High-Dollar Hype vs. Junkyard Jewels: A Week of Boost and Custom Builds

Mar 11

High-End Gear vs. The "Franken-Crawler" (The Mighty Mighty Max)

This week, I found myself capturing two very different but equally incredible approaches to extreme off-roading, and it really highlighted the difference between serious budget and... well, serious engineering creativity.

I had a chance to check out some seriously over-engineered, high-dollar rock crawlers this week. These are the machines that look like they could drive vertically up a skyscraper. We’re talking custom-built chassis, bulletproof transmissions, and, in the case of this one, front and rear steer. It just runs on the raw power of money.

And then we have my buddy’s latest creation... the 1980-something Mitsubishi Mighty Max...-esque crawler.

This thing is a testament to the fact that with enough welding rod and zero respect for automotive purity, you can build anything.

Let's look at the ingredients list:

Body: Mitsubishi Mighty Max. Well, most of it.
Front Axle: Dodge 3/4 ton, because why not?
Engine: A classic Chevy V8, because it actually fits and parts are everywhere.
Mitsu Badge: Still stubbornly stuck to the grille.

It’s an beautiful disaster of parts and passion. It doesn’t have the polish of the high-end buggy next to it, but it has heart. And probably some residual oil in places oil should never be.

But that wasn’t even the most interesting Mitsubishi of the week.

The Attack of the Killer "Athsma Inhaler" (Mitsubishi Mini Pajero)

For those who don't know, this is a tiny, kei-car-class off-roader. It has an engine that’s about the size of a toaster.

Driving it is... well, it’s an experience.

The turbocharger is so small that instead of a aggressive whistle or blow-off valve psssht, it makes this incredibly cute, high-pitched whirrr that sounds exactly like someone with mild asthma using their inhaler. Whirrr-pop! "Oh, bless its little heart, it's trying!"

It’s not exactly a V8, and it definitely won't be climbing any rock faces without a forklift assisting, but for cruising around and generating smiles per mile, it's unbeatable.

Also, Just look at the this Rover and realized its main feature is making its owner spend money just to keep it from leaking. It’s probably the least cost-effective crawler of all time. It doesn't climb rocks; it just creates financial rockiness.

But hey, that’s why we love this stuff, right? Stay noisy, stay dirty, and never lift.