The first summer I got the CJ7 togther saw me getting out and doing quite a bit of wheeling. The changes from that January were numerous. The CJ's capabalities had increased considerable since the first orginized run I had taken it on. The feeling of being invinciable was spreading rapidily. But at Dresser, Wisconsin at Midweast weekend I got a double dose of humility.
The first run of the weekend saw me breaking a front axle joint in the then Dana 30 front end. But with the help of Russ Albrecht I was given a quick lesson on camp side axle repair. With some campground scouring we were able to come up with a spare axle shaft. In it went and out on the trail we preceded.
So lets also add to the story that this is the first time I have gotten my then girlfreind, now wife, to go out on a trailride with me. She is a little apprehensive. I try to calm her fears and do a good part except she is still worried about rolling. I tell her that if we were to roll it wouldn't be like they do on the highway. It would be a nice slow roll over. If I had only known how prophetic that statement was to be.
So into this little mud hole we went. To get out you had to pop your front end up on top of this little berm. No matter how hard I hit that berm the front end would not pull me up and over. The rear tires just kept getting caught in the ruts everyone else had dug. Oh to have the front locker back then. So I get this idea if I ride the right front tire up on the edge it will get on the top away from the ruts and pulls us right over. But I didn't count on when I had done that the left rear would fall into those ruts.
Of course this was the result of my slight miscalculation. A nice slow rollover just like I told her. The funny part was she actually enjoyed it, She was laughing and carrying on. Who do you think took all these pictures of the Jeep on its side.
After posing for a few pitures we rolled it back up on its side.
Once we got it back on all fours I took a look at the damage. It wasn't near as bad as I had expected. The soft ground cushioned the blow and the only damage was to the same panel I had damaged when I had rolled it early that year. The windshield frame was bent a little back and over to the passenger side. The top was bent a little in but I bent that back out with a little tug.
Here it is after returning home and cleaning it up. If you look above the rear tire you can see the small crease in the tub were it bent in. Later in the year I used a come along and a handy fire hydrant to straighten that back out.
Here is a veiw from the front. You can see how the windshield frame looks slightly laid back on the drivers side. It also has a slight bend to the passenger side. Pulling that out was a bit trickier. That involved the come along, some two by fours, and the rafters in my parents garage. The same windshield frame is still on my Jeep to this day.