Cheapest to build from stock

[Merace19]

If the cost of the truck was taken out of the equation what is the easiest and cheapest vehicle out there to get into a stock Rules class. Other words what has from the factory ABOUT the best setup to modify for at best a 125mile race? Stock Class. Last time i saw the desert was in 92 and little Toyota 2 wheel drives were every where.

[skullver]

Originally Posted by Merace19

If the cost of the truck was taken out of the equation what is the easiest and cheapest vehicle out there to get into a stock Rules class. Other words what has from the factory ABOUT the best setup to modify for at best a 125mile race? Stock Class. Last time i saw the desert was in 92 and little Toyota 2 wheel drives were every where.

I would say Jeepspeed or class 11 bug(cheapest), or class 9, that depends on al ot though as far as if you do all your own fabrication. The reason I say is, they are all going to share some essential things: fuel cell, cage(legal by whatever sanctioning body), race seats/harnesses, radio/gps, fresh air system for driver/co-driver, etc. A ranger could probably be built cheap too, really depends,as others say how much $$ you have to keep it going, if you are running 3.0+ bypasses and coilovers, you are talking $2k+ per wheel, or say jeepspeed with a 2.5 3-tube bypass is $700 per wheel, you will need spares, support, etc. Lots of factors and lots of classes to choose from, for cheap I would say local crash-up derby.

[Merace19]

Maybe i was not clear in what i was wanting. What truck made came from the factory with the right stuff? Or stuff that could be modified easy and could take a beating.
Does stock class allow bypassess and coilovers?

[TotalImmortal]

best thing to do is get yourself one of these.
http://score-international.com/rulebook/index.ihtml

[Merace19]

Originally Posted by TotalImmortal

best thing to do is get yourself one of these.
http://score-international.com/rulebook/index.ihtml

And do what? It will not tell me which trucks are easier to modify, Only how to do it per the rules.

For example(example only) 84 4runner is a great offroad platform for rock crawling and general trail riding Why you ask? Because is the solid front axle, Light, strong as hell running gear, cheap to buy lift, gears easy to change, Had a super strong engine, handle 35" tires stock. Not sure if it would be a good rig for racing the desert due to handling issues with the stock steering setup.

[skullver]

Originally Posted by Merace19

And do what? It will not tell me which trucks are easier to modify, Only how to do it per the rules.

For example(example only) 84 4runner is a great offroad platform for rock crawling and general trail riding Why you ask? Because is the solid front axle, Light, strong as hell running gear, cheap to buy lift, gears easy to change, Had a super strong engine, handle 35" tires stock. Not sure if it would be a good rig for racing the desert due to handling issues with the stock steering setup.

well your answer then is class 11 bug or class 9, seriously look at the rule book if you plan on RACING, not racing around. That will give you an idea on what the LIMITATIONS are, that is how the price of the build goes down. If you are going to try and be competitive, then that is another story. Read this and maybe you can get an idea of what the average cost/build/class is, how fast do you want to go?, how kush of a ride do you want? good luck:
http://www.desertrides.com/reference/racing_classes.php

[skullver]

then there is always this option:
http://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/ktm...acing_2004.php

[Merace19]

Sportsman Truck, 7S. or jeepspeed is what i am looking at. No bikes. I want a rollcage around me.
Now which truck that fits into the sportsman class is a good starter truck?
Same for the 7s?

[skullver]

Originally Posted by Merace19

Sportsman Truck, 7S. or jeepspeed is what i am looking at. No bikes. I want a rollcage around me.
Now which truck that fits into the sportsman class is a good starter truck?
Same for the 7s?

you want a-arms or I-beams? Look into long travel stuff for those, or if you are making it all, look into cost of parts. Here is a good board to look at for current fab projects and for asking those build/cost questions, you will get a larger response, howz about some more info about your plans? shocks/co's will be big money for either of those classes mentioned fyi:
http://www.dezertrangers.com/cgi-bin/ib/ikonboard.cgi

[MOSS2]

Sportsman class is not really an entry level class anymore, its just a class without rules. You have everything from near trophy trucks to "oh my god do they really drive that" vehicles. Jeepspeed looks to be more affordable than 7s. If you really want to go with a stock class the 80s and 90s fords are pretty tough. Look up Jeremy Spirkoffs F250 truck on offroad.com . Who has 125 mile races??

[skullver]

Originally Posted by MOSS2

Sportsman class is not really an entry level class anymore, its just a class without rules. You have everything from near trophy trucks to "oh my god do they really drive that" vehicles. Jeepspeed looks to be more affordable than 7s. If you really want to go with a stock class the 80s and 90s fords are pretty tough. Look up Jeremy Spirkoffs F250 truck on offroad.com . Who has 125 mile races??

wow, that is a really nice truck:
http://ford.off-road.com/ford/articl...2380?id=358829

[BlueCoyote3]

Cheap to build or cheap to operate?
A stock class is not always cheap to build or race. The use of stock parts can often hamper how you build things.
From my experiance
Ford Ranger - 84 to 88 came with forged I-beams (good). Drop in a 4.0, C4 trans, 9" w/ 31 spline axles & spool, set of Deaver G50's in the back, some 2.5 King / Fox / Bilsteins are you are set. Weak point is the spindles and the goofy ass steering. Parts are everywhere.

Toyota * 2wd - 80 to 95. Stong frames, 22re bullet proof, as is the 3.4 5fze. (do not even consider the 3.0). Add an R series trans. Rear ends are good for up to 33" tires. Use some 1 ton front spindles, Deaver G50 leafs in the back. T-bars do suck, but can be make to work.
4wd - SAS - Same as above, use some Deaver front leafs, X- over steering w/ IFS box. Not as fast as the Ranger, but much more reliable and less costly to operate.
4wd IFS - Same as above, use the TC lower BJ's. Convert upper to Uni-ball. T-bars still suck. (too many moving part IHMO)

Nissan - Mazda - S10 ???????

Buggy classes - heard 9 cars are fun, but am not much a VW fan.
Yeepspeed - seem to be popular, but I do not know much about them -. www.jeepspeed.com

RULES -
Best in the Desert -> www.bitd.com Look under 7100
MORE - www.minitruckracing.com - look under 7s and 1450/1400
SCORE - but a rule book.
mdr / CODE / VORRA - ask the promoter

[Merace19]

Thanks thats the info i was looking for.

[Merace19]

I saw on Speedtv the other day where they took 2 teams and they used the new toyota Fj cruisers and set them up for the Baja 1000. I only caught a few minutes of it. I know the one team was a Pro set up but the other guy seemed like he knew very little. What did he do to his rig to run the race. I know he didnt do one thing right light mount his battery in a stronger caged area. Cause it came loose and broke the trans line.

[fj40forlife]

Ill go for class 7

[JuryRigJalopy]

Originally Posted by MOSS2

Sportsman class is not really an entry level class anymore, its just a class without rules. You have everything from near trophy trucks to "oh my god do they really drive that" vehicles. Jeepspeed looks to be more affordable than 7s. If you really want to go with a stock class the 80s and 90s fords are pretty tough. Look up Jeremy Spirkoffs F250 truck on offroad.com . Who has 125 mile races??

True, but take a look at the points winners for MDR 1450 trucks. 2nd place was a beamed yota with leafs, stock 22R and a simple cage. Its all about finishing races and putting a kid into a wanna-be trophy truck and no experience and they most likely will not finish a race.

It kinda depends on where you want to race as well. Mexico (CODE) races have alot of 9 and 1600 cars and jeepspeed looks like it is growing to be one of the more popular classes in the US.