4 WORK OR PLAY
Masterton man Ross Gregory competes in the Central Zone Club Truck Challenge in his Jeep CJ4. The Jeep is a beautifully simple machine built by Ross at home and is a testament to him, says good friend and fellow competitor Andrew Gee.
Q) Ross, you seem to have been around forever. I remember you had a lot to do with motorcycles back in the day. A) That’s right, around 1963 I joined the Wairarapa Motorcycle club. I won an NZ title in Beach Racing at Castlepoint, three different NZ Hillclimb titles and a NZ Grasstrack sidecar title riding my 600cc Indian Sidecar, which I am currently restoring. I was also selected for the North vs South motocross team but didn’t go in it because my motor blew up. I have been heavily involved with motorcycles over the years and now I’m a life member of both the Wairarapa Motorcycle Club and the NZ Sidecar Association. Q) How long have you been four-wheeling, how did you start? A) I have been a member of the Wairarapa 4WD Club since 1988. At that time, a group of friends would go off-road on quad bikes in the weekends. One weekend when we were out on our quads we came across a the Wairarapa 4x4 club during one of their outings. They invited us to join them and the club started a “Quad Bike Division”. Over the next couple of years we all ended up with 4x4 vehicles, mine being the red Jeep. I have also been a member of the Wairarapa Car Club where we competed in Hillclimbs and Gymkhanas. Q) Now to your Jeep, Ross, it’s a 1974 Jeep CJ 4 A ( built by Mahindra) isn’t it? A) That’s right. I bought the Jeep in 1990 from Mike Baring of Koromiko Station, Gladstone. I also have four (!) of the rare Mitsubishi Pajero Evo SWB that I use for ordinary club four-wheeling. Q) What is the engine in the Jeep? Is it standard or modified? A) The Jeep is powered by a straight six cylinder engine from a Falcon XF 4.1, with a cross flow alloy head, twin throat down draft Weber carburetor and extractors. The transmission is the three-speed original gearbox and Dana transfer case to a standard rear axle with no traction aids. Q) I notice that you have changed your tyres for this season. A) The Jeep is on 15-inch rims and for a long time I have run BF Goodrich Mud Terrain tyres in 33 x 12.5 size, but I have just changed them to the more aggressive Silverstone tyres. Q) What suspension does this vehicle have from the factory and what modifications do you have? A) The Jeep is fairly basic, riding on leaf springs front and rear. Probably running the Jeep as an open vehicle with no top or glass keeps it very light and helps its performance off-road. The only modification has been to try different spring rates and settings. Q) What is your best modification? A) There would be two things, power steering and the Ford motor. The alloy engine is a much more efficient lump than the old Jeep thing. The power-assisted steering unit is from a 1965 Ford Mustang fitted at home, it is a unusual arrangement but lead itself to an easy fitment. Thanks for your time Ross, may you enjoy many more years of Club Truck competition in your Jeep!