Project in Pictures: Check Out This Rad 1977 Jeep Honcho Build!

Mike Davison is completely used to people mistaking his 1977 Jeep Honcho for something else. He’s heard it all, including, “Hey, nice Comanche!” At least those folks are in the correct ballpark.

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Davison lives in Grand Junction, Colorado, and he bought this Honcho when he was 18. Along with being his daily driver, the Jeep Honcho still saw plenty of trail action. After a few build iterations that involved increasingly larger tires, a new transmission, and a switch from leaf springs to coil-overs, the Honcho arrived at the state we found it in when we met Davison in Pritchett Canyon outside Moab, Utah. Pritchett Canyon isn’t the only Moab trail Davison has driven with the Honcho: He’s wheeled every trail the 4x4 Mecca has to offer and many other landmark destinations in surrounding Utah and Colorado.

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Suspension

Radflo 2.5-inch coil-overs give the Jeep Honcho 14 inches of travel while front hydraulic jounce bumpers eliminate harsh bottom-out events. Both ends of the Honcho feature a four-link suspension setup.

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Engine and Transmission

There’s an AMC 360 under the hood, for now. Davison’s plan is to swap it for a 6.0-liter LS in the near future. The TH400 dumps power into the Advance Adapters Atlas transfer case where the 4:1 gear ratio divides the torque to the axles.

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Front Axle

Up front is a Dodge Kingpin Dana 60 axle Davison treated to the Jantz Engineering Jana 76 kit. This gives his front end the internal beef of a Dana 70 axle with no loss of ground clearance. An Artec truss adds additional armor and serves as a mounting point for the front suspension links.

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Rear Axle

In back is a Dana 70 with disc brakes, 5.13 gears, and a truss from NorthWest FabWorks. Both axles are spooled and stuffed with chromoly axle shafts from Dutchman Axles.

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Wheels and Tires

The set of 42-inch Mickey Thompson Baja Pro XS mudders smear over obstacles like wet rags, making gnarly climbs look effortless. Aiming those big tires is no sweat with the full hydraulic steering setup from PSC.

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Winch and Lights

In place of a full-coverage front bumper that can get snagged on rocks, Davison’s Jeep Honcho keeps it stout and simple with a pair of shackles and a winch tray. There’s a 12,000-pound-capacity Badlands Apex winch on board for when his trail friends need a tug out of a hole and a pair of Baja Designs S1 LEDs to supplement the driving lamps.

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Cargo Bed

This Jeep Honcho’s bed is dedicated to the fuel cell, Canyon Cooler, tools, spares, and the Power Tank inflation system.