The answer to this problem is to have a tow vehcile that is completely trail capable. This would allow the economy of a single vehicle for towing and wheeling or allow the luxury of having two capable trail rigs. It would need to be economical to buy and build and be fully capable of both tasks. Wide and long provides great stability for towing but is a real burden on the trail. We didn't wanted to compromise four-wheeling ability for towing ability, nor towing ability for trail ability. It had to be truly capable of both tasks. We also wanted something differnt, something that you don't see on the trail everyday.

We think we have come up with a vehicle that fits our criteria. The Jeep J series pick-up looked like it would meet the tasks in several ways. The J series were narrower than Ford, GM and Dodge pick-up trucks. The narrower stance certainly helps on tight mountain trails while the low center of gravity provides good stability needed for towing. The generous room underneath the fenders allows larger tires, with a moderate lift. Although the J series short bed truck had a 7 foot box, a foot longer than the Big Three's 6 foot box; the overall length is still manageable as the J Series had a shorter front clip and cab. While some Jeeps came equipped with lighter drive trains, a Jeep with the right options had very durable drive-trains components. So, beefy power train that's brute enough to haul a load, good on-road stability, and yet trim enough to still fit on a tight trail, this might work. And to top it all off, the Jeep J series had Jeeps classic roughish appeal. And rarity? How many of these have you seen on the trail lately?

So, the task began. Researching the J series we found that the body design remained constant over the years but many subtle, but sometimes important mechanical and structural changes occurred. The place to start any build-up process is the frame. Research showed the frames were redesigned for strength and the suspension changed to improve handling and ride in 1974. The 1980s however, brought engines strapped with emission control devices in attempt to lower emissions and increasing fuel economy, performance suffered greatly. Some of the bulletproof drive trains like the cast iron transmissions and transfer-cases were being replaced with lighter aluminum units. For our purpose, the best combination of mechanical improvement and options could be found in the 1974 -1979 year models.

After several months of diligent searching a 1976 Jeep J-10 Honcho was acquired. The blue Honcho came from the factory with the optional 360 V8, T-18 4spd and Dana 20 transfer case. Front and rear axles were the venerable Dana 44s. For our dual purpose application the truck's cast-iron T-18 4spd and all gear-drive transfer-case was perfect, both having a reputation of being nearly indestructible. The 360 V8 could easily be swapped to a 401V8 for better grunt. The heavier Dana 60 full-floater out of a ? ton J-20 is a direct bolt-in to replace the Dana 44 rear-end for superior strength.

So, another search began, this time for a donor truck. A 74 - 79 J-20 with the Dana 44 HD front-end, Dana 60 full floating rear-end and the much sought after 401V8 was on the shopping list. A 1974 ? ton J-20 with the heavy-duty camper option had what we was looking for. The J-20 was parked and had not seen service in years. After negations were completed, the tow bar was attached and the donor truck headed for home behind the turbo diesel Suburban.

The 401V8 and ? ton axles were removed from the J-20 for rebuilding. The engine was delivered to the machine shop for disassembly and inspection. The axles were loaded onto the utility trailer for delivery to the axle shop for their build-up. While things are at various shops for rebuilds, the J-10 was stripped to the frame for cleaning and painting.

Next time we will get into the rebuild of the motor, axles, frame, suspension, transmission and transfer-case. We will need to analyze and choose parts and components carefully if the end goals are to be realized.

Mark Taylor
Contributing Author
Jeep Section
Off-Road.com

Contact me at mttaylor@rmi.net