Vintage 4wd Talk
 

Who remembers the early days of the off road craze and the names associated with it? How about accessories that were popular you no longer see? I realize the word early can mean different things to different people. But,I'm talking about early-80s back. To me things were rolling along by the early-80s even,but many companies are good and equipment has changed. Old racers of the Baja 1000,tire companies,off road shops,trends...here we go...

I guess what made me include the early 80s was thinking about Fly-N-Hi in Arizona. They kind of diluted themselves as a 4wd icon when they go into the mini truck fad. But,they made some stuff...mostly for style,but sold the equipment of the day and most of all BIGASS TARS!!

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

WOW your really trying to rack my brain now. I had a 55 3/4 ton 4wd in 79, I don't remember any brand names but I do remember there wasn't much available (here in Oklahoma) for it. Wish I had it now

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

Vic Hickey.

And being a native 'Zonie, I remember well those Fly-n-Hi mall cruisers. Funny thing is, I never remember seeing any of those rigs off road, at least in Northern AZ where Dad and I were usually hunting with our trusty stock K10 Suburban, or gathering firewood in our C20 company delivery truck. :lol:

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

Tilt gauges and cup holders, that bolted to the dash. Dual cb antennas on the side mirrors. And don't forget the new upgraded adjustable plastic gun racks. They fit in the window rubber, no drilling required.

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

That was when I was a kid, so I dont remeber a whole lot, but I remember my dad always had mud tires, either Buckshots, or Dendman Ground Hawgs. We would go everywhere in his old ramcharger. We had the dual cb antanas as well. Seems to me like that was a lot simpler, better, time. MAybe cause I was 8 or 9, but seemed like dad didnt have the worries like I do now. Maybe that was why he was always driving offroad, to relieve stress. Hmmm...

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

Shoot I remember seeing Fly-n-Hi stickers on trucks up in Denver back in the 80's when I was a kid. How about a zillion Rancho shocks per axle and 4 or more steering stabilizers on the front. Double or triple tube light bars in the bed with a bunch of KC Daylighters on top.

In Denver we had our own 4wd shop like Fly-n-hi called Four to GO that sold a lot of the 80's mall crawling gear. That shop's still in business about 6 miles from my Parents house. Back then I was more into Hot Rods and '57 Chevy's so I really wasn't into the 4x4 scene back then. I didn't get into the 4x4 stuff until High School. That was late 80's, early 90's. Lifting Toyota's was all the rage along with lowering them and whacking the roof off. We did a IFS 6" lift kit on a fellow student's 88 Toy. I remember all the goofy lowering brackets being bright orange. I want to say it was a skyjacker kit but the memory is fuzzy. We ended up putting 35" BFG's that at the time on a Toy were huge. We mounted them on the tire equipment in the shop and played like hell getting the stupid beads to seat.

The big thing I remember about the time was it was more about how it looked and a lot less on how it worked. That toy had the absolute roughest ride ever. Sure it looked cool but it was slow as a dog (didn't regear for the axles).

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

Haha. I remember having the tripple tripple rollbar in a long bed with 44s on it. The CB, antennas, bunches of Cibie lights in front. Heck I think the mullet was even part of the package. That was when California Concepts was turning out curbhoppers as fast as people could scoop them up.
Posted via Mobile Device
Posted via Mobile Device

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

Yeah,I remember hitting Denver in the '70s and seeing a the chromed out Jeeps cruisin'. I got out to the Eureka,CA area and it was the NW logger influence with much more functional 4wds...and cool vintage ones everywhere. I lived in Flagstaff and there were some chromed out rigs mixed with functional no BS 4wds,as well as throughout the Rockie Mt states. I lived in Florida a while and it was all about swamp rigs. Here in MD the rage was mostly lookers or not we thought out accessories piled on. Roll bars and KCs you can never use was big.
Remember Desert Dogs,Gates Commandos,Armstrong Rhinos and Tru-Tracs,Cepek Off Roaders or how about Quiet Giants?

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

Here are some ads I scanned when I had a scanner a few years ago from old magazines. I was given a new scanner for Christmas I need to hook up,then I'll see what other ads I can scan.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...hicks55/rc.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...d_trail_ad.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2.../rancho_ad.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...5/pro_trac.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...man_wheels.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...sert_dog02.jpg

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

haha funny you say that, my truck was like that when i bought it. just thought it was some dumba** who couldnt get enough... this explains so much now.

Dual front shocks
http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/...y/IMGP0598.jpg

and 6 more on the rear! truck came with a 4 inch suspension lift and 10 shocks all around haha :metal:
http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/...y/CIMG0194.jpg

the frame looks so bad before paint

OH! and two stabilizers on the front
http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/...y/CIMG0205.jpg

really makes me wonder where this truck has been and what they guy did with it way back when

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

I remember when the burb was running Heco shocks, Eagle headers, and Armstrongs. It didn't get Rancho's, BFG's until the early 90's.

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

its long before my time, but what about big chrome roll bars with about 800 kc daylighters on top?

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

Yep,Heckothorns all the way!! Desert Dynamics,Go-Rhino,tri-phase air filters...

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

The first time I saw Big Oly, I was hooked on off road. This Bronco was awesome! It really was the first trophy truck.

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

Thanks for the memories...


I started with a Jeep CJ 5, 304, tremec trans, and no money! I remember saving every dime to get a set of Summers brothers axles, springs from Dunbar, RS 5000's and an awesome set of 33" Ridge runner tires.

Spent every night working on friends trucks in my driveway. Shops were Desert fox, Fly-N-hi, Off Road Unlimited, Super Shops, Lopers, ect.

Smittybilt tube bumpers, KC Daylighters, Dick Cepec fun country's, 44" Thornbirds, bolt on axle trusses, tripple roll bars with snap on vinyl covers over the seams, fiberglass sun visors...

Spend all day washing and waxing the trucks, only to head out to the Deer Valley Mud Bogs in the evening.

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

My friend had a 78 chevy 1 ton 4x4. He put stacks and a sleeper on it. twin cb antennas and some big ol bias ply tires. thats all you could do back then. Wish I had a picture of the truck.

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

I remember having an old Dick Cepek catalog, I think they had a shop in Albuquerque. I drove out there with dad, in the winter , in a 76 CJ-5 w/soft top. We also had an 80 CJ -5 w/Armstrong Norseman`s on it. I remember a lot of that stuff rom reading the 4wd mags back then. I hav a few to scan as well.

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

Or,you could do this...Detroit Locker rear/Tru-Trac front,exhaust up inside frame,tube bumpers (rear bumper and brush guard not made yet),built 440,springs arched on an anvil,never got that winch I wanted so bad:

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

Warn,Selectro,Dualmatic,and other hub companies I can't recall:

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

...

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

Cool thread! I'll have to fish through my stash of old 4x4 rags that date back to the early 70's as well. My oldest brother who is 13 years older than me got tired of me stealing his magazines so he bought me my own subscriptions. Mine personal stash goes back to about 1984 but I have his stash too that goes back to around 1975. That is a lot of mags that take up a lot of room and are heavy to move! These days, I just throw them away. I almost hate FOUR WHEELER and Peterson's. They suck these days!

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

I love these old ads! brings back lots of memories. I have a stack of old Hickey, Con-Ferr, Dick Cepek and 4wd Parts Wholesaler catalogs from the 70s and 80s. I'll try and scan some if I can keep my scanner going.

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

more

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

and more

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

and even more

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

and a few more

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

almost done

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

The End

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

Good stuff Blazerman! Wish I could find a Hickey Brush Guard to go along with my Hickey Sidewinder winch.

I had to laugh at the picture on your post #22 (picture on page 3) of the Hickey Catalog where that 71-72 truck is a snatched blocked a few feet from a tree. The reality is that is about how close you literally have to be to a winch post to use a snatch block as the Sidewinders winch cable is darn near that short!

Funny they advertized the Lev-O-Gage back then. I still use those today but they are getting hard to find. I think I found mine at a RV show years ago. I had no recollection the Lev-O-Gage was a 70’s relic
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5254/5...cd2b9c827e.jpg

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

I want a Snap-out rear seat for the Blazer!

Someone should build an old-school truck with as much of this old stuff as possible! Donated parts, of course! That would be a fun build to watch. I may have a lev-o-gauge as well as some old tow hooks!

I've never seen a key-lock lug nut that used an actual key!

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

I thought the spark plug hole tire pump was a cool idea! I would love to have one. The exhaust inflated was air jack is ingenious!

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

I'm drooling over some of the Blazer stuff. The off road light mounts that mount at the roof/windshield header are pretty trick.

It's pretty amazing how some of this stuff is recycled by ARB though. The lift bag shown in the Hickey catalog was put out by ARB a few years back and the magazines went nuts on how cool that new product was..

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

I knew this would bring certain people out of the wood work. What red blooded American 4wd nut wouldn't enjoy this stuff? Great stuff,Rob! I was given a new scanner. Now I have to hook it up...then start diggin' into the old mags and catalogs. I did get fed up a couple times and let some go every now and again.

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

5 more:

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

The mother of Hickey Sidewinder ads:

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

More stuff. Not really the cool magazine off road accessory stuff:

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

How could I forget those "Winch Wheels' ! I would have loved to have tried a set out. I just wonder why that guy in the Scout is trying to winch that little dead tree branch out to his truck??

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

Funny thing about those Winch Wheels is the add says they are located Pueblo West, CO. That is where I live. I am a native to this place and never heard of them, know anything about where their facility was nor know anybody around here that even remembers anything about them. In fact, the address they give is still a empty partial of virgin high desert land where it doesn't look like any building ever existed. Very odd!

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

Grew up with all those magazines when my Dad was big into off roading.
I can still remember a few of those good old magazines sitting on the tank of the toilet... :lol:

Re: Vintage 4wd Talk
 

Good memories. So,the winch wheel must have been a scam,eh? Hah hah! I remember thinking it "might not" be a bad idea. I can see it getting you into a mess,too,if you didn't move in a direct line toward the anchor point.

In Rob's post,#27,I still have PN 225004 locking steel console from a '72 Blazer I had that also had the roll bar,auxiliary tanks,swing-away tire carrier,fuel tank skid plate,and 5 chrome smoothies with Honchos mounted on them. The roll bar ans skid plate are gone. The skid plate rusted out along with the tank from being driven on the beach. I made a 5/16" thick aluminum diamond plate skid plate off of it and had no interest in buying it from this sight. I only wanted what the materials ($100) and labor ($10) cost.Finally,I sold it to a young local guy doing a '72 Blazer for $75 just to help him out.