page 1 - Introduction
page 2 - Modifications
page 3 - Sportage specifications
page 4 - YOU ARE HERE
page 5 - Swap Meet

It doesn't matter what you can get into if you can't get OUT of it!

Beatrice? That's a funny name...
Two words. "Divine Comedy." My previous 4x4 Dakota was Virgilius(shown below), who showed Dante hell and purgatory, but was unable to take him through heaven. Much like Dante's tale, it was only after my wheelin dreams went to the scrap heap with Virgil that I saw the Kia in a different light. Enter Beatrice.

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Why a Kia?
Here's the story. Just after my wife and I married in 2004, we were looking for a vehicle to replace a junky old Saturn sedan. I notied that this particular vehicle hadn't been driven in over a year by the then owner, a friend of the family. I asked about buying it from him and he literally gave it to me. Once I got it home and started doing the 30,000 mile service, I began to see that this cute little SUV was more of a truck than many pickups on the road. Also, it is has a very "back to basics" feel, not having all kinds of silly gadgets and frills. I started looking into how to fix my 4wd in 2005 after I buried the rear axle while the front tires remained on the tarmac. That was when I came across what other people were doing with their Sportages. That was when I was bitten by the four-wheelin bug and became obsessed with this project. I didn't realize I was obsessed until I found myself stopped on the side of the freeway November 2006 after dark in 40 degree (F) rain wearing a T-shirt holding a Mini Mag-Lite digging for rims to put mud tires on in a pile of unwanted tires & wheels at the edge of a farm that I've been driving past as long as I can remember. And so it begins...

Possible Future Modifications:

Stage One, Protection
- Heavy front splash guard
- Heavy fuel tank guard
- Heavy belly pan to cover oil pan, front differential, transmission, transfer case
- Dedicated Snow, Street and Dirt tires

Stage Two, Recovery equipment
- Front and rear steel bumpers with tow hooks and reciever hitches for a hitch-mounted winch.
- Rear / top removable storage rack for recovery equipment
- Hand throttle
- CB radio

Stage Three, Prevention
- Locking differential(s)
- 5.2:1 differentals
- 30x9.50 Firestone Destination M/Ts

Extras, as necessary / available
- 16" Electric primary cooling fan with SPAL controller
- Red rear turn signals
- Tinted windows
- Throttle body spacer (?)
- Supercharger (?)
- Fog lights
- Upgraded audio system

What? No super huge gumbo mudders?
Here's the thing, the largest tires that will fit under a sportage and NOT RUB at full suspension travel / full steering lock are 31x10.50s. On stock suspension, this is after fender modifications and such. I REALLY don't want to butcher this truck for .5" more ground clearance, so 30x9.50s will be sufficient. These will fit with only one minor bumper mod, and my bumper is already damaged and will eventually be replaced anyway.

So lift it!
One of my primary objectives with this truck is a low center of gravity to handle going up, down or across a steep grade. Lift raises the center of gravity, thus defeating this objective. Of course, now that the stock springs have proven to be junk, I may replace them with lift springs, if only enough to handle a little extra weight.

page 1 - Introduction
page 2 - Modifications
page 3 - Sportage specifications
page 4 - YOU ARE HERE
page 5 - Swap Meet