The Accessory Dream Guide - Issue 3

FEATURED VEHICLE

Year/Make/Model: 1991 Jeep Cherokee XJ Owner: Colin Hudak Location: Grande Prairie, AB

STORMTROOPER

Colin Hudak clearly has a great sense of humour. One of the favourite targets of this Jeep owner is Toyotas. When asked what his favourite accessory on his dream ride is, he quipped: “My windshield decal that reads ‘Toyota Recovery Vehicle’ LOL”. Colin loves being a member of the Grande Prairie Jeep Club: “It’s a great wheeling community! Everyone is friendly, the runs are family oriented with choices for all skill levels and we have a lot of laughs, usually when the Toyotas get stuck ha ha!”

Modifications & Accessories: - 91 AW4 Auto Swapped to a 98 AX15 29 Spline - Custom Pilot Bushings from NOVAK Adaptors - 96+ Bellhousing and External Slave - Built NP 231 in Place of Old NP242 - Bushwacker Cut-out Fender Flares - 4.5’ Rustys Short Arm Lift on 33x12.5r15 Duratracs - Cut Rocker Panels Out and Installed 2X8 Steel Channel Sliders - Cut Front and Rear Quarter Panels to accept Orfab Comp Cut Front and rear Bumpers - Hidden Smittybilt 9.5XC Winch - Custom Roof Rails and Basket with Kayak Mounts - 360 Degrees of LED Exterior Lighting - 98 Center Console Swap with Modifications to Accept the Manual Transmission - Custom Sunroof - Custom Overhead Switch Bank - ARB On Board Air with 5 Gallon Air Tank for Air Tools - Rear Interior Racking - Cell Booster

Like a lot of Jeep people, Colin is brand loyal and has been since childhood: “I always wanted a Jeep! There were so many cool builds at shows my Dad and I would attend. I always thought: “I must build one.” Then one night after sitting around with some buddies, I made a bad financial decision and ended up with one (laughs). I’ve been hooked ever since.”

He loved his 1991 Cherokee XJ from

the moment he first test drove it: “Even though it was so beat up, it had so much character that I just fell in love with it.” He bought his dream ride stock and started from there: It was everything you’d expect from a stock XJ… rusty, full of holes, mixed with some more rust, LOL.” All that rust didn’t matter to Colin because he could see what he could build his Jeep into: “Cherokees are known for having flexy unibodies and lots of rust. The idea

with this build was to create a comfortable Cherokee with all the amenities that could ‘go anywhere’ and be bulletproof. The rust had to go. Or-Fab’s wrap around competition bumpers allowed a large majority of the rusted quarter panels to be cut away and armored up. The rocker panels were cut out in favor of 2X8 steel channel rock sliders and the rusted fenders were cut away to allow for larger tires. Bushwacker Cut-out Fender Flares were add- ed for fit and finish.” Colin is a true Do-It-Yourselfer, or as he calls himself, a Gear Head: “I think being a Gear Head is something you’re born with. What type of Gear Head you end up as has many determining factors, but you will always see us walking together. The sense of family between us as a culture is incredible and it’s interesting to see the mass differences between designs and ideas among us. It was seeing all the crazy ideas out there that made me want to try out some of my own.” Like a true Gear Head, he is a bit of an experimenter, so it is no surprise that

60 THE ACCESSORY DREAM GUIDE

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