Best 4x4's of All Time

by Khalid Omar (Edit Entry)

Petersen’s 4Wheel & Off-road magazine July ‘97 issue ran a feature story on the best 4×4s of all time. Drum rolls… and the list is:

The Top 10 Rockcrawlers of all time

66-77 Ford Bronco
70-80 International Scout II
55-81 Jeep CJ-5
76-86 Jeep CJ7
87-95 Jeep Wrangler
85-95 Suzuki Samarui
63-82 Toyota FJ-40 Land Cruiser
79-86 Toyota Pickup
Any Willys Flatfender

The editorial by the editor, Pewe: Any Willys Flatfender

Flatfenders are the best rockcrawlers ever. Period. That’s not to say that other rigs aren’t any good, but only the flatties stay true to the heritage of the sport. They were crawling long before any other model was even conceived, much less in training pants. The original Jeeps are small, nimble, light weight, have a good power-to-weight ratio, and feature flexible frames and compliant suspension. This allowed them to cross the Rubicon en masse before a V-8 conversion was even thought of. The low center of gravity, even when sprung over, gives great stability, and the fold-down windsheild and lack of doors make flatfenders the best-looking rigs ever made. Machine art at its finest.

But wait, there’s more! They were originally painted green but can be changed to any color you want! They are also the most modifiable rig of all- unless you want a pure bolt-on-gizmo buildup, which gives rise to the phrase “Real Jeeps are built, not bought”. As long as the class style is retained,the mechanicals and add-ons are fair game for conversions into whatever combination one can think of, and we’ve seen some weird ones. Even if you want a dead-stock flattie, almost any part is available - even if the local parts store just laughs at you.

Anzio Ferrari once described these tough little beasts as America’s only true sports car, and they can still be found behind barns and in garages for as little as $500.

The list contains 4 Jeeps in it. That says it all. The Willys flatfender is so capable off road that even a completely beat up old hunk-a-rust still out offroads any new 4×4 built today.

Posted in Jeep, October 17, 2006, by Khalid Omar

Your Comments (3)

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Chuck on November 20, 2006 6:53 AM (Edit)

I’m with ya on the flat fender, both willys and ford were awsome. I also think that the 66-77 Ford Bronco is the altime best 4×4 and also easiest to modify. I have a lot of friends that wheel J**ps but they all deep down wish that it came with a Dana 44 front axle 9” rear axle and a V-8 stock.

striker on January 9, 2007 12:06 PM (Edit)

cant beat the flatfender especially the 1947 cj2a and the 1951 cj3a(m38)

still the best for 60 years best looking too though i do love the cj5 and ford bronco

Dave Heard on March 14, 2007 9:28 AM (Edit)

I first fell in love with the Jeep design while in the Philippines. They were no longer 4×4 but just looked like good little runabouts( they had stainless steel mudgaurds and bonnets).
Back in Australia I bought a 1979 BJ 40 landcruiser (it was 12 years old then) and had it for 17 years.
I now live in Thailand and have a flatfender jeep with Toyota engine and 4×4.
Its just the right size and the coolest looking, go any were vehickle I have ever owned

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You are reading Best 4x4's of All Time, an entry made on March 14, 2007, filed under Jeep. This entry is part of offroadpakistan.com.

There have been 3 comments on this entry. The most recent comment is by Dave Heard.

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