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Bob Norton
1989 Jeep |
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Bob approaching a big climb on the Hotel Rock Trail (Blanding, UT) |
Member Profile:
| Member Spotlight Article: | From the May 2002 Issue of Trail Tales |
| Personal web site: | |
| Number of years off-road experience: | Have owned & driven 4WD's since '78. But was introduced to REAL 4-wheeling in September of 94! First 4WD upgrades were completed in the spring of ’95 to an F-150. Cherokee XJ obtained the following year. |
| Previous off-road vehicles owned: | '74 Jeep Cherokee 4-Door (full-sized, J-series.) & an '83 GMC S-15 extended cab pick-up (4WD capabilities were a joke) |
| Favorite Trail(s): | So MANY throughout the 4-corners region, plus others in North America! Better that I not get started… |
| Worst Trail Experience: | Smoky Mountain Road (Grand Staircase-Escalante Nat. Mon.) - heavy rains, clay, cliffs & flat tires! |
Vehicle Specifications:
| Year/Make/Model: | 1989 Jeep Cherokee XJ Laredo |
| Engine: | Inline 6 |
| Transmission: | Automatic |
| Transfer Case: | NP231 w/ MIT Tailshaft Conversion |
| Front Axle: | Dana 30 (been around) |
| Rear Axle: | Currie Dana 44 (also been around) |
| Gears: | 4.10/4.11 - howling like a "Banshee" in the rear! |
| Traction Control: | ARB lockers front & rear. Darn things do work. |
| Suspension: | Front: Rubicon-Express 4 1/2" super-articulating,
adjustable lower/upper control arms. Rear: Tomken springs with extended rear shackles, blocks (yuck) = 5"+ |
| Shocks: | Doetsch Tech |
| Tires: | BFG Mud Terrains 32"x11.5"x15" |
| Wheels: | 8" white steel rims |
| Recovery Equip: | Ramsey REP 8000 on portable winch mount, HiLift jack |
| Navigation: | Garmin GPS II+ and guesswork. |
| Communication: | CB: Uniden, Wilson 1000 antenna. Ham Radio: Kenwood TM-261A 2m with mag mount antenna. |
| Interior: | Cloth seats, dusty and cluttered |
| Exterior: | White, Laredo trim; customized bodywork (increasingly!) |
| Underneath: | Heavily-modified metallica (increasingly!). High flow, lower profile catalytic converter and muffler combo have recently replaced a long line of historical "fixes" dating back to those by the former owner, the notorious "Sheriff Bully" (now the NM4W "Prez"…. my gosh…what have we done?) |
| Misc Other: | Beat-up Rock-Sliderz, very custom & stout front & rear bumpers with 3 receivers each for the portable winch mount, shackles, hooks, antenna mounts, etc. |
| Wish List: | 32-inch tires that are "imprinted" to say that they are 33 inch tires… or a relaxing of the "magical" 33 inch requirement that SO MANY EVENTS have adopted to be allowed to drive the harder trails. Grrr! Peeve!!! |