Beating the Beater up on Peavine Mountain

Peavine Mountain Nevada-to-Verdi Mountain, CA

So I met a former resident of the house we live in a while back. Turns out he was and avid off-roader with 97 FJ80. He has since sold[out] 😂 it for a 2018 4Runner.We decided to hit Peavine Mountain, which is literally in our back yard and it was time to explore!

I almost rolled the Bronco off one of the ridgelines! That was fun... We traversed desert, mountain, forest, creeks, meadows, canyons, and valleys. It was a wonderful trip and the only casualty was my [already broken and Jerryrigged) passenger side mirror, a lot more desert pin stripping and A LOT more character to my already damaged rear bumper!

The view at the summit of Hobo Trail

Heading NW from Hobo Trail toward Peavine Peak. 

You can see the ridgline where I almost rolled dead center on the mountain. 

Along Peavine Road to on our way to the summit

The view from the top! Reno from 8,203 feet

Sun Valley from the top

 Heading West toward California.

An interesting rock formation as we enter the Meadow Valley

A water obstacle. My old Bronco needed brute force to get through it on my AT tires.

 Jim's 4Runner crawled through it with style and grace.

This is Long Valley, Dog Valley from Verdi OHV.

We drove through it on our way home this time.

The Aftermath!

 Here are a few shots of the Bronco post trail.

A little more desert pinstripping

And the BUSTED mirror!

VERY bent bumper!

I really need to get this thing replaced now.

Redneck Mirror Fix Round 3!

I am not quite ready to buy another mirror, so bungees, a clamp, and some E9000 cement stuff should hold it on a bit long.

The thunderstorms did a fair job washing the grime off the Bronco, but I'll take a trip to the DIY car wash to pressure wash the under carriage and Kelly has promised to help me clean out the interior this week.

Up Next: Nothing for a while. I need to focus on the Bighorn for a bit. Though a trip up to Sunflower Mountain and into the Mnt. Rose Wilderness via Hunter Creek may be in the near future.

Up, Up, Up The Mountain!

Second Attempt to Beacon Point on the Verdi Range

I had made this attempt from the other side of the mountain in my pretty 2016 F150 and decided to not risk the paint job. This time I took the Beater Bronco! Aaaand I still couldn't get to the top! The access road I chose, the one on the East side of the peak was fully overgrown and impossible to use. So I stopped at about 6,800 feet and snapped a few cell phone shots. Then I backed down a narrow trail to the last turn around, which was a 1/4 of a mile behind me. That was fun!

I climbed about 1200 feet over 4.5 Miles in about 40 mins.

This is the Northeastern view of Verdi in the foreground and Reno in the background.

This is the Northern view from the trail.

Smoke and smog made for a hazy sunset. I am pleased to report that the Bronco did great! There was nothing I did that even remotely challenged it and 90% of the drive was done in 2WD. The 4WD section was probably a 2 on the difficulty scale, but not bad for a stock 26 year old Bronco! I did Baja speeds down the service road and rattled the snot out of it. Lot's of fun, lots of dust in the cab, but no damage, no over heating, no issues with the tires. Just some desert pinstripes.

Up Next...

Trail Mods!

I took the Bronco out on a trail run with Land Cruiser Club (how perverse!) This was the first REAL off-roading I had done with the Bronco and since my 40 is in pieces in the garage, I figured I'd take the Bronco. We went to the Petraglyphs out in Storey County Nevada.

The Bronco did great, with only one bash on the stock rear bumper when I was crawling out of the riverbed.

This just gives me the excuse I need to pick up the Protofab rear bumper I've been eyeballing!

I'll get their front bumper eventually too.

We got some cools pics of the trip too...

The Beater Bronco

My 1992 Ford Bronco XLT Build

History

My family moved up to Reno, NV from Orange County, CA in June of 2016. The day before we picked up the Uhaul, our car died and it was left in California. We moved to Reno without a family car! We aren't rich, and couldn't just go buy a new car, so I took advantage of the opportunity to get back into a 4x4. Enter the Beater Bronco. The PO (previous owner) sold it to me for $1500! It ran strong, had  202K on the original everything. He had Plasti-dipped the entire thing and it looked pretty good.

I preceded to do what I always do, namely: Clean! I repaired basic stuff like the coolant overflow and windshield washer stuff. I replaced all the interior lighting and under hood lighting with LEDs, steam cleaned the interior, and began detailing the engine compartment. I also polished the OEM wheels. Then we drove it as a daily driver for about a year.

Going Forward

I am in the process of restoring a 1968 FJ40 and that build is consuming most of my time and money. The Bronco is free and clear and I have the title in hand. So, the plan for now is to keep it healthy and perhaps use it for my kids to drive over the next couple of years.

My plan is to eventually purchase an F250 with a Power Stroke and move the engine, transmission, transfer case, and the front and rear axle assemblies to the Bronco. I will be putting on 3" bulge fenders and bedsides as well as a fiberglass hood and tailgate. The interior will be replaced with MIP flooring, Corbeau suspension seats front and rear. A family roll cage will be fitted and the the hard top replaced with a Softtopper soft top.

I'll replace both bumpers with offroad winch bumper up front and a spare tire carrier and rack system in the rear. I am undecided on what I'll do for a lift, but It'll be 2 - 4 inch lift, probably BDS with Atlas springs That combined with the bulge fenders and a fairly aggressive negative offset on the wheels should allow me to fit 35-38 inch tires.