Mighty Mouse

Mighty Mouse, Part 5 of 5 “On this build, I did make one mistake, and I was extremely lucky…” It’s a wrap – our final installment of our 5-part tech article outlining what it will take for you to build your own engine. Part 1 covered our build plans, engine prep and machining. Part 2 showed you how to build the …

Mighty Mouse, Part 2 of 5 In Part 1 of our article our GM Performance Parts (GMPP) 383 stroker block had arrived and we took it to Schmidt’s to give it the royal machining treatment. Now that all of the goods from Wiseco, Holley and Lunati have arrived, we are ready for the lower engine build. If you haven’t built an …

Mighty Mouse, Part 1 of 5 Our poor project vehicles. Each of them has literally seen, hundreds of modifications over the years. To make matters worse, our job is to give the products we test a royal beat-down each time we bolt or weld on a new component. To add insult to injury, the foundation of our test mules (think: engine, …

Our FJ40’s 11 year life span as a product test mule has officially ended. We celebrated its life with a few cold libations, said a few words and then threw some dirt on it memorializing its past existence. Its days of having hundreds of goodies bolted and welded to it have finally come to an end. Just moments after our …

  Part three of our episode of Extreme Makeover is focused exclusively on electrical, where we finish both the dashboard and the center console by installing a RacePak UDX-SR gauge/dash unit and a series of Carling Contura switches. Our idea for this project was simple… Keep the dash absolutely as clean as possible – nothing more than the appropriate gauges …

B&M’s Pro Stick Shifter and North West Fab Works twin-stick shifter Every shift needs to be precise, period. While anyone would agree that rock solid, precise gear shifts are critical to racing, we believe it’s just as paramount for us off-road folks. Picture this… You are trying to crawl a steep, off-camber ledge that requires some speed to crest. In …

Before it all began… Our project FJ40 looks good from afar, but up close it was far from good. The interior of our Cruiser was a hodge-podge of products we have reviewed, junk-yard goodies and countless freebies and confiscated parts from other projects. It was a rolling billboard for the shabby-chic school of design. With winter setting in and wheeling weather …