Pre-runner build SW USA

[GenPatTuck]

I bought a radius roof rolling chassis from a fabber here in AZ. Its a big car that will seat 5 people but probably will only carry my wife and daughter and most of the time only me and my daughter and some friends.

Its made of 1.5" x .125" wall DOM. The trailing arms and A-arms are made of 1.5 x .125" chromoly tubing made by Fodrill Motorsports. It has 2 piston Tatum Motorsports wide 5 front brakes on 2" hollow chromoly spindles made by Fodrill Motorsports. The rear brakes are Tatum as well but are 6 piston 934 Midboard brakes. The axles are from Gear One and are 32" long 35 splined. Transmission is from Fortin and is a standard 4H pattern with internal oil pump. Ring is 4.38 and is rated at 850hp. I currently have a Northstar v-8 motor attached to it that produces 400hp. There is a 23 gallon fuel cell and oversize radiator with dual 16" fans. Coil carriers and triple by-passes are Kings. The rear coil carriers are 2.5" body with 16" stroke and the by-passes are the same but 3" body. The front has 2.5" bodies 12" stroke with piggy back reservoirs. I have plans to by double by-passes for the front. Steering is a GEAR ONE SUPER RACK- # G1-3009 with a Char-lynn torque generator attached to a 3 spoke steering wheel. Autometer gauges complete with Tach, oil press, water temp and fuel. Lowrance GPS and Rugged headsets that are car to car as well as person to person inside the vehicle. You can also listen to music with an attachment on the unit of an Ipod. Jamar shifter, cnc turning brake and Triple X seats with Mastercraft 5 point with sternum straps. RObby Gordon 17" bead lock wheels with 35" ProComp M/T's.

I will build a roof rack for storage carrying the extra parts and camping equipment, food etc I will need for the journey. A buddy wants to go as well but in his Jeep Cherokee XJ. We dont have any set plans but he was saying in a year or so.

I will keep up on the updates as I progress.

 

[MojaveMadMan]

I worked for a sand car manufacturer for about 5 years back in the peek of the sand car craze. You have a solid start for a good duel-sport car there. We did a bunch of purpose built Mexico bound cars that people would pre-run the baja 1000 with. A few things you will want to make sure you add on. First is a spare tire, it is real easy to build a subframe over the engine area to mount a full size spare. You mentioned a roof rack, that will be huge in helping you carry gear. Some roto-pax gas cans would be great for the roof and not being too bulky. You will have a challenge with that radius roof... looks good but will be a pain to make a rack with. The last big thing is a complete firewall and front window. You would be surprised how much a front window and firewall will cut down on dirt and debries in the car. It will keep out the dirt and make the long rides a lot more enjoyable. Then a lot of little things, heims, a spare built up axle is a great addition and can fit inside of some PVC and mounted somewhere. Also, I know it sounds silly but find a place to solid mount a dececnt cooler for drinks and snacks!! I dig your rig, I hope you enjoy it!

 

[GenPatTuck]

I worked for a sand car manufacturer for about 5 years back in the peek of the sand car craze. You have a solid start for a good duel-sport car there. We did a bunch of purpose built Mexico bound cars that people would pre-run the baja 1000 with. A few things you will want to make sure you add on. First is a spare tire, it is real easy to build a subframe over the engine area to mount a full size spare. You mentioned a roof rack, that will be huge in helping you carry gear. Some roto-pax gas cans would be great for the roof and not being too bulky. You will have a challenge with that radius roof... looks good but will be a pain to make a rack with. The last big thing is a complete firewall and front window. You would be surprised how much a front window and firewall will cut down on dirt and debries in the car. It will keep out the dirt and make the long rides a lot more enjoyable. Then a lot of little things, heims, a spare built up axle is a great addition and can fit inside of some PVC and mounted somewhere. Also, I know it sounds silly but find a place to solid mount a dececnt cooler for drinks and snacks!! I dig your rig, I hope you enjoy it!

.

Thank you. I have plans to carry all the necessary extra parts, fuel, spare tire and cooler. I have a Jeep Cherokee XJ that I carry extra axles, u-joints and other misc stuff to help my rock crawling or trail riding a nicer experience in case I break down.
The front cage where the a-arms are has a spot to build a cooler that will hold almost 30 cans of whatever. I will probably make it out of fiberglass, insulate it, install a drain and a leak proof lid so water and what's inside doesnt fly out and get all over everything. Surprisingly enough, there is enough space between and under the front seats and back bench to stow whatever I can get in there. I definitely want a tunnel for the shift rod, brake lines and wiring but above that could be an arm rest and space for more cooler options or whatever else.
What do you mean a built up axle to fit inside PVC? Are you saying a 934 cv with an axle attached to it and then stored in a large diameter PVC tube with caps on the end?
I havent thought of a firewall but have considered a front window. I will have to get to work on the firewall ASAP!
What other little things should be carried on such a trip? If you have the experience then I wont need to carry the worthless stuff I should have left at home.
Have you run the baja and if so is there a security risk having your nice toy out there possibly getting stripped while you sleep?

 

[Bronco bobby]

Looks like a great start. Can't wait to see the end result.

 

[GenPatTuck]

The end result will look similar to what you see. There might be some different body panels and of course color. Thanks for the "good job"!

 

[MojaveMadMan]

Sorry I didn't get right back to you, missed your questions.

- What do you mean a built up axle to fit inside PVC? Are you saying a 934 cv with an axle attached to it and then stored in a large diameter PVC tube with caps on the end? Yes that is what I am saying. If you can swing it, build up a new axel with CV's and boots and everything, that way you can bolt it right in with minimal down time. Or at least prep up two CV's with everything so that if one breaks, your not messing with doing all that on the trail, it's an easy fix with preped CV's too. I would put them in something like a PVC tube with caps or something to make it easy to secure and keep them clean.

- What other little things should be carried on such a trip? If you have the experience then I wont need to carry the worthless stuff I should have left at home. Hardware is always a big one. A couple hiems in the various sizes with the wrenches to fix them if one bends or gets sloppy from a big hit. Various hardware, most sand cars have only a few different sizes on them so it's easy to carry spares. Really it all depends on how much space you have, and how much you feel like carrying, it's hard to predict besides CV's and boots what may go bad on you...

- Have you run the baja and if so is there a security risk having your nice toy out there possibly getting stripped while you sleep? There is a risk, my boss had his 2500 stolen from the bar parking lot once... But at the same time I know people go down there with $100K pre-runners and park them at hotels. I would suggest staying at places that have security. There are a lot of hotels that cater towards Americans that are fenced with security gaurds. It really comes down to your gut, you will know where not to leave your stuff. Go to places that are frequented by Baja teams and you will be in good places. You can always go to race-dezert.com on their forum and ask people for recomendations, that is where all the Baja ventrans are and you can get the best info on spots. Every time I went we were pitting for cars and were sleeping in the chase trucks at verious spots, haha.

 

[GenPatTuck]

Sorry I didn't get right back to you, missed your questions.

- What do you mean a built up axle to fit inside PVC? Are you saying a 934 cv with an axle attached to it and then stored in a large diameter PVC tube with caps on the end? Yes that is what I am saying. If you can swing it, build up a new axel with CV's and boots and everything, that way you can bolt it right in with minimal down time. Or at least prep up two CV's with everything so that if one breaks, your not messing with doing all that on the trail, it's an easy fix with preped CV's too. I would put them in something like a PVC tube with caps or something to make it easy to secure and keep them clean. I keep two extra cv's prepped and sealed with silicone on metal discs on each end.

- What other little things should be carried on such a trip? If you have the experience then I wont need to carry the worthless stuff I should have left at home. Hardware is always a big one. A couple hiems in the various sizes with the wrenches to fix them if one bends or gets sloppy from a big hit. Various hardware, most sand cars have only a few different sizes on them so it's easy to carry spares. Really it all depends on how much space you have, and how much you feel like carrying, it's hard to predict besides CV's and boots what may go bad on you... I didnt think of carry extra hiems.

- Have you run the baja and if so is there a security risk having your nice toy out there possibly getting stripped while you sleep? There is a risk, my boss had his 2500 stolen from the bar parking lot once... But at the same time I know people go down there with $100K pre-runners and park them at hotels. I would suggest staying at places that have security. There are a lot of hotels that cater towards Americans that are fenced with security gaurds. It really comes down to your gut, you will know where not to leave your stuff. Go to places that are frequented by Baja teams and you will be in good places. You can always go to race-dezert.com on their forum and ask people for recomendations, that is where all the Baja ventrans are and you can get the best info on spots. Every time I went we were pitting for cars and were sleeping in the chase trucks at verious spots, haha.

thanks for the helpful info. If you have anything other helpful info then please let me know.