Members of the Great Lakes 4×4 forum have posted some awesome photos from their four wheeling adventures in the 80′s. l find it interesting to go back in time…do you have any photos that you would like to share?

Dave from Ewillys.com always has some great articles, but he has outdone himself with his new article about Pacific Northwest off road races and playdays from the 70′s really hit home for me. I grew up attending the same events in British Columbia and Washington with my family in the 70′s and early 80′s. Of course, the obstacle course and sand drags were popular, but some of the most loved events were things like the potato stab, blindfold driver race, and the backwards race. One of my favourite stories is when my parents were at a playday Calgary, Alberta. One of the events was where the co-driver would hold a bowl full of water while the driver tried to navigate the off road course as fast as possible. The team with the most amount of water left in the bowl was the winner. My parents were making great time until they came to a rough section. For some reason, my Dad forgot to lock in the hubs and they were stuck with only the rear tires spinning. My mother proceeded to dump the bowl of water on over my Dad’s head. Of course, the local city news was there to capture the moment and it was blasted over the local news for a few days. Do they still hold events like this in your area? What were some of your favourite events?

The Tierra Del Sol 4×4 Club Desert Safari rally started in 1967 and continues to this day! Below we have some awesome videos from the early years of the annual event, which takes place in the California desert. The Tierra Del Sol rally is easily one of the largest and most popular events in the southwest, if not for all of the USA. We hope that you enjoy the videos below. Watch them on full screen view if you can! It is really neat to see how much technology has changed over the years. Long gone are the days of manual steering, 3″ of wheel travel and bellbottoms. We are happy to see that the family aspect and friendships gained through four wheeling has not changed over the years. Not to mention bikini’s. What do you think of the videos? Do you have some old videos or photos that you would like to share?
Note:If you are reading this vid email or Facebook, you may need to go to Off Road Action to view the videos.

The forum over at the Pacifac Northwest Four Wheel Drive Association website has photo section and this thread has some great vintage photos. Willys flatfenders, Jeep CJ-5′s, lots of mud, desert dogs, long hair and beards…what else can you ask for?

Check out the Blast From The Past Photos on the 4 Fun 4 Wheelers page! There is some great old school photos of sand drags, obstacle racing and good times! Gotta love all the terra tires!

The Military Vehicle Preservation Association is one of the best organizations for military vehicle restoration info. Not only do they hold their annual convention, but their members recieve the “Army Motors” magazine as well as all kinds of restoration assitance from the 6500 members across the world.

A lot of you enjoyed the article a few weeks ago on the Hurst Jeepster . The American Jeepster Club is another group of Jeepster enthusiasts that live, breath and bleed the unique Jeep.

In 1988 The American Jeepster club (AJC) was formed to help Jeepster owners “network”, and find and sell parts. The club has over 800 Jeepster owners from all over the USA who own 1966 to 1973 model Jeepsters, Jeepster Commandos and Commandos. The AJC has regional chapters, which give members more involvement in contacting others, planning trail rides, rallies, show ‘N shines, swap meets, barbeques, and more. Membership is FREE at this time, so come on in and get acquainted with other members.

I came across this neat article on the Blue Ribbon Coalition page. It is a quick one page article about the history of the California Association of 4wd Clubs. It is worth the read…

1959 was a momentous and pivotal year. Fidel Castro became prime minister of Cuba. Alaska was admitted to the Union as a U.S. state (with Hawaii soon to follow). Rock’N'Roll was heating up the airwaves, and the California Association of Jeep Clubs was formed in April in Tulare, California.