Jim Cambron has been active in Suzuki circles for many years. He is recognized easily when he pulls into an event with the vintage Pinzgauer he uses as a tow vehicle.

1. What is your full name?
James Arthur Cambron

2. Where were you born?
Kansas City, MO

3. How old are you?
54

4. Any brother’s or sister’s?
I have three brothers. Ernst (Ernie), Sam and John. I am number 2 son.

5. Where do you currently live?
Independence, MO.

6. Where do you work?
WDAF-TV Fox 4 Kansas City

7. What do you do there?
I am a Broadcast Engineer. I do those behind-the scenes that make Television happen.

8. Do you have a nick name that you go by?
Ack, Ackerdackerly, J.R.

9. How long have you been into the sport of off-roading?
Four years. I drove my Samurai stock at 'Melt 01 (my second off-road experience) and built pretty much as it is today at 'Melt '02

10. Who or what first got you interested in the sport?
Fellow employee Barry Godsey. He has a built '87 Jeep.

11. Are you involved in any off-road club’s, and if so what is the name of your club?
Not at this time...

12. What is the year, make, and model of your current off-road 4x4?
'88 Suzuki Samurai soft-top. 4.5" Breeze SPOA with Breeze Draglink, 1.6 8-Asian-built with a 1.3 sumo head, Thorley header, Midwest Performance Weber DGAV 32/36, NCO RUF kit, Calmini adapter kit, Custom front bumper with integral air tank, Ford Bronco 15" x 7" wheels shod with 15"x9.5"x29" BFG All Terrain T/A KOs.

13. How long have you had it?
Since November, 1999. I am the second owner

14. Why did you choose this particular 4x4?
It was cheap. It looked easy to maintain. There was a pretty big Internet support group plenty of aftermarket parts sources.

15. Is this your first off-road 4x4?
Yup.

16. What's best modification you've done to your 4x4 so far?
Probably the SPOA. I did a lot of research and had a lot of hand-holding mostly long distance from Tim Tackett. It turned out very well! I can drive it effortlessly off-road AND on the freeway.

The 1.6 8-valve is a very close second. The Ackmobile's performance went from enemic to downright peppy.

17. What's the worst modification you've done so far?
LED turn signals. You can't just slap some LEDs on a perfboard, hook them up and expect them to work.

18. What’s the scariest moment you’ve ever had off-roading?
There is a thirty foot gully at Deepwater ORV at Truman Lake, MO with a creek at the bottom. It was my first off-road experience. Beforehand, I was told to let the engine do the braking going downhill. I nearly forgot that piece of advice and nearly went end-over-end into the gully!

19. What was the funniest?
Riding with Murph on the Melt '03 Night Run. The experience was very much like herding cats. The tunes were good, especially "Cleveland Rocks" by the Presidents of the United States (pretty hip for an old geezer, eh?)

20. What have you learned from the sport that you can apply to your everyday life?
If you don't try, you can't succeed. Tire pressure is important. Wire welding is fun! Under all that mud/grease are a bunch of truly nice guys/gals.

21. If you could sit down and talk to anyone, past or present, who would it be and why?
Ben Franklin. It would be interesting to get his opinions and thoughts on the present problems we face as a country and as a society. It would be interesting to get his reaction to the technologies that we have.

22. What was the name of the last book you read?
"Diuturnity's Dawn". Book three of the Alan Dean Foster's Founding of the Commonwealth series. It's Science Fiction.

23. What was the last movie that you watched?
Me and the kid (mostly me, I guess) sat through "Around the World in 80 Days". I am certainly glad I work for a subsidiary of 20th Century Fox and not Disney. Except for Jackie Chan, it was terrible!
Hellboy was okay. If there was one that I forgot there must have been a good reason.
Mostly I am awaiting the release of Joss Whedon's "Serenity" an extension of his ill-fated series "Firefly" that was cancelled by Fox. It premieres April 22, 2005 at a theater near you...

24. What is your favorite style of music?
I like both Country AND Western - the newer stuff. Rock: Van Halen, Blue Oyster Cult, Beatles & Stones and "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Rutles.

25. What do you like to listen to on the trails?
When I have a working radio/CD/MP3 player loud driving Rock, Country. And especially "Cleveland Rocks"

26. When your not off-roading, or working, how do you like to spend your time?
Working on my vehicles, surfing the net Reading, hanging out with son Jon.

27. If I gave you a free ticket to visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Hong Kong. James Clavell's "Noble House" paints a fascinating picture of this exotic city at the crossroads of history.

28. Name someplace that you have visited in the past that you would love to visit again and why.
The western US. It's been a long time since I have been to Yellowstone Park, Glacier Park and Rainbow Arch. I also would like to spend time in the country around Moab and in Death Valley. Puget Sound is always a great destination.

All of these places are soooo different from the hum-drum flatness of Western Missouri/Eastern Kansas.

29. If you could give one piece of advice to any future off-road enthusiasts, what would it be?
Tread lightly. Your behavior off-road is key to to continued access to public lands by our hobby.