The Short Version: After not being in production for quite some time, a batch of first gen Xterra / Frontier v6 headers are on the way with only about a week till ship time! Replace your old cracked manifolds and gain power with these ceramic coated headers by Doug Thorley.
You can order yours now here:
https://ruggedrocksoffroad.com/index.php?route=product/search&search=3.3%20headers

  The Longer Version: The long lasting effects of covid on this industry are unlike anything that I could have ever thought of. I’m happy to say that one of the products that I originally helped bring to the market many many years ago is back in higher production volumes than I have seen in over a decade. Furthermore, the good news is that demand on these seems to be UP. Therefore I hope to see these around more a long time to come.  If you were one of the customers trying to purchase these from me over the last few YEARS, now is your chance. Althought I do expect more of these to become available later this year, I don’t expect a constant supply of these untill Doug Thorley is finished making rounds of all the other headers that are also getting reintroduced as production scales back up through the whole product line. What a much needed change of pace!

Side Note, What products do you wish you could purchase through rugged rocks but isn’t currently available? A website revamp is in motion and I want to comb through the product offerings, modify, tweak & Expand.
Let me know,
Thank you,
-Steven

 

Ahead of it’s Time? – Return of Nissan SAS kits

At a time where the industry has been flooded with overlanding rigs and rock crawling seems to have slipped in popularity, solid axle swaps are oddly becoming a common topic of discussion right now. Discussion on SAS builds as well as parts enquiries such as link brackets, crossmembers, transfercase adapters and the Diamond H233B front axle housing are seeing an uptick as a more comon theme in my inbox. I’m really proud of the trucks we built a handful of years ago. We poured or heart an soul into them. While builds were few and far in between even with making a top shelf build as affordable as possible which eventually lead to burnout… but, maybe we were just ahead of the times?
Let me know your thoughts.

 

In other news, if you’ve been looking for performance exhaust for your 3.3L V6 Xterra or Frontier.. keep an eye on your inbox for next week, and make sure you whitelist my e-mail address so you don’t miss the important stuff!

Stay Tuned!
-Steven

 

 

Medium Rare – First-Gen Flashback

It’s late and I’ve been basically going non-stop since new years. I’m finally taking a breather tomorrow. But before i do, I want to let you all know about the crazy amount of parts availability shifting that’s happeing in the aftermarket Nissan world.
If you follow Rugged Rocks on Instagram you likely saw last weeks post about the WARN hubs that are being disconinued which is affecting all externally mounted manual locking hub applications. In the Nissan IFS world, that means… all of them prior to 2005.  As far as I’ve been able to find, there aren’t any in stock anywhere, they are gone from every wharehouse by this point.  And thats that.

Further taking a trip down memory lane, we dig deeper into into the v6 4×4 1st-gen Xterras / Frontiers as well as the older D21 Hardbody Pick-up and Pathfidner. If you have been looking to regar to 5.13 gears, your opporitunity is shrinking as the R200 front differential gears are being phased out due to lack of sales.  I have 6 sets available, then that door seems to be closing down as my supplier is discontinuing them.

There is good news. Finally, A reputable quality traction aid manufacture is looking to launch Nissan E-Lockers.  I currently have, in my posession, some R180 lockers that need to be test fit. They are FREE to the first ones to that come forward with the ability to self-install the locker (prior gear / locker installation experience required) within 30 days of taking delivery.
I have one for a R180 D21 / Hardbody front differential, as well as a Second-Gen Xterra / Frontier with 3.54+ Gears.  Reach out to me if you’re interested by using the contact form on the website or e-mail directly if you have my direct e-mail address.

As you can see, the parts are getting more and more rare, but as light at the end of the tunnel for new parts starts to shine.. it’s kind of.. medium-rare. 

As I flipped through old pictures this evening, it was trip down memory lane covering over a decade of great wheeling trips, meeting people, innovation, and spontaneous good times. Then there is a gap that started in 2017. I’m trying to break out of the lull and hit the trail again. Go camping and do some exploring. See some things that I haven’t seen. Get the rig out, stretch its legs.. heck.. stetch mine.
In the last few years, Nissan wheeling events have faded away, many similar businesses bought out or shut down or shifted focus. Forum activity is basically dead, and the conversations on facebook are like riding a merry go round, there aren’t any innovative builds happening, and  very few seem to be actually wheeling.
As far as innovation goes, I am invovled in some great projects with Rugged Routes but, Nissan 4×4’s and Rugged Rocks is where I cut my teeth in this industry, and it’s hard to see things dwindle like this. I’m really just a big kid (arean’t we all?) and I’m ready to start having fun again. I didnt start this business just to sell parts, I did it so we can all build cool stuff and go wheeling, hopefully we can get back to that.

I’m taking a day off after going 110% for a few months straight… to get some fresh air, clear my mind, ground myself and get my snowboard on the snow for the first time this season… better late than never. Lets be honest, I’ll likely work over the weekend and boarding on a friday is likely a subconcious way to dodge the crowds after a storm. But I’m sure there will be more to chat about next week.  In the meantime, pop over to the Rugged Rocks website and pick up something you might want for your rig!

Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you on the trail soon.
-Steven