Friday morning arriving at camp around 11AM. Soon after setting up camp we made plans to do a run up some of the nearby canyons.

We had a small, good group. It was Cameron, Teresa, Kirt, Matt and me. First we went up the north fork of Revenue Canyon. We discovered some nice waterfalls to climb but the trail soon became impassible when the brush overcame the trail. Exploring the south fork yielded more interesting results. We found a spring, running waterfalls and a very nice mine. Kirt discovered a fuse sticking out of the end of the mine and we considered lighting it and running. When we finished exploring that we headed back to camp.

That night we had a fire but the wind picked up and the weather grew cold. I went to sleep early.

The next morning was the Isham Canyon run. We had the same group as Friday with John and Rosanna & the dogs. Isham canyon was about the same as last year but we did it with less carnage since we knew what to look for. In spite of having some longer wheelbase vehicles we all made it through with minimal damage except John. Isham has some tough obstacles but as usual, John spotted some optional lines that stepped it up another notch. That's how he peeled off his bumper.

After Isham we headed over to Goler Wash and explored some of the mines in that area. The Lotus mine had incredible switchbacks taking us to the top of the mountain and then down the backside. Everywhere we looked was abandoned equipment and mine tunnels. We took an hour to explore the area and wished it could have been longer. We proceeded up Goler wash, visited Barker Ranch and went over Mengel Pass to Butte Valley. There we visited the Geologists' Cabin. As the sun set we blasted out of Butte Valley, down Warm Spring Canyon and on into Death Valley. For the last 10 miles before the highway we got to speeds of 50-55MPH kicking up dust clouds that didn't go away and could still be seen when we were airing up 20 minutes later.

After airing up we headed north along the eastern side of death valley on Hwy 178. Upon arriving at Furnace Creek we were advised by another jeeper to gas up in Stovepipe Wells. We stopped in Stovepipe, gassed up and ate dinner at a local choke and puke. It was nice to have ribs after a long day of wheeling.

The next day (Sunday) we did some explorations in the nearby canyons again but didn't find anything much other than Wilderness signs. We packed up around noon and headed home.

The Space Saver

In my never ending quest to make more room in the Jeep for tools, spare parts, and stuff. I installed "the space saver". Simply a piece of flat stock attached to the roll bar to create a place to hang anything that has a belt loop. It's welded on one end and removable on the other with a thumb screw. I'll use it for a knife, binoculars, camera, or whatever else I can cram on there.
Flatty Mike

Heart Bar Peak – Big Bear

Run Report by Flatty Mike
On Sunday Sheri & I took the short drive from Heart Bar campground to run Heart Bar Peak, Trail 1N38. The trail head is only 1.5 miles easterly from the campground turn off on Highway 38. My power steering pump had started failing on Saturday during the Adopt-A-Trail maintenance, but being that this trail was just a long walk from camp I decided to make a go of it anyway. The first obstacle came at less than a half a mile in – a fallen tree was blocking the trail. “Are we going back?” Sheri asked. “Uh, no” I replied. This was the perfect opportunity to use my old school Warn winch.
I had saved it from a '63 CJ3B I used to have. This sucker weighs a ton and I’ve never really tested it except for in my driveway. With all four wheels chocked with rocks (my e-brake cable broke on Saturday) and Sheri stomping on the brake, the winch just dragged the Jeep towards the tree. It was wedged in by other trees on both sides of the trail – so on to Plan B.
I took out my axe and chopped a notch in the trunk a few inches deep. That along with breaking loose the smaller limbs from the uphill side allowed the winch to snap the tree and break it free. I pulled it back and off to the side of the trail and we were underway.
This trail is adopted by Jeeping Jeepers, but it didn’t appear that anyone has been on it lately. It's hard to say how long that tree has been there. The majority of the trail is easy / moderate, but it earns its “more difficult” rating from a couple of long steep climbs as you near the peak. They’re littered with loose rock that will spit out behind you as you try to maintain your momentum. Vehicles without at least a rear locker may have some difficulty on these climbs, but it’s probably do able with a willingness to stay heavy on the pedal.

After a short rest at the summit we headed back to relieve my babysitting mother-in-law. Coming down the steep, loose sections I was really pleased with my newly lowered crawl ratio (110:1). Descending with engine compression, not relying solely on the brakes, gives a great feeling of control. No issues other than my now fried power steering pump forcing me to make a couple of three point turns at some of the tighter switchbacks. Sheri caught a glimpse of a deer darting up the hill as we rounded a corner. Total time, excluding tree removal, was under two hours. This would be a nice little detour for the club to run some afternoon after finishing up trail maintenance on 1N37.

12 Volt Trail Drill

I've seen write ups on this before, so when I came across this 12v Makita Drill I decided it was a good time to make a portable drill for my Jeep. The concept being that you'll always have a usable drill on the trail, not needing to worry if its battery is charged or if the charge will run out

I found this one on Craig's List for twenty bucks! It came with a flashlight, and a case. No battery, no biggie, I didn't need it anyway since I wired it to work off a 12 volt car battery. I took the case apart and soldered some wire connectors to the battery contacts. Then I attached those to a standard 110v electrical cord prong. Then by plugging that into a spare extension cord with some alligator clips attached, I can now hook up to a battery. I'll make a similar conversion for the flashlight as well and the extension cord can be used to power either device.


In place of the charger and battery in the case I'll load up some drill bits, grinder discs and cut-off discs.

Now I just need to make room for it in the Jeep!







By Flatty Mike

Memorial Notice

A memorial notice for our friend Chuck as printed in the July 2007 edition of Blue Ribbon Magazine. Click on the article for an enlarged view.

New Axles for the Willys

Woohoo! My axles are finally here. What started out as a couple of minor upgrades has snowballed into a major makeover for the Willys. Initially the Jeep was down for a dual master cylinder upgrade. Then I came across a good deal on some shocks. Then all hell broke lose. Here’s what’s in store:

• Dana 44 front, disc brakes, 5.38 gears, ARB locker
• Dana 44 rear, disc brakes, 5.38 gears, Detroit locker
• 4” Skyjacker leaf springs for an early CJ5 (longer than Willys stock length)
• JKS U-Bolt plates
• Edelbrock shocks
• RCI fuel cell

All of the leaf spring and shackle mounts have to be relocated to allow for the longer springs as well as out boarding the front mounts to get around the Scout Dana 44 pumpkin. The Jeep will end up with a track width about eight inches wider, sit about 2” higher (plus another 1.5” after I upsize the tires), and the wheelbase will be stretched 2-3”.

To Do List:

• Fabricate the front spring mounts
• Weld on spring perches
• Build a drag link (anyone have a spare w/ heavy duty tie rod ends on it?)
• Switch transfer case output to a cv yoke for cv driveline
• Fitment of drivelines
• New shock towers and mounts
• Mount and connect the ARB
• Install new master cylinder, brake lines, bleed brakes
• E-brake assembly to rear wheels

Most of this stuff I’ve never done before, just kind of winging it and learning as I go. If anyone has some life experience to share with me on this type of work, let me have it. For instance, I only want to weld the spring perches on once so it will be important to get things mocked up right the first time.

While waiting for parts I decided to weld up all the holes in the body where the old roll bar was mounted, soft top snaps, etc. Well that was another can of worms. There were over 60 holes on the passenger side alone! It wasn’t my intention to start a body work project on a 65 year old tub, so I just gave it a quick Bondo skim over the patches and moved on. One good thing about a small Jeep is it only takes 5 cans of spray paint to change the color, so I’m taking the Willys MB back to its military roots. That’s right - Olive Drab Baby!

If anyone wants to get their hands dirty, come on over, I’m in Vista. Help will not be turned away. It would be great to get a second eye on some of this stuff like the pinion angles, and I’m still on the fence about the shock mount locations.

Flatty Mike

Russ' Coilover Conversion

by Chuck


So What does a guy who's Jeep TJ that only has 8000 miles on it do after he's swapped out the axles for ProRock 60's , running 37" Krawlers with a Full Traction Long Arm Kit, Kenne Bell Supercharger and so much stuff under the hood that it barely closes do when he gets bored?

Well how about a conversion to Fox Coil-Over shocks.


That's exactly what we did this Saturday . At least we got the front end conversion done.


The process requires removing the original Springs and shocks.

Then cutting the stock shock tower top off and welding in the new custom Coil Over shock bracket and bottom bracket.

It was really pretty easy with a lift, Plasma cutter, welder and all the tools you could need.

A couple of guys and a Corona made the job go quickly.


Before shot

The Bracket

Using the plasma cutter we cut off the top and side of the stock shock tower.

Using a hammer after the cut removed the excess part of the old shock tower

We then cut a hole in the fender well wall for the new tower to extend through. Then grind off the paint to weld.

Then weld in the new Tower... Part of the old tower is left so there is lots of metal to weld to.

There will also be a cross brace - but due to the Supercharger and assorted other goodies under the hood, Russ will have to fab up a custom bend.

Weld in the bottom bracket.

A Little Krylon makes it all look clean.

Installing the shocks definitely was easier with another pair of hands to hold the unit while threading the bolt. The unit uses two springs each has a different dampening rate. We started with a 150 on top and a 250 below but it felt too soft so we went to a 250 on top and a 350 on the bottom. The theory is the softer spring works until it maxes then the stiffer spring works until it hits the bumpstop. New pneumatic bumpstops will be installed before wheeling.

Note the remote reservoir mounted under the front flat fender - clean!