Mike Ingalsbee

My name is Mike Ingalsbee and I was born with the automotive gene. When I turned 16, I bought my first car – a 1969 Datsun 510 that my parents thought was an economy car. Little did they know what a modified 510 was capable of. I built up my 510 with dual Webber sidedraft carbs, a five-speed transmission, and a modified suspension. I spent my weekends carving corners on remote mountain roads or dodging cones at the autocross. It wasn’t until I went four wheeling with a friend in the Santa Cruz Mountains that I got hooked on the dirt.

Driving off-road was far more challenging than pavement. I loved the freedom to explore and the challenge of different terrains. Sand, mud, rocks, steep hills, and off-camber trails were three dimensional, while pavement was just flat. The 510 was sold to make room for a Jeep, and then a Chevy Blazer.

In the late 1980s, I was a member of a desert race team that was sponsored by Pro Comp and 4 Wheel Parts. We even convinced George Adler to be our co-driver one year at the San Felipe 250 race in Baja, Mexico. Unfortunately, the heat got the best of our class 6 Chevy Blazer that day. The motor was literally cooked in an uphill sand wash. Due to their location, we were unable to make radio contact with the truck. After waiting for hours at our pit for the truck to appear, we got word that they were out of the race but safe and sound eating tacos and sipping cool drinks at a roadside stand. Ah, such is Mexico.

One of the perks of being sponsored by 4 Wheel Parts was the steady stream of cool rigs and jeep parts at the store and access to the latest parts and accessories available. I was fortunate to have one of the first Rancho soft ride kits for my Blazer. That Rancho kit and a set of RS9000 adjustable shocks were like night and day. They transformed my truck from a slow, rough riding tank to one of the best riding leaf spring trucks I’ve ever driven. I was using my truck as a chase truck, so it saw a lot of off-road use.

Currently, I drive a heavily modified Chevy Colorado 2wd prerunner. It’s made to go fast in the desert, but sometimes, out of necessity, I take it where most two wheel drives won’t go. I will be blogging about my off-road adventures as a photojournalist and sharing some of my knowledge and opinions on the products I use.