It’s been a while since the last time we took count of our project-vehicle stockpile in June 2010’s issue. I figured you’d want to know what we have left, what’s gone, and what’s coming to our OFF-ROAD project vehicle stable.
Reactivated
The STD
OFF-ROAD and this particular Super Duty have a lot of history together. After years of problems, we finally got everything—and I mean everything—worked out almost two years ago. It has served its last couple years in faithful service as a tow vehicle, mini motorhome, off-roader, and daily driver. Years ago, I would not have ever guessed I’d be a Blue Oval fan, but this truck has really grown on me, and when we got our 2011 Super Duty from Ford to replace it, I just couldn’t bear putting this one out pasture like we were supposed to. Instead, it’s already undergoing a transformation that includes giant Pit Bull tires, a different paint job, and more off-road mods, since this truck no longer has to be a daily driver.
Active Duty
The Juice
Over the last few years, our project Bronco has been an icon of what we think an off-road vehicle should encompass. It recently proved this again hauling its owner and his wife out to the desert for a weekend crossing hundreds of miles of desert with only what was packed inside the Bronco. It was off-road transportation, it hauled all their gear, and the Bronco was even their shelter when it got down to freezing temperatures in the desert. It’s recently been updated with a complete Camburg and Bilstein suspension, and you’ll be seeing more of this Bronco soon as we finish it up. Not long now....
Still Classified
Po Boy Prerunner ‘71 GMC
We finally managed to get our hands on an older 2WD truck, and it’s a classic GMC no less! We just couldn’t resist picking up this ’71 GMC to build as our next project vehicle when we came across it for only $900. There’s just something cool about a classic truck with twin headlights blasting through the desert. And when we found a long-travel suspension that was still being built for this era of truck, we knew there was no turning back. Our plan was simple enough: Swap on the suspension and turn this into a low-budget, classic prerunner. By the time you read this it’ll be mobbing through the desert and looking cooler than it ever did when it rolled out of the factory.
Active Duty
2006 F-150
Frequent OFF-ROAD contributor Jay Kopycinski recently acquired a 2006 Ford F-150 2WD Supercab in bone-stock condition to build up a fun prerunner that can serve as a daily driver and weekend desert explorer, while continuing to have the ability to haul dirt bikes and camping gear. He’s boosted engine output with a Banks PowerPack system and added Bilstein shock components to raise the front and improve the handling. In the future, Jay’s going to be getting a little more hardcore with this build as the tires get bigger, the suspension gets gnarlier, and some other modifications are made to this new project truck.