10 of our favorite vintage rigs from Overland Expo 2018

Overland Expo is a twice-a-year gathering—one event is held in Arizona, the other in North Carolina—that brings together off-road fanatics who revel in building rugged, capable, and typically four-wheel-drive vehicles and taking them to remote locations to camp in relative comfort. Late-model Jeeps, modified vans, and trucks fill the rows, but it’s the vintage iron that always catches our eye. Here are 10 of our favorites from Overland Expo West, held in Flagstaff.

1962 Willys Wagon

This 1962 Willys Wagon was a custom build that Jeep tackled in 2012. The wagon was too nice to let rot and too rough to be worthy of a complete nut and bolt restoration. Some quick measurements and a little sleuthing revealed that the wagon’s wheelbase was very close to that of a TJ Unlimited, 104 and 103.4 inches respectively, and Jeep just so happened to have an Unlimited sitting around. After the body mounts were sorted, the old body was mounted on the new chassis and drivetrain. The venerable 4.0-liter AMC straight-six powers the wagon, which uses its original stick shift to row the ears in the five-speed manual. Looking inside doesn’t even offer a hint that the vehicle is now more capable and far more powerful.

Front Runner International Harvester Scout II

Front Runner Outfitters had its off-road and camping gear on display, but it was this International Harvester Scout II that first drew us to the booth. The restomod features a fetching green-tinted gold paint, a fantastic interior with vinyl-upholstered buckets and saddle blanket accents, and an LS3 Chevy V-8 under the hood. The Scout rides on 275/70R17 BFG Radial All-Terrains and has a twin-stick transfer case and GM automatic behind its upgraded V-8.

New Legend International Harvester Scout II

New Legend 4×4 brought its own IH Scout II, and it wears a similar green/gold paint and is also powered by a GM LS3 V-8. New Legend specializes in restoring vintage 4x4s and is a bit of a Scout II specialist. The shop has built plenty of Scout 800s as well.

New Legend Jeep Grand Wagoneer

Right next to New Legend’s Scout is its Jeep Grand Wagoneer. The iconic wood-sided SUV was in immaculate condition and looked absolutely factory inside, but under the hood it was also sporting a GM LS V-8 for improved efficiency and power.

Jeep Gladiator/J20

We recognized the Tomahawk from last year’s SEMA show. The Jeep J20 incorporates several decades of Jeep styling with the earlier rhino front end and Anvil Gray paint from a JK Wrangler. Its bed is filled with overland camping gear, and a roof-top tent sits above it all.

1970 Toyota FJ40

Another former SEMA show star, Aaron Brown and Ed Goff drove this 1970 Toyota FJ40 on a 4500-mile trek from Anderson, North Carolina, to Las Vegas in 2016.

1966 Chevrolet Panel Truck

This 1966 Chevrolet panel truck was built on a 1979 3/4-ton Chevy truck chassis and is powered by a 350 V-8 and Turbo 350 transmission for simple reliability. Longer than a Suburban, the panel truck offers plenty of space to sleep inside. The paint is Quicksand, found on late-model Toyotas.

Sportsmobile 1972 Ford Econoline

If you wanted to see a new, 4×4 luxury van at Overland Expo, Sportsmobile had an incredible display. If you wanted to find a vintage van that was a bit more rustic but every bit as cool, this Econoline was your only option.

Toyota Land Cruiser

This one-off, four-door Toyota Land Cruiser was gorgeous. The asking price was $145,000, which is steep, but also just look at that beauty.

Safari Porsche 911

We didn’t find any detailed information on this rally-style 911. Regardless, we just couldn’t leave it out, could we?