geusterman
TDR MEMBER
piampietro--thanks for setting me straight. I wonder how stock they were? Sometimes it is just a shell by the time the mods are done. George
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Racing suspension is here!!!!!!!!!!
- Thread starter Diesel Dan
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most of those f150s you are talking about are tube chassied trucks and covered with fiberglass skins. Not really a Ford at all. Just a couple of ford stickers. The T-Rex team was using a stock( mildly modified) Dodge 2500 4x4 short bed sport model truck with a factory Cummins. There is a huge difference between the two trucks.
Hey Greg, Piam obviously does'nt know much about off road racing. Anyone can go buy a pre-fabricated already ready to race tube chassis fiberglass bodied F150, but then you cant call it your own creation because everyone has one. Later.
whoah. i didn't intend to start any kind of argument or flame war here. and i don't claim to be any kind of authority on off-road racing. i agree alot of the winners use highly modified trucks. obviously, the race has different classes for different types & levels of modification. some of the examples i referred to were from these non-stock classes. but the fact is, even the stock full-sized class WENT TO A FORD. now it's true that the -150 is hardly a real full-size, and that the powerplant is very different from a fullsize Dodge w/ a Cummins. but thats more of an issue about how the classes are defined than what kind of trucks win races. you certainly don't see any -250's w/ P-strokes entering or winning any races. i suppose that was the point to George's original post, and i fully agree. i just wanted to point out that it's a ford dominated race at this point, regardless of engine-type, etc. i don't think there was a Dodge in the finisher's list. i also don't think there were many, if any starters driving Dodges, besides Kent (who, in my opinion, got a bum deal & should have taken his class).
again, i DON'T think this is because ford's are better trucks. certainly it has something to do with the fact that they're just so common (which is not necessarily a good thing). as more people enter races like this driving Dodges, i'm sure the trend will shift.
anyway sorry if i got anyone's hackles up, or offended anyone with my ignorance about offroad racing.
-p
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sorry if I said something wrong. I didn't mean to, I was just trying to make a point. The full stock class has alot of restrictions to it that keep your truck mostly Stock. It does require a fuel cell, full cage and a couple of extras. You can only change the shocks and springs suspension wise. That is what makes the T-rex suspension so great. It is race proven!!! Baja tested!!!!! Bad Ask stuff. Most other manufacturers don't have the hydro formed frame that we do. They don't have the stock HP that the Cummins has. They don't have the front coil link system that we do. All of these are a factor in how T-rex works well on our trucks. The F-150 is half the weight of the Dodge diesel. I hope with a couple extra shocks it will be competitive. The Stuper DoDo's don't even come close yet. Next year they will have a better chance.
Thanks, Greg
Well said Mr. Boardman!!!!!!!!!
What's up??? I'm on the road driving to Tennessee right now surfing TDR while cruising the Dodge at 80 across I-40... beers on me in the high-dez when I return.
DBOo. Oo. Oo. Oo.
What's up??? I'm on the road driving to Tennessee right now surfing TDR while cruising the Dodge at 80 across I-40... beers on me in the high-dez when I return.
DBOo. Oo. Oo. Oo.
You got it T$. Come on up. Going to visit the inlaws?
No worries, Greg. In fact I agree with everything you & Med said. I guess I just reacted a bit to his opening statement regarding my knowledge of offroad racing. Its true I may not know all that much, but like many its beyond my powers of composure not to respond to a statement like that. But 'nuff said, case closed. Thanks for adding your insight & helping clarify the issue.
hasta,
-p
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Piam, it was not meant to be a personal attack on you at all, sorry I typed that message in a hurry on the way out. I just read it again and it came off wrong. I'm here to make friends not enemies, for that I apologize. It also appeared that the message was meant for Greg, i was just stating to Greg. I guess next time I will watch what I type on the way out the door. Sorry guys. Later. Dwayne
Gents,
To clarify a bit - what we were trying to do _was_ a little nuts.
We were trying to race an essentially stock truck, I mean that thing has the air conditioning, CD player and full dash still in it. And everything still works - to include the electric windows. The truck went fast and kicked butt when it was in its element. Roaring down the beach from Santo Tomas all the way to Santo Domingo we passed all of our class competition except one. In addition, when the truck had space to breathe, we smoked many class 5 cars and other race vehicles (of the ones that were still moving). But when we were in the new stuff - the tight, nasty freshly-cut stuff, it was painful to be in a truck this big - I mean we were making three point turns to get around corners and pulling other race cars out of the way so we could get by - we broke two tow straps and a shovel doing this. It was HEINOUS.
A couple of months ago while we were race-prepping the truck, Tim Sanchez gave me a lot of good-natured gruff about me wanting to run as stock as we did, especially when I was at my weakest and too tired to retort - that's when he struck hard with a barrage of verbal abuse that convinced me to run race seats and make some other changes I didn't want to make. I still bear the psychological scars from his banter + I owe him some money!!! RATS! Let's make it double or nothing for the 1000, Tim! And by the way, even though we didn't finish with all the stubs in the can, the front license plate is still in it's original position!!!
Despite our not finishing the 500, I still believe our concept was a good one - to keep the beast as OE as possible and use the best equipment we could find and do the best we could. We had a little bit of bad luck - normal for Baja - but not enough to take us out of the hunt. Much of this year's course was just really incompatible with the size of the T. Rex truck. I feel that any other 500 would have been no problem for us. Even the 500 of 1998, the "El Nino" year wasn't, in my opinion as brutal as this year's. I've done a lot of these races and this year's Baja 500 was the worst one I can remember. And don't misunderstand. I'm not complaining; racing in Baja is tough, nasty, dirty, punishing and unforgiving - and I wouldn't have it any other way. If it were easy, everyone would do it. And if finishing were assured, or victory was a given, then it wouldn't really be an adventure, would it? It would be like going to a movie - you know that in the end you'll be able to walk out and go have a latte - even if the bad guy wins. Racing in Baja, you don't know what's going to happen. I mean, you can break a tie rod while doing a 90mph four wheel drift, go off a cliff and die.
But better to go that way, than in some senseless tragedy!!!
he, he, he...
The guy who won - the only guy who finished from the "Stock Full" class is a great guy - a great driver who drove a great race and fully deserved to win. His name is Mark Handley and he's a first class Baja racer. His truck is a completely gutted short bed, 2wd Ford F-150 that has no glass, no real dash, no carpet and is nothing but tube over the OE frame. It falls perfectly within the rules of the "Stock Full" class because he has retained and reinforced the required stock components and ditched all the rest. His Ford is a well-prepped, purpose-built race vehicle that spends a lot of time on a trailer being towed from race to race.
On Friday, I drove the T. Rex project truck from San Diego to Ensenada, started the race Saturday morning, was in second place, less than an hour behind Mark by race mile 290, timed out, turned off the course, drove to my pit, then drove that truck home to San Diego the next day.
Over a hundred competitors were still stuck in the desert when we were driving back to San Diego on Sunday.
Tomorrow I'm taking the T. Rex truck down to Baja again to prerun our course for the T. Rex Baja Adventure. And starting Thursday through the weekend we're guiding 24 people across some of the most beautiful country in Baja. And we'll be using the same truck we raced with just two weeks before!!
Dodge builds a great product. I'm convinced that the solid Dodge chassis combined with the mighty CTD may be the most perfect and useful chassis/motor/driveline combination ever assembled under one roof. Nothing compares to this great Dodge truck.
We fully intend to race this year's Baja 1000. It will be a classic course that heads from Esenada to La Paz - over one thousand HEINOUS miles down the peninsula.
I'm going to drive that Dodge truck from San Diego to Ensenada, then I'm going to drive that Dodge truck back from La Paz.
... and the truck's license plate will still be attached and Tim is going to have to cough up 200 bucks!!!
-Kent
To clarify a bit - what we were trying to do _was_ a little nuts.
We were trying to race an essentially stock truck, I mean that thing has the air conditioning, CD player and full dash still in it. And everything still works - to include the electric windows. The truck went fast and kicked butt when it was in its element. Roaring down the beach from Santo Tomas all the way to Santo Domingo we passed all of our class competition except one. In addition, when the truck had space to breathe, we smoked many class 5 cars and other race vehicles (of the ones that were still moving). But when we were in the new stuff - the tight, nasty freshly-cut stuff, it was painful to be in a truck this big - I mean we were making three point turns to get around corners and pulling other race cars out of the way so we could get by - we broke two tow straps and a shovel doing this. It was HEINOUS.
A couple of months ago while we were race-prepping the truck, Tim Sanchez gave me a lot of good-natured gruff about me wanting to run as stock as we did, especially when I was at my weakest and too tired to retort - that's when he struck hard with a barrage of verbal abuse that convinced me to run race seats and make some other changes I didn't want to make. I still bear the psychological scars from his banter + I owe him some money!!! RATS! Let's make it double or nothing for the 1000, Tim! And by the way, even though we didn't finish with all the stubs in the can, the front license plate is still in it's original position!!!
Despite our not finishing the 500, I still believe our concept was a good one - to keep the beast as OE as possible and use the best equipment we could find and do the best we could. We had a little bit of bad luck - normal for Baja - but not enough to take us out of the hunt. Much of this year's course was just really incompatible with the size of the T. Rex truck. I feel that any other 500 would have been no problem for us. Even the 500 of 1998, the "El Nino" year wasn't, in my opinion as brutal as this year's. I've done a lot of these races and this year's Baja 500 was the worst one I can remember. And don't misunderstand. I'm not complaining; racing in Baja is tough, nasty, dirty, punishing and unforgiving - and I wouldn't have it any other way. If it were easy, everyone would do it. And if finishing were assured, or victory was a given, then it wouldn't really be an adventure, would it? It would be like going to a movie - you know that in the end you'll be able to walk out and go have a latte - even if the bad guy wins. Racing in Baja, you don't know what's going to happen. I mean, you can break a tie rod while doing a 90mph four wheel drift, go off a cliff and die.
But better to go that way, than in some senseless tragedy!!!
he, he, he...
The guy who won - the only guy who finished from the "Stock Full" class is a great guy - a great driver who drove a great race and fully deserved to win. His name is Mark Handley and he's a first class Baja racer. His truck is a completely gutted short bed, 2wd Ford F-150 that has no glass, no real dash, no carpet and is nothing but tube over the OE frame. It falls perfectly within the rules of the "Stock Full" class because he has retained and reinforced the required stock components and ditched all the rest. His Ford is a well-prepped, purpose-built race vehicle that spends a lot of time on a trailer being towed from race to race.
On Friday, I drove the T. Rex project truck from San Diego to Ensenada, started the race Saturday morning, was in second place, less than an hour behind Mark by race mile 290, timed out, turned off the course, drove to my pit, then drove that truck home to San Diego the next day.
Over a hundred competitors were still stuck in the desert when we were driving back to San Diego on Sunday.
Tomorrow I'm taking the T. Rex truck down to Baja again to prerun our course for the T. Rex Baja Adventure. And starting Thursday through the weekend we're guiding 24 people across some of the most beautiful country in Baja. And we'll be using the same truck we raced with just two weeks before!!
Dodge builds a great product. I'm convinced that the solid Dodge chassis combined with the mighty CTD may be the most perfect and useful chassis/motor/driveline combination ever assembled under one roof. Nothing compares to this great Dodge truck.
We fully intend to race this year's Baja 1000. It will be a classic course that heads from Esenada to La Paz - over one thousand HEINOUS miles down the peninsula.
I'm going to drive that Dodge truck from San Diego to Ensenada, then I'm going to drive that Dodge truck back from La Paz.
... and the truck's license plate will still be attached and Tim is going to have to cough up 200 bucks!!!
-Kent
u da man, kent. sorry i won't be able to join the baja adventure trip. couldn't get offa work
and absolutely no hard feelings, Medic... i could have been clearer in my initial post & maybe averted the entire exchange. but anyway, it's all good... .
l8r,
-p
Let me clear things up a bit for you buddy. You were under the truck and I was mounting a bumper when the Desert Bull started his rant. Remeber the second half of his name is BULL!!! Now to clear it up a bit. He was hounding you for wanting to leave on the license plate. He said he would bet you $100 that it wouldn't make it to the finish. If I remember it right, I took off the license plate the week before you left. I needed to remove it to install the bumper and didn't have time to replace it. You might not be at fault here. Maybe we could settle this with a 50 mile drag race through the desert with the T-rex truck and the Tank!!! I can see it now. DESERT TANK WINS!!!!! on his website. Thats it, I'm making a billit license plate frame for the 1000 mile race. Make it double or nothing buddy!!!!!!! I got your back.
Greg
Kent opined:
Now doesn't that just give you goosebumps
It just amazes me that anyone would want to race a truck with that huge heavy hunk of pig iron under the hood.
When do the T-Rex motor mounts come out?
Good luck with the next one and enjoy the Adventure. Geeze, it must be hot down there this time of year.
Now doesn't that just give you goosebumps
It just amazes me that anyone would want to race a truck with that huge heavy hunk of pig iron under the hood.
When do the T-Rex motor mounts come out?
Good luck with the next one and enjoy the Adventure. Geeze, it must be hot down there this time of year.
Originally posted by Ol'TrailDog
Kent opined:
When do the T-Rex motor mounts come out?
I am working on a set right now. They will be a solid mound with a bushing. But can you say BEEFY!!!
BEEFY...
BEEFY!!!
BEEFY!!!
(i want some)
Nothing. I think he's talking about that 1% that beat the crap outa their truck in Baja or pulling, or just want them cuz it's cool.
got my bilstein T-Rex today. only had time to mount the rear shocks and fill them with about 120psi shop air. Took it for a ride, I can already feel the difference. The old shocks were the originals with 131,000 miles on them. I got the truck with 124,000 miles. I can't wait to put the front shocks on and hit the dirt. Happy customer so far. Thanks Kent.
CFast,
How long ago did you order your suspension? Ordered mine 1 month ago tomorrow, and STILL waitin'.
How long ago did you order your suspension? Ordered mine 1 month ago tomorrow, and STILL waitin'.
ordered it april 26th. They said bilstien was getting ready for the Baja 500 that's why mine was late. Anybody know where to get your shocks filled with nitrogen in the Fresno area? Called some places today they tried to sell me monroe shocks, some 4wheelparts rubbed me off, guy on the phone was an ashole. Been in that store once, not impressed with the service. Just wanted to pass that along.
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Issue 128 – Digital Version
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Renew
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Back Issues
Subscription Status
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