lost but not gone
 

Since i have posted a few times now i guess i can introduce myself...
Chris Hodges...
Have been around wheeling for almost 20 years now. Was without a trail rig for about 6 or 7 years... I'm in the process of gathering parts and building a trail rig now so hope to be out on the trails in the spring...

I'm not sure, but i would guess i might have met some of you folks in the past
but don't really recognize any screen names or handles... I went on a few trail rides way back when with 'ohio river valley four wheelers'(i think that was the name then) and was a founding memeber of 'Rice on the Rocks' in the 90's(toyota club out of the east side of cincy)...

Can't wait to get back on the trails, been a long time and miss the good times... I have wheeled a lot of places and have some great stories to tell... Even had my 2 minutes of fame on 'Real TV' in 97 or 98...

Hope to get out to a meeting soon schedule permitting....

Nice to meet ya! Hope to see you at the next meeting. Any pics of the new build or specs?

Welcome. Whatcha buildin' for the trail??

Nick

Welcome welcome...

Finally
 

Well it has been a while since i started this thread. I finally got to a meeting in Sept. and i went to the the benefit at Barn n Bunk. I will be at the Oct. meeting next week.

The trail rig i ended up with has changed since the motor went south in the Rodeo i had. I now have a Toyota FJ60. I have always been a Toyota guy and it just seemed like the right way to go, and was the right price. I have been working on it over the summer when it wasn't smokin hot outside.

I bought 2 60's in Jan. of this year, 1 parts truck and 1 to be the trail rig. Had to do a motor swap, went up to 35's and did a few cosmetic things and bunch of nickel and dime stuff. The trail rig has a 3-4" OME lift. I built a front bumper and a rear is soon to come.

I have a lot planned to do over the winter. Motor swap/auto trans, s/o axle, and some tube work for protection. Just ordered some 4.88's to go in the axles. The list could go on and on...

Thanks to everybody i have met and talked with for letting me ease my way back into trail riding again. I never realized how much i missed it until i went to the benefit and the meeting. :beers:

Will hopefully be driving the 60 to the Cruise In on Sunday. Just need to find some time to get tags for it...

Here's a few pics of what i started with and where i am at now.

1st... the 60 to be the trail rig when i first brought it home
2nd... the parts truck
3rd... What the motor looked like in the trail rig
4th... first time out of the garage on its own power after motor swap
5th... How it looks today

I have wheeled with a few guys that have 60's so they are a very cool rig to see on the trails. Hope to see it out there. :)

ive met you at mikes..... what were you on real tv? hopefully a wheeling accident/rollover?...

do you know eric lorenze from the rice on rocks early group?

you still putting rocks under your rear?(rockwells... get that mind out of the gutter:) )

A rockwell only on one end?

I can't imagine the gearing matching up to enable 4wd... :confused:


Cool looking rig Hodgie...

Yea the Real TV clip was of a friend rolling a CJ 5 at Natural Bridge not far from Carb Hill... It's funny cause they show my camo'd fj55 more than anything else...

Yea i know Eric.. wheeled a lot with him years ago when he had his turbo truck...

I still have rear, not sure if it will go under the 60... I really want to build a fj40 with a stretched wheel base. So i'm holding on to the axle for now.

:beers:

welcome

the rock is just catching dust right now. i will find a front to go with it eventually... Probably gonna be used on another build if i ever get to it.:cool:

Thanks
:beers:

gears
 

Well it's final... 4.88's, install kits, knuckle rebuild kit, and a lock rite should be here the end of the week... Got a great deal... A guy on IH8MUD got a group buy together from http://www.justdifferentials.com/ and i got all those parts to my door for less than a grand...;) saving me about 400 bones...:D

Nothing better than a big box of parts to keep the motivation up.... :beers:

Christmas in October
 

Got all my goodies today... I feel like a kid on Christmas morning....:D
:beers:

Nothing like 58#'s of new parts to keep the motivation up...:eek:

update
 

For those that have not been to Big Rock the past few times we have been i have gotten some stuff done since the last time i posted in this thread.

Front bumper got finished... installed a lockrite in the rear along with 4.88's front and rear... cut my fenders open some more for tire clearence... i'm running q78 bias ply Buckshots... I'm also will be swapping a diesel and auto into the truck in the near future...

I also have a build thread on IH8mud in the Buckeye Birfield Syndicate section
http://forum.ih8mud.com/oh-buckeye-b...-starting.html

here are a few pics...

Good to see a 60 in these parts, few and far between.
As a founding member of Rice you must have known Paul E. Whatever became of him, I lost track of the Rice gang several years ago.

they have all pretty much gone about different pathes...
I have not seen any of them in a long time too.. If you know Luke Bogner, I talk to him pretty often. Luke is the only member i have kept in touch with lately other than the chance sighting of some one when out around town.

Have we met? Just curious, seems there are not to many cruiser lovers around anymore that go wheeling these days...

:beers:
Chris

Yep, it's been a while. I've been a member of Miami Valley for ~ 20 years, met Paul and Bruce when they first got in to 'wheeling. Paul brought his new (to him) 4-Runner to the Farm and within a few trailrides it was beat on every panel.:D
I used to have a '78 FJ-40, '83 Toy PU and an XJ back then.

If dont know if you guys remember Scott Schmidts but I am pretty good friends with him.He was pretty active in Rice. I also know Paul E. if it is the same Paul I am thinking of.

I cant decide what I want to do. My mind changes every day but hopefully in the near future, I will either build a 62 or a Xj.

I might know him if I saw him, I'm terrible with names. Paul Elbisser is whom I was referring to, got in to snowboarding I think, was a Union Electriction or something like that. Good guy.
I noticed I wrote Bruce in the previous post, shoulda been Butch. :rolleyes:

Yup same Paul. I havent seen him in about 15 years probably. I grew up with his nephew. Scott has red hair and he did drive a 4 Runner. He now has a mini truck but as far as I know he just sold it. He lives in Anderson if that helps.

Anyway sorry I kinda stole your thread Hodgie

I think we have met over the years. Where did you go to school?

I went to Kings... graduated in 1988... yea i'm old.:sweatin:....

:beers:

Hey, I graduated in 1987, who you callin old...:thinking: We're not old, we're wise...:thumbup: