the trip to New Mexico for Chili Challenge was great! The truck did well, nothing broke, and I learned a lot. The biggest thing I learned is that for the technical rock crawling I like to do there are vehicles much better suited (and much less custom) for such things than a big Dakota, and while it is running well I may eventually take all the goodies from it and drop it all in a gutted JKU. I have a lot of work yet to do just to get the Dak to 'fully-functional' condition, and I am contemplating putting that time to better use by building up a primitive and effective JKU with the Dakota's guts. I like the truck, but after looking at several Jeeps and comparing everything to the Dak well it's no surprise my mind wandered all over the place thinking about it all.

I'd typically say that "Nothing will happen any time soon" but I know myself better than that, so I won't, and in the meantime here's an update on the truck. The redesigned fuel system and Sniper EFI performed flawlessly - never missed a single beat. The tip-in with the 2bbl Sniper is perfect for technical rock crawling. The suspension and axles all worked great. The steering has an intermittent issue I can't figure out, and if I change anything I'll for sure go back to high-steer...or full hydro, but otherwise it worked great. Brakes are great. Essentially all of the critical systems are working great...and I still have no idea how to make 'all' of the rest of the systems work like they're supposed to (and I get heart palpitations just thinking about it), especially the lights and wipers...which I have to have...and transplanting everything into a big Jeep would probably be less work than trying to get the Dakota to work normally without bypassing everything and making a stand-alone wiring harness anyway...not to mention the body work to make it at least look decent...and then it would still be a 6500-lb monster with big heavy everything that should still have another 1000 lbs of roll cage that is nearly impossible to fix if it flops over and cracks the cab. Sorry but no thanks.

I was thinking I'd build up our 94 GC, but that ship has sailed. If I were to build up a new machine for rock crawling it would be a gutted JKU with the Dakota's guts, and I'd fab up a very simple dash just like I did for Bud and drop in a super simple heater - no power windows or doors, no a/c, a much MUCH simpler machine that is very simple to 'understand' and maintain - essentially a bigger badder version of my dad's M-38, which also has a lot to do with my current thinking. I'd enjoy all of the bolt-on greatness available for the JKUs, and essentially have a very primitive and effective Jeep on 40's...or bigger.

That said if'n anyone knows of a semi-stripped JKU with a blown engine and axles, no dash, and has a title, well let me know. In the meanwhile I'm just gonna wheel the Dakota until I get good n ready to change things up, and here are some pics from the event, including scoring a 940 on the RTI ramp .