Ahh. I knew it had to be something related to the mounts. I had mine shear off of the block and the fan almost went through my Rad. They didn't show a ton of y'all on the Live feed. They did show how fast yall pulled the rad out and had the replacement in. It was at that time I saw the strap that looked like it went around the motor.

I did see where he came in for fuel and use a back pack. That had to suck. I bet that back pack was awkward running with it and fuel in the jugs. It looks like it was a blast. Not a bad showing for the first time. Most don't have a chance of finishing at all.

 

We did strap the motor. However, at some point before they hit the rocks, they caught a bump that knocked the strap loose. They managed to finish the whole race with it unstrapped.

It probably wasnt too bad (), because he ended up only running to the corner of the short track/start area...from there he ended up walking back out. Im pretty sure he was burnt out from running all the way in.

From the beginning though...finishing was the goal. Now we have learned and can take that back to the drawing board to determine what needs done to make us better.

 

it was awesome watching you guys live from my computer chair. nice rig nice work!

how did the 44 hold up? what changes would you make to this car (within class rules) to make it better/faster

 

Thanks bud!

The D44 held up great. Its out of a 70s f250 if I remember correctly. Just to refresh the memory of past posts...we are running Yukon Chromoly Shafts, a Yukon Grizzly Locker, and Yukon Superjoints...everything worked flawlessy and never hesitated.

Well since this rig was pretty much completed the week before hammers, it didnt get the necessary tuning it deserved. Once we made it to the lakebed, we met up with the FOA guys. They watched the car through the whoops and did some tuning. It did improve, but still wasnt what it should have been. We will probably continue to tune these shocks to get more out of them. We would also like to replace springs. We have talked about running deavers in the rear and then possibly a progressive spring up front. Both should help improve the ride and help us go faster. While we are at it we will probably do a shackle relocation...since we managed to fold one of them during this race.

Overall, the car performed pretty well in the rocks...but the desert sections were kind of slow. If I were to guess, the next step will be improving the desert speed.

For our own sake, the guys sound like parker pumpers and comms are a must for future racing though.

 

do you think lightening the unsprung weight will be part of that desert speed improvement? I see a ton of guys running fab 9's etc. but then I see a lot of guys on regular old 1 tons. what made you guys decide on the half tons? I've never gone more than 30mph through some bumpy roads. how big of a deal is it to have less unsprung weight at say 50 or 60mph? I'll be rocking 1 tons I'm a little nervous about the weight, but still want to play go-fast

I think progressive coils and deavers will certainly be a good addition!

 

I know Fab 9s and similar are very popular among the bigger guys as well as 1tons. I think it honestly comes down to what everyone has available to them and what they can afford. Being only on 35s, we definitely didnt see the need to go to tons...plus we only spent around 200 for both axles i believe (see: Poor Boys lol). It was what we had available and so far, for 35s its proving to be pretty reliable. One of the other members is currently running the exact same setup on his yota on 37s. He had one D44 break, but it was because he was on stock shafts and in quite the bind.

As far as how crucial the unsprung weight is, I can't answer that question as Im not sure.

I will tell you this though...we were very surprised to see that we were probably one of the lighter rigs out there. We only weighed 4077 pounds without a spare tire and a pretty full tank of gas.

 

nice! yeah I like the race car on a budget. I'm seeing a lot more sponsored guys making this event less of an "every man" challenge. nice weight. I'm hoping to come in under 4500lbs with my build. I'll probably see you guys out there next year! not competing of course.. some day

 

Ya other than making it a goal to finish, we wanted to make it a point that it is possible to do on a limited budget. This race was the most expensive race...because we had to build the whole car. From now on, we have the base to build on and improve on.

I don't know if you plan on coming out to watch, but we are also shooting to race the whole series. So whether it is hammers '15 or another race this year, feel free to stop by and say hi.

 

Poor Boys made the highlight reel! You can see the quick and dirty on the rad swap at 1:08, and us helping out Bailey Cole and Tom Dorfmeister at 1:36.

 

This build is awesome, and the video is awesome too... Love it.

But please save my poor little heart and tell me the Jeep wasn't as nice as it looks, when you started taking it apart and all. =P

 

The jeep wasn't in bad shape, but it needed some TLC. It could have easily been a DD (it actually was). But it is much nicer now Technically speaking though...it could probably still be a road rig. All it is lacking is the windshield. The fuel cell may be a gray area...but who knows.

 

Sorry the footage is limited...gopros were either dead, or the memory cards full by the time the majority of rocks were raced Knowledge for next time though