Say bye to the race truck!

[1971ford]

Tomorrow at 6:00 in the morning I'm driving the race truck (for the last time ) to the side of I-5 where I will meet a buddy with his diesel/trailer and that's where we will load it up. Then we head 8 hours down south where I'll meet up with Max, the owner of the Land Rover I am trading the race truck for. We will swap keys then we're headed further south to the worlds biggest offroad swap meet. Coming back Sunday with the Rover in tow.

This is my first truck, picked it up when I was 12, and it's what got me into the automotive world in the first place. Sure have learned a lot!

And here it is today, day before it goes down south.



The new ride.




"why?" you ask?
I can't afford to race the race truck and I don't want to see it sit. When $1,000 is spent on a 2 day weekend to race the truck and that's with us sleeping on the desert floor with bare essentials, it's hard to justify the race being worth the cost. Entry fees and gas prices are only going up and there are more and more catches every race season (mandatory HANS restraint systems next season..). The truck is a fun play truck too, but to really enjoy it I have to take it to the desert which is a few hours away, and none of my buddies are into offroad racing so that's no fun. It's hard to even drive the truck around town often when it gets maybe 7 MPG's and running premium.

The solution? The Land Rover. Straight across trade. The Land rover is built very nicely, fully caged front to rear, 3 race seats with crow 5 point harnesses, coilovers and hydraulic bump stops up front, locked axles, 9k winch, and a ton more goodies. All while being a very nice daily driver that can still pre-run the race courses and concour the 4x4 trails while being extremely reliable.

I'm not sure how I feel... but i know tomorrow is about to be CRAZY!

[forrestbump]

Wow Ryan...the end of an era around here. Your truck and it's off road racing exploits have always been a good read for me personally. I'm sure gonna miss your race truck as, I'm certain, you will along with many others here will.

Well at least you still have your high boy...Thank Goodness! I'm always looking forward to your off road adventure stories so please keep em coming...

Good luck tomorrow!

[1971ford]

Oh yeah, the cummins highboy goes NO WHERE. The race truck means a lot to me and sure has been fun but I view the highboy a little differently, the highboy I don't think I could ever get rid of. It's my pride and joy. The race is more of a toy.

Actually, in a few weeks I should be on a road trip to Oregon to pick up a 5 speed cummins tranny and np205 from a fellow fordification member to swap into the highboy so i can get it back on the road

Then I can pick up a tow bar and tow the Rover around with the highboy

[michael69]

From the pictures, I think you are doing a very good trade.Looks like you will be coming out way ahead and on top. Just my .

[67mann]

Made out like a bandit

[Mancar1]

Sounds like you are making a good deal.

[Swegner99]

I know exactly how you feel, racing is hard without a big name sponsorships. It will nickel and dime you to death. I pit for a class 10 car, just being being pit/support takes a bit of money for race weekend.

I agree that your making a good trade, looking forward to the pictures of the new adventures with the rover.

So long good old 871!

[robroy]

Good morning Ryan,

I'm glad you made a thread just for this, because your race truck has been one of the top interests here for many members for years, so this is significant!

I think you're making a good decision and will gain many new experiences this way. My father and his new wife owned a Land Rover of a similar year to your new one, only in its stock configuration, and I remember him marveling at how well that thing drove off-road. I know they took it over the Coast Road in Big Sur, California a few times and it felt right at home. He described how much they enjoyed putting it in a super low gear and crawling down a long, steep, gravel road, and how confident and sure-footed it felt. It's my impression that those are definitely genuine, very capable off-road machines despite being fancy and new.

The only time he griped about it was when they lost the keys! I think it cost him $1,000 or something to get new keys for it, because they had to come through the dealer since they're electronic. If yours is the same just be sure to have a quality keyring and hold on to 'em. Of course the bright side to that is that it seems pretty darn tough to steal one of these beasts!

Robroy

[rltvader]

sorry to see it go.
I'm pretty new to the forum, so i haven't seen this truck before...
But this truck makes my mouth drop open.
It looks great.
Sorry to hear your getting rid of it, but you still got that highboy.

[DuckRyder]

That will be an extremely capable off roader.

Not sure the fuel mileage is going to be much better though, I had a friend with one and it got about 10-12 which is better than 7 I guess but...

[1971ford]

Thanks guys, i'm back with the Rover and couldn't be happier. It was sad seeing the race truck go, but i'm really happy with the new ride.

Yep still have and always will have the highboy!

Yeah from what I've seen the Rover's do great offroad. It's got the center locker, and now it has true-trac's front and rear with 4.11's, with the BFG 33's.
It gets TERRRIBLE mileage but I'm used to that! I sucked down 3/4 a tank just driving for an hour. I swear i could just about watch the gauge needle drop. He had the tires aired down and the rack on, so today I aired the tires up and pulled the rack off, hoping to slow down the gas gauge needle just a little.

Full DOM cage, 3 6" LED bars, LED rock lights, coilovers and hydraulic bump stops up front, Fox reservoir 2.5's in rear, DOM tie/rod drag link with spare, Trussed/sewer-cap'd axles with 4.11 true trac's front/rear, 9k lb winch, BFG 33's, 3 race-seats with crow harnesses, on-board air compressor w/ lines for tools/tire chuck, rock sliders, nice stereo that sounds amazing, heater with AC!!, dual batteries with selector, rear cargo area, safari rack, i'm sure i'm forgetting lots more

[Ranchero50]

Now to 4bt the rover...

The race truck was pretty cool and you 'learned alot' so it's probably best to let it go before it sits too long and you regret no using it.

[rjewkes]

And I bet the neighbors will think you realy stepped up to.

[1971ford]

Now to 4bt the rover...

The race truck was pretty cool and you 'learned alot' so it's probably best to let it go before it sits too long and you regret no using it.

When the aluminum block v8 gives up in another 100,000 or whenever, I can almost guarantee it will be getting a 4bt. The aluminum block would make a nice coffee table too.

Yeah, vehicle use is a big part of the trade, considering I VERY rarely used the race truck in the dirt, and I will be taking the Rover in the dirt atleast twice a week, and we'll be running trails just about every weekend.

[1971ford]

And I bet the neighbors will think you realy stepped up to.

I don't think they've noticed what's happened quite yet They're probably wondering what happened to the race truck and why i've spent 7 hours cleaning someone's Rover.