4x4 trucks in Iceland come in many shapes and forms. Members of the Icelandic 4x4 club in cooperation with Bilabud Benna showed their rigs for other wheelers to admire, talk about and give ideas for own future projects.
Testing how far up a steep ramp is a good measure of the articulation and suspension travel you have in a truck.
Einar was watching over the test and did some demonstrations on how much his Cherokee is able to flex.
This Grand Cherokee on 38 inch tires is able to flex almost as much.
My unmodified Sport Trac is rather weak in this area. As you can see it is scraping the ramp.
It is good to have a "before" picture. After the planned modifications this will change a LOT! I am going to put a Dana 44 front and a four link air-spring suspension rear. See the modified Sport Trac here.
Original Jeep from 1954. A project to be started soon. Only thing that is not Jeep are the springs that come from a Russian GAZ 69.
A nice 1974 Ford Bronco with 38 inch Mudders.
The "Cucumber" is a 1974 International Scout. You can see some action pictures of it in the Rookie trip...
TOYERO is a Toyota undercarriage with a Mitsubishi Pajero body.
An ongoing project. This truck was originally a Chevy Blazer, but has regularly changed looks throughout the years. It has a powerful Nissan 3.3 TDI diesel engine, Mercedes manual transmission, Dana 20 transfer case with low gearing and air-locked axles from a 1979 Blazer. This is supported by a Range Rover frame with original suspension system. Body is handcrafted aluminum and the tires are Dick Cepek Fun County 44 inches.
A first generation Ford Explorer on 35 inch BF Goodrich tires in excellent shape.
The HUGE F-350 on the Baja Claw 46 inch tires. Other pictures can be seen at the Glacier Picture.
Isuzu Trooper on 38 inch Buckshot Monster Radial Mudders. The Trooper has turned out to be pretty good in Icelandic off-roading so it is a pity Isuzu has stopped producing them.
CJ7 on 38 inch tires.
Willys CJ7 1977 has an AMC 360 engine. Transmission is T176 and a Dana 300 transfer case. Axles are Dana 44 with no-spin lockers. The Jeep is suspended by Range Rover coil springs front and Rancho springs rear. It has all the communications, navigations and other needed equipment.
Nice!
Willys CJ7 1985 with a tuned up Buick 455 V8 giving more than 500hp and around 500 foot/pound torque. A manual Mercedes 5 gear transmission and Dana 300 transfer case. Dana 60 axles with 4.56 ratios front and rear air-lock front and no-spin rear. Suspension is a four link all AIR front and back. 44 inch tires with 18 inch wide rims and bedlocks along with a central tire inflation system. Running boards are extra gas tanks for a total of 230 liters to take on a trip! Some of the equipment includes a GPS 182c system, VHF and CB radios and an NMT mobile phone.
A really great looking and capable Jeep !
An older Land Cruiser on 44 inch DCs.
Extra long 1991 Hilux Double Cab with the 2.4 liter turbo diesel engine. 5.29 gear ratio and ARB air-lockers front and rear. Land Cruiser 80 suspension front and a four link rear. 6 cm (2.5 inch) body lift. Rear axle is moved 47 cm back for expanded wheel span. Tires are 38" Mudders on 15x14 steel rims.
A heavily modified 4Runner on 44" DCs with beadlocks.
Skuli's Land Rover Defender. Skuli is now the president of the 4x4 club in Iceland. More pictures of the Skuli's Defender are also in the Glacier Picture story.
Number plate means EXAGGERATED. The body of the Defender was literally cut in halves and the width expanded for roughly some 30 cm (12").
This comparisons picture gives some idea about the change.
A Musso on 44" DCs.
The Musso Sports pickup is sold by Bilabud Benna. It has the same comforts as the SUV version and is not too complicated to modify for 38 inch tires.
Rexton is the more luxurious and bigger SUV from SsangYoung.
A newer body style Pajero on 38" Ground Hawg IIs ready for some good wheeling.
Older Pajero on 38s.
Ever popular Patrol. It is slightly heavy for 38s and the engine is no screamer. Modifications are simple and the original hardware is durable and gives a soft ride.
On 44s the Patrol is an impressive package.
Cayenne is a new breed of the luxury SUV. This is the less powerful S version with a 4.5 liter 340 hp V8. Cayenne Turbo is 450 hp!
Most of these trucks are most typically seen in heavy duty off-roading trips and none of them are built for show...
