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Jason Lauzon made the trip north from Windsor, Ontario, in his custom '90 XJ named ”Calculated Chaos.” A Chevy 350 TBI creates the power to spin the 42-in Pit Bull tires with Dana 60 front and a TMR shaved 14-bolt rear with 14-in ORI Shocks up the front and 14-in Fox Shocks in the rear.
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Ron Brimmer working his way through the “RiverRun” in his '87 Samurai, powered by a massaged 1.3L with 92 angry Squirrels. Dana 44's front and rear rotate 36-in TSLSX's. It all flexes over air shocks in the front and coil springs in the rear. His short wheelbase allowed him to fit into some tight spots.
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Brett Miller in his '95 Geo Tracker lost a few of the parts that made him street legal during the weekend. But that didn’t stop him from trying some cool lines. FJ40 axles front and rear with Dirty 30's and 36-in Irok's, 16-in Fox 2.0's - all helped make the Geo work well.
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Curly Watts, co-owner of Morningwood Off-Road Park, leads the way down the RiverRun guiding some of the new people through the park in his new custom buggy. It’s running a supercharged 3.8L engine mounted in the rear sporting a Dana 60 front, a 14-bolt rear and 42-in Irok's providing the grip.
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Richard Trepanier made the drive north from Windsor, Ontario, in his well-built '88 YJ. Under the hood is a reliable 4.0L running on Dana 60's front with a Currie Rock Jock Dana 60 rear riding on 42-in Irok's. Holding everything up are 16-in King Coils up front and 16-in Doetsch Tech coilovers in the rear.
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Owner of Ironman Off-Road, Dale Stroebel out of Saginaw, Michigan, makes his way to the beginning of “RiverRun” at Morningwood Off-Road Park in his custom '99 XJ. The XJ is sitting on 42-in TSL's with power being delivered from a 4.0L to an Atlas transfer case.
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Jim Kitson in his freshly painted '90 YJ crawling his way through “Rock'n'Roll” at the Trussell Off-Road Park. Powered by a 6.0L V-8 lifted from an Escalade, power is directed to an Atlas transfer case and on to a Dana 60 front and Tru HI-9 9-in rear. Jim made some stuff look easy with those 39-in BFG Red Label stickies.
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Kyle Mallory worked his way through the “Twisted Boulder Field Trail” aka “Rock'n'Roll” at the Trussel Off-Road Park. Kyle's custom Ford Ranger is powered by a 302 V-8 with Dana 60 front and 14-bolt rear on 40-in LTB's.
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John Raczynski, owner of Unemployedfilms.com, in his '72 FJ40 Land Cruiser making his way through the very slippery section of the trail “Outback” at Morningwood Off-Road Park. John's FJ is powered by a 350 Chevy sending power to a Dana 60 frontend and 14-bolt rear held up with leaf springs. It’s all sitting on Airshocks and 39.5-in Irok's.
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Cory Miller attempting “Bounty Hill” found a rock in the middle of the runway and had no issue unearthing it and sending it down the hill making for a clear path on his next attempt.
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Cory Miller getting desperately close to the top of “Bounty Hill” at the Trussell Off-Road Park, but to no avail. No one made it this weekend and to everyone's knowledge, it has yet to be conquered.
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Mike Raczynski in his custom buggy letting the 49-in Irok's eat dirt as he gives everything the 5.3L has in an attempt to make it to the top of “Bounty Hill.”
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Cory Miller in his custom bouncer named “Bounty Hunter” was awesome to watch. Big power comes from a big block in the form of a 572 ci V-8 spinning a set of Superior Traction Tires with custom front and rear steer Dana 80's. When Cory opened up the throttle, “Bounty Hunter” would either fly or just move a lot of earth.
Story and photos by Clint Carter
Just 25-minutes across the International Bridge from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan driving north past Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, resides some of the most beautiful and arguably the hardest wheeling in the Midwest. This is the 25th Anniversary of the “Loonie Run.”
The Morningwood Off-Road Park and the adjacent property, the Trussel Off-Road Park, host the event on an annual basis, inviting some impressive all-terrain machinery to tackle the dedicated grounds. Between the two parks, there is about 250 private acres of rock river runs, tree-rooted trails, rock climbs, and crawls. There are even some new spots for the rock bouncers to let some of that horsepower loose. The run lasts for three days with some even making it a weeklong event. There is primitive camping on site with campgrounds 15 minutes away that are backed up with hotels and parts stores within reach if a parts run is required.
Both Morningwood and Trussel Off-Road Parks are open for wheeling for much of the year, from snowmelt until there is too much of the white stuff falling to make it worthwhile. We are certainly looking forward to a summer run, however we bring you a couple choice shots of this years event.
Want to see some video action. Go to unemployedfilms.com or go to youtube.com and search for “Loonie Run.” For more information about the Loonie Run or the Morningwood Off-Road park, you can check out their Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/pages/Morningwood-Offroad-PARK or contact the park themselves:
Curly Watt