Don has more than 50 years of auto racing experience as a driver, racing instructor, and author. He has taught more than 5,000 individuals the skills needed to drive race cars and for defensive driving, high-performance driving, and off-roading. Don has instructed at the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, the Fast Lane Racing School, and Drivetech Driving School, where he was the chief instructor. He currently operates the Jeep 4x4 School, teaching off-road driving skills to new Jeep owners.
Don has reached thousands of others with his 15 books and hundreds of magazine articles. Two of Don’s book are race driving technique books: Think to Win and Stock Car Driving Techniques. His book Formula Car Technology earned the 1980 Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association Book of the Year. He has also written several suspension and handling books.
Don was the editor of Circle Track magazine. His Learn to Race & Win and Race Car Setup article series were the most popular in the magazine’s history. Don has written for many magazines including Motor Trend, Mustang Illustrated, Turbo, All Chevy, and Grassroots Motorsports. His concise, understandable writing style has made his work very popular.
In 1995, Don conducted a national seminar series, called Think to Win Seminars, with the legendary Smokey Yunick. The series was very popular, reaching racers in nine cities. Alexander also conducted a national seminar series in 1988–1989 covering road racing chassis setup and tuning. Don has appeared at many club meetings and conventions, including SEMA, PRI, and the International Auto Salon as a guest speaker, talking about a variety of racing and automotive-related topics.
Don’s racing career spans five decades and a wide variety of racing machines. He began racing in 1959 in go-karts. This was followed by a stint of bracket racing at local SoCal drag strips. Don began Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) racing in 1969, racing an Alfa in the production category. During his road racing career, Don has driven in Formula Vee, Formula Ford, Formula Atlantic, Formula 5000, Trans Am, Improved Touring, Showroom Stock, Spec Racer, Firestone Firehawk, and several classes with NASA. He has won several road racing and endurance racing championships and set several track records. Don began short track racing in 1976 at Speedway 605 and has driven many types of cars including modifieds, late model stock cars, Southwest Tour, ASA, sprint cars, and others on both dirt and asphalt tracks.
In 2000, Don was invited to compete in the Beetle Cup All-Star Race at Road Atlanta. Don was representing Motor Trend magazine in the event. He finished ninth, racing against some of the best road racers in the world, including Hans Stuck, Danny Sullivan, Tommy Kendall, Jack Baldwin, Price Cobb, Brian Redman, Scott Sharp, Scott Goodyear, Bill Adam, and others.
As a test driver, Don has worked for several suspension and tire companies. He was the test driver for Motor Trend magazine and has proven experience track testing for several other magazines including Hot Rod. In addition to operating the off-road training program, Don produces videos and also tests off-road tires for several companies in the Big Bear Lake, California, area.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special thanks to our wives, Christie Helm and Heather Thomas, for support and editing expertise.
Thanks to Bob Wilson, editor at CarTech Books; Corey and Casey, the All J Products crew; our fellow Bear Valley 4x4 Club members for help with testing; and Desi Hauer at Big Bear Jeep Experience.
Thanks also to our friends and associates in the awesome Jeep aftermarket: Ray Currie, John Currie, and Brian Shepard at Currie Enterprises; Casey Currie at Casey Currie Racing; Jay Lee, Paul Jho, and John Hagen at Nexen Tire; Henk Van Dongen and Ryan Michael at Rugged Ridge, Omix-ADA, Alloy USA; Scott Porter and Adel Adams at Warn Industries; Richard Smallwood at Sumitomo Rubber USA; Mark Richter, Rick Brennen, and Drew Howlett at Falken Tire; Adam Steele at Rock Krawler Suspension; Darryl Sanford at Rubicon Express; Brian Cole at 4 Wheel Parts; Steve Sasaki and Bob Mastro at Power Tank; John and Cinde Angelastro at sPOD; Doug Pettis and Katie Baber at ARB USA; Greg Mulkey at Raceline Wheels; James Barth at Rock Hard 4x4; Michael Costa and Justin Andrews at Factor 55; Dave Luman, Phillip MacKay, and Lynn Hendrixon at Rock Slide Engineering; Brad McCarthy at MaxTrax; Tony Fileccia at Fabtech; Shari McCullough Arfons at McCullough PR; Jim Reel at J.E. Reel Drivelines; Mike Ruzicka and Greg Cotrell at Rugged Radios; Dan Eckardt at Baja Designs; Don McMillan at Daystar; Max Gremillion at Pull Pal; Jacquie Parral at Off-Road Expo; Steve von Seggern at Magellan GPS; Maria Orlando-Krick at Ener-Sys (Odyssey Battery); Scott Brown at FCA Jeep PR; Henry Valesquez at Bishop Racing Products (BRP); Steve Dowden at Hi-Lift Jack Company; Steve Roberts at Advance Adapters; Wilfred Eibach, Mark Krumme, and Julian Gill at Eibach; John Apogee at Banks Power; Willie Woo at Mickey Thompson Tires; Brandon Erickson; John Stewart; and Dwain Williams.
CHAPTER 1
JEEP WRANGLER YJ
The first Jeep to use the name Wrangler was the YJ in 1986 for the 1987 model year. The most distinguishing features of the YJ were the rectangular headlights and the bend midway up the grille. Today, many YJs have been upgraded to become first-class trail rigs.
In 1986, American Motors Corporation (AMC) launched the first Jeep Wrangler: the 1987 YJ. The Wrangler YJ replaced the CJ7 and was in production through the 1995 model year. While the history of the YJ provides interesting reading, looking at how the YJ fits into the current Jeep world is the first order of business.
According to some Jeep engineering types, the Wrangler YJ possesses the strongest, most rigid of all the Jeep chassis. That rigidity provides a significant advantage for off-road activities such as rock crawling. The stiff frame allows the suspension to do its job more effectively by flexing less. Of course, adding a well-designed roll cage will greatly increase the torsional rigidity of the chassis, and that creates the potential for a very serious rock crawler.
The original YJ looked similar to its predecessor: the CJ7. Refinements to the YJ allowed it to appeal to a broader audience with greatly improved creature comforts and on-highway drivability.
Since we are avid fans of rock crawling, we built a YJ in stages from simple to extreme. After all, world-class rock crawling trails are in our backyard with the John Bull, Dishpan Springs, and Gold Mountain trails minutes away. Johnson Valley OHV area is home of the Hammers trails and the iconic King of the Hammers desert and rock crawling race and is a mere 45 minute jaunt from us.
The Jeep Wrangler YJ is a very popular platform for building extreme rock crawlers.
The Jeep Wrangler YJ was one of the first vehicles equipped with true off-road capable tires, in this case the 30x9.5R15LT OWL Wrangler AT Tires. The standard YJ came with a soft top and half doors. (Jeep is a registered trademark of FCA US LLC)
The first stage for our YJ project will accommodate 33-inch tires. This will take a 4-inch lift. Next, we’ll use a spring-over conversion that mounts the springs over the axle but retains the stock springs. Bigger tires, up to 35 inches, can be used with this setup. Finally, an extreme rock crawler that is still California street-legal looms on the horizon. Coilover suspension, a stretched wheelbase, tires up to 40 inches, and an engine swap should allow us to rip up the rocks on trails such as Sledgehammer, Chocolate Thunder, Backdoor, and Jackhammer and then drive home in the street-legal beast when we’re exhausted.
Where aftermarket parts number in the thousands for the Wrangler JK, the YJ is not so blessed. But many parts are available and most will be showcased. The rocks are calling and we are ready to take them on!