Category: Featured Rides

with Jeff Pollock Cosmetic Zookurgery In the Back to the Basics article (May 04) the goal was to show the build up of a Zook for mild trails and daily driving duties. The basics such as suspension, tires and wheels and gearing were covered along with some slight interior modifications such as Ford Festiva seats, […]

 with Bill Johnston Kickin’ It! We have seen Mike Hagen before even if we never realized it. He builds some really ‘kickin’ Zooks. Last year we saw him compete in the ZookiMelt Rock Rage with a bright yellow Track/Kick that really showed it’s capabilities. This year’s iteration has shown great improvements in strength, articulation and […]

  with Bill Johnston Let’s make it Rock!Part 5 You have seen the Gray Ghost move from 31″ tires to 33’s, but there was still more we could get out of it. The 33’s were wide and heavy, so time for a big departure from the norm (as if we haven’t done that over and […]

  with Bill Johnston Let’s make it Rock!Part 3 We all know how well a stock zook can handle the ‘standard’ trails out there, so we took the Gray Ghost up to Las Cruces, New Mexico to hit a few ‘not-so-standard’ trails. How many trails have you been on that actually warn you that you […]

with Brandi the Rookette Hello again. Im here for my second attempt at entertaining you with my wit and charm. For those of you who missed Zookimelt this year, or did not read my first article (blasphemy,) heres a brief recap: I helped Murph (aka the Seasoned Rookie) rebuild his Samurai this past summer. We […]

  The last thing I wanted was a Kick that would not perform according to its appearance. So I contacted Greg Page, at G.R.P. Automotive in Australia, to attempt to buy a Rock Hopper 4:1 transfer case reduction. He had told me before that the product was still in the testing stage but I was […]

  This time my research led me to Calmini manufacturing. They offered a 2″ lift that used redesigned tubular control arms, and longer springs to achieve the lift. It was a night and day difference. The re-designed tubular control arms give you great clearance under the front of your kick, the ride is much better, […]

with Bill Johnston Let’s make it Rock! (Part 1) We started with an 87 Samurai that had lockers (front and rear) and 4.16 gears in the transfer case. The SPOA conversion was on the ‘iffy’ side, but it kept the fenders off of the 31″ tires. It was capable of doing many of the ‘normal’ […]

Yes, a stock Samurai roll bar is strong. But we wanted to be a bit more secure when the trails get tippy. We added a Sport Cage from Petroworks. It arrived through UPS like a giant doughnut. After unwrapping the plastic and carpet protective covering, we found a kit that was as easy to put […]

  with Bill Johnston Let’s make it Rock!(Part 2) Here we continue the buildup for the Gray Ghost. Last month we showed you how we replaced the seats, steering, front suspension, rear axle and gears and even added a full cage. The tires went to 33×12.50’s and we have cut the hinges to make the […]