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J10 Honcho
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J10 Honcho
1978 original Jeep Honcho magazine ad
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J10 Honcho
1978 original Jeep Honcho magazine ad
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J10 Honcho
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J10 Honcho
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J10 Honcho
By Steve Rock
We all love what we drive, and a stock 4x4 usually gets us as far from the madding crowd as we need to go, but there are some people who aren’t happy with a stock truck and want something more. This mini-series looks at some of the more unusual 4x4’s out there and more importantly, discover just what is it that motivates their owners to transform them.
J10 Honcho - Then
There’s been lots in the press recently about the ‘new’ Jeep Wrangler pick-up that’s being launched in 2018, but Jeep has a long and rich pick-up truck history going back to their very beginnings, with the J-Series playing a major part.
Preceded only by the Willy’s Overland 4x4, the J10 was originally known as the Gladiator when it first hit the streets in 1963 and it became the J-Series in the early 1970’s. Produced until 1987, it had the longest production run of any Jeep pick-up truck to date.
Early models were powered by the AMC 230 (3.8L) inline six, but later models -Dales’ Honcho included- were graced with the more purposeful AMC 360 (5.9L) V8. Transmissions were limited to a three or four speed automatic and a three-speed manual, with power reaching the dirt via a Borg-Warner transfer case and a pair of Dana axles.
Transport Canada only ever issued two recalls for the 1979 and 1980 J10 trucks; one for a faulty wheel bearing seal that could cause the wheel to become detached, and the other for a non-compliant sealed beam headlight. Not too much to worry about.
The J10 was available in two wheel drive or with Jeep’s revolutionary Quadratrac four wheel drive system, which according to the television commercials of the day gave the vehicle super-traction, enabling it to conquer terrain that left other trucks spinning their tires. In 1980, and in a vain attempt to improve fuel figures, viscous drives were fitted to the Quadratrac system and the designers also saw fit to removed the cab visor a year later, and a host of other small changes.
The J10 Honcho was sold with an annual trim package option which is a tactic that motor manufacturers still use to this day; they take a base model and give it a different themed trim every year to keep the vehicle fresh and the buyer interested.
Only available on the step-side and short bed models, Honcho buyers got unique decals on their new truck as well as being offered various options. The Levi model came complete with denim seats and a blue steering wheel, there was also the 10-4 package with a CB radio, and a Golden Eagle package that sadly didn’t come with an eagle.
Some of you may remember the Mears Gang who had a one-of-a-kind J10, which was easy to spot, decked out in its bright red Budweiser livery. From 1979 to 1982 this vehicle won just about every North American off-road racing title there was going, including the Baja 500, Baja 1000, and the Riverside Off-Road World Championship.
During the J-Series’ heyday in the late 1970’s around 20,000 vehicles per year were being sold, but even though it was a popular choice with construction workers and as a go-anywhere back-country truck, it never sold in the numbers that it deserved and in 1981 less than 7500 trucks sold North America wide.
Compare that to the half million full size pick-up trucks that GM sold in the same year and you can begin to see why J-Series production ceased.
Once Chrysler took over AMC in 1987 the J10’s fate was sealed. The dated design, falling sales, and fact that it was in direct competition with their own range of Dodge trucks meant that J-Series production ended the same year. The last remaining Jeep pick-up was the Comanche and despite its trendy-angular-eighties look, was only produced up until 1992.
J10 Honcho - Now
When I first encountered ‘Honcho’ and its passionate owner, Greg Dale, I thought there’s no way that this three metre wide, six metre long relic on Firestone street tires would make it through the days’ trails without getting stuck at least once. Learning that this was the shake down run after a complete engine and transmission rebuild, I figured the day would be spent mostly sitting around, scratching heads trying to get this thirty seven year old Jeep moving again.
Turns out that both vehicle and driver were more than up to the job, but why would anyone choose a rare J10 pick up and contemplate cutting it to make it trail friendly?
Many moons ago in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, a struggling history student with a passion for sailing and adventure had this awesome little J10 Stepside; he also had a huge student debt, which had to be cleared before he could graduate. It just so happened that the J10’s value equalled the debt and so with sadness in his heart, but with his future in mind, the J10 was sold and he graduated.
Dale promised himself to one day buy another J10 and that promise was fulfilled just over a year ago when an old University friend found Honcho, a rare 1980 J10 pick up, that had originally been imported from Arizona and was now for sale just up the road in Elora, ON.
The J10 has taken precedence over the many other projects that lie tucked away around this little-piece-of-paradise on the edge of the Niagara escarpment that is the Dale family home.
There’s a full-on sailboat, a Boston whaler, a beautiful Port Carling Boat works 22’ wooden Seabird, which can only be described as marine art. And buried in a dusty corner lies a prototype telescopic/folding boat that Dale designed and created.
There’s also a CJ over an access pit being slowly restored, with all the take-off parts neatly bagged, tagged and shelved ready for the rebuild. But, the Honcho is bound for the trails this spring and so the other projects are on hold.
Sitting pretty on thirty-three inch BFG’s beneath a three-inch lift definitely makes it more trail-friendly, as well as giving extra presence on the road. And as Honcho is destined to be the weekend camper, the next step will be to equip it with a roof top tent that sits flush with the roofline. This requires an item that will only add to the project list, as a low-level-box-mounted rack for a thirty seven year old pick-up truck is not an off-the-shelf item.
More mods are in the pipeline. Dale confesses that even though the list is quite lengthy, number one priority is to replace the bucket seats with a bench so that “I can put my arm around my girl, comfort be damned”. Nice.
The J10 has an awesome patina and a unique cool factor that turns heads everywhere it goes, and is usually the reason that a ten minute trip to the store becomes an hour’s excursion.
This summer is set to be a busy one for Honcho as it will be hitting the trails, towing the sail boat, taking the family camping, and also heading north to Ardbeg to settle a score. After an overheated fuel pump failed there last summer, Honcho was towed back to civilization by others that were a part of the group run, and Dale promised to return and complete the trail under his own steam. And we as we already know, Dale is a man who keeps his promises.
HONCHO SPEC SHEET
- Rebuilt AMC 360
- Edelbrock Pro Flo 2 throttle body
- Electronic fuel injection
- Edelbrock aluminum manifold
- Rebuilt transmission
- Rebuilt triple core radiator
- Aluminum rims (mistake)
- 3.5” Skyjacker lift kit
- New shocks
- New bushings
- 35” BFG Mud-Terrain tires
- Dyno testing and high performance tuning
- BJ’s Off-Road bumper
PROJECTS IN THE PIPELINE
- Learn to weld
- Fabricate low level roof rack
- Roof Top Tent
- Fabricate tubing from the bumper to the wheel wells and back to the rock sliders finally tying into the low level rack.
- Million gallon fuel cell or something slightly larger than the current peanut tank
- Winch
- Fridge
- Water filter
- Stove
- Hard top shell
- Fabricate M715 Military style box – purely for the look
- B&M shifter - replacing three-on-the-tree