Circa 1978 Overlanding - 5 CJ's and 1 Wagoneer (22,000 miles over 122 days)

[Jeepers-n-Creepers]

The story accelerates at 11:00, when they hit raw jungle terrain in South America. They then wheel through untamed jungle for 200 miles, before hitting any open expanse.

Pretty amazing journey.

1978 Wheeling

 

[tworley]

Ive done my fair share of "bustin' brush". 200 miles would wear me out pretty damn quick.

 

[AndyG]

Awesome . We go out on a Saturday to an off road park and have war stories like "I engaged my lockers"
And these guys smoked unfiltered camels , drank pee and drove through south America .

Can you imagine the stories they had to tell their Grandkids . Trip of a lifetime right there . Thanks for posting . Really enjoyed it.

 

[AndyG]

I had to come back to this again .

I'd like to run across one of those Jeeps , I wonder where some of them ended up. Probably in a barn somewhere.

 

[DrDmoney]

The story accelerates at 11:00, when they hit raw jungle terrain in South America. They then wheel through untamed jungle for 200 miles, before hitting any open expanse.

Pretty amazing journey.

1978 Wheeling

That Mark Smith was an amazing man, the Rubicon would have been closed long ago if not for him and a few others. i used to frequent Little Sluice with Tim Stigen’s son Mike, good times living in Georgetown. One of those CJ’s named “El Jeffe” used to be on display at Marks Real Estate office, I heard it was donated to a museum after Mark passed.

 

[DrDmoney]

Could you imagine the reality series that trip could have made? 122 days condensed into a 30 minute video. That Jeep might still be in Georgetown, some of Marks military Jeeps went to a museum in Georgia, El Jeffe might be at the Jeepers Jamboree office.

 

[Chris]

In other words... when overlanding was actual overlanding. Not glamping to see who can get the most likes on Instagram.

 

[Equilibrium31]

At the 21:52 mark, I immediately thought of this scene:

 

[AndyG]

One thing that surprised me was somehow a welder was brought along or available... Outside of a generator I'm sure electricity was non-existent.

 

[mrblaine]

One thing that surprised me was somehow a welder was brought along or available... Outside of a generator I'm sure electricity was non-existent.

Doubtful. Them little sparky things that make fuel and air go boom need electricity.

 

[TDI Sahara]

They we're likely using a chain of car batteries as a power source for the welding.

 

[xxdabroxx]

I feel like I've seen another video similar to this on motorcycles but I may be misremembering. Maybe it was just part of On any Sunday or one of those videos.

Getting a little off track here but dust to glory was great too.

 

[Jeepers-n-Creepers]

Ive done my fair share of "bustin' brush". 200 miles would wear me out pretty damn quick.

I've done some major bush whacking as well--raw, untrod stuff. The design of my last bull bar (photo - left) worked out really nice in protecting my front end. But 200 miles? Without Wi-Fi and Starbucks? I just don't know...

 

[Jeepers-n-Creepers]

Awesome . We go out on a Saturday to an off road park and have war stories like "I engaged my lockers"
And these guys smoked unfiltered camels , drank pee and drove through south America .

Can you imagine the stories they had to tell their Grandkids . Trip of a lifetime right there . Thanks for posting . Really enjoyed it.

No kid'n there. Nothing bonds people quite like outdoor adventures, especially when the elements remind you of just how small we are, by comparison.

 

[Jeepers-n-Creepers]

I had to come back to this again .

I'd like to run across one of those Jeeps , I wonder where some of them ended up. Probably in a barn somewhere.

I spotted one of these CJ's online recently, in an Overlanding expo. They kept the original dents and scratches from the journey, intact.

I was trying to recall the engines in these things. Was thinking it was an AMC 304ci (?).

 

[AndyG]

I spotted one of these CJ's online recently, in an Overlanding expo. They kept the original dents and scratches from the journey, intact.

I was trying to recall the engines in these things. Was thinking it was an AMC 304ci (?).

304s were real common during the late 70s.

I had one in a CJ5...I felt like it was the fastest thing around for about 50 feet.

 

[Jeepers-n-Creepers]

That Mark Smith was an amazing man, the Rubicon would have been closed long ago if not for him and a few others. i used to frequent Little Sluice with Tim Stigen’s son Mike, good times living in Georgetown. One of those CJ’s named “El Jeffe” used to be on display at Marks Real Estate office, I heard it was donated to a museum after Mark passed.

For sure, about Mark Smith. The spirit driving him was akin to what drove Jack London into the Yukon Territory to pan for gold. What he risked, and endured, to get back into "gold digging country," is mind-boggling. Were Jack London alive today, I'm confident he'd be in a lifted TJ .

 

[Jeepers-n-Creepers]

Could you imagine the reality series that trip could have made? 122 days condensed into a 30 minute video. That Jeep might still be in Georgetown, some of Marks military Jeeps went to a museum in Georgia, El Jeffe might be at the Jeepers Jamboree office.

Alby Mangles (Australian) forged and swathed a similar path in 70's-era Jeeps, in "the Outback," in New Zealand, Africa and a bunch of other countries, between the late '70s and late '80s, as I recall his heyday. I watched the complete footage of 3 of this documentaries about 20 years ago. Truly amazing. His videos are hard to come by, now.

Overlanding here in the States, as a weekend warrior, is likely the closest I'll get to this kinda thing.

 

[Jeepers-n-Creepers]

In other words... when overlanding was actual overlanding. Not glamping to see who can get the most likes on Instagram.

Feeling duly convicted at this juncture .

 

[Jeepers-n-Creepers]

At the 21:52 mark, I immediately thought of this scene:

One light-up of a cigar after dinner would have blown them cowboys skyward, fer sure .