The 1966 CJ-5 Jeep was built by Kaiser Corporation. Patty Upton says that because her husband Loren was a “desert rat,” he christened her Sand Ship Discovery, with “Discovery” referencing one of Captain Cook’s 18th-century vessels.

Sand Ship Discovery’s specifications include: a stock “Dauntless” V-6 engine, electric fuel pump, Racor fuel/water separator, two regular fuel filters, four-speed T-98 transmission, standard front axles, free-floating rear axles, and standard locking front hubs.

As Patty explains in the video above, Loren—standing 6’4″—raised the Jeep’s hard roof by four inches so he could easily see out of the windshield. Additional modifications include: high-strength drill-steel pipe bumpers with a 2.5-inch inside diameter (front and rear); Firestone radial tires (31 × 10.5) on 15-inch rims; a 9,000-lb. Ramsey power take-off winch with 100 feet of 3/8-inch cable; full-length side pans to protect the underside; a roll bar; and two additional 12-gallon fuel tanks under each front seat, bringing total capacity (including the rear tank) to about 44 gallons. Other upgrades include a roof rack that attaches to the Jeep’s right side and doubles as a 7-foot by 4-foot table or bed with adjustable legs, as well as interior modifications for in-cabin sleeping.

Equipment carried under the hood or on the vehicle included: a Wyeth-Scott two-ton come-along hand winch, spare tire, Hi-Lift jack, jumper cables, pick, shovel, axe, three pulleys, snatch blocks, assorted shackles, and side-hill adjusters.

Not only did Sand Ship Discovery earn Patty and Loren a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the first all-land crossing of the Darién Gap in a single vehicle, she also carried them for a total of 58,000 miles on a five-year journey—north-to-south in the Americas and south-to-north from Africa through to Norway from roads end to roads end—around the world entirely on land.