Trail Cutter

This 1983 Jeep CJ-7 was built to blaze trails

- Stuart A. Bourdon

We love Jeeps—all kinds, all sizes, and all styles. Sure, like most, we have our favorites, and those are primarily multi-purpose rigs. It’s the Jeep that can cruise the highway and then hit the dirt to explore a trail with equal aplomb that really impresses us. That’s not to say a lot of our favorites are never trailered to far-away trailheads, or that they are not kept clean and shiny. Just because it’s not a “beater” or the owner would rather drive all day in the comfort of a nice tow rig with the Jeep securely strapped to a flatbed doesn’t mean it can’t wheel with the best of them.

Just such a Jeep is Lakeside, California resident Kevin Pinciotti’s ’83 Jeep CJ-7. Much of this rig is totally custom; it’s been through a number of changes during Kevin’s decades of ownership; and has been repainted a few times, but today it wears a coat of gleaming Porsche Red. It even has some touches of chrome here and there. However, when we met Kevin on the Rubicon Trail during the 2016 Jeep Jamboree, the CJ-7 was crawling through the rock-bound terrain like a champ.