2wd or 4wd?

[straightaxel]

I originally joined this board to get my '77 chevy 4x4 desert ready, but have since aquired a '75 chevy 2wd truck as well. I am curious of oppinions in regards to a-arm 2wd vs. solid axel 4wd for high speed desert running. The idea would be to run some sportsman racing, and after the bugs are worked out, possibly some 'low budget' Baja 500 action, or maybe even some short course stuff as well.

Either truck will be linked in the rear w/ a 14 bff, and 35"-37" tires. If I go with the 4wd, the front d44 will get a beam/trac-bar set up like that of the Blitz blazer(?) w/ coilovers, and crossover steering. Front travel will probably be limited to 15"-16" to allow decent steering. If I go w/ the 2wd, I am thinking heim jointed boxed and extended (3" +/-) control arms, 1 ton spindles/brakes w/ uni-balls, and of course coilovers. Travel will be around 14"-15" I imagine.

Engine will be a 358", around 425hp. I can't imagine a 4wd straight axel being as fast as a a-arm, but neither will be that fast with the small power motor. Will the 2wd be fast enough to offset the better traction of the 4wd in the soft silt and what not? Is there a reliability factor between the two? I would like to hear some oppinions from people who race either, or both?

Thanks,
Nate

[straightaxel]

No oppinions at all? I am sure that someone has some experiece w/ a straight axle truck, Moss or anybody?

[Moss2]

Both of your options sound like they are bigger budget or time intensive than our racer. Yes you can make a straight axle go pretty fast. If you are gonna try to get 16" of travel in front though it will be a chore. If you arent going to race Mexico much I would probably go with a 2wd. If you really want to race, lose the attachment to a particular brand or make vehicle and get what you can afford. To me racing a go-cart would be more fun than staring at a hulk in the garage for a few years.(I have a lot of hulks) If you are more into the fabrication thing go for it. Its not all about travel numbers because the Hall family boys will still drive around you with their 9" travel.

[NicksTrix]

might want to figure out what class you want to run and study the rule book so you know what parameters you have to work within.
as moss mentioned, budget is/can be also a defining factor.

[straightaxel]

Thanks guys!! I hear you on the hulks in the garage, but I do have a drag car that keeps me occupied when I need some speed fix, problem is 9 seconds just isn't long enough! Anyways, I was thinking of just competing in the safari pre-run class (1800) or possibly the 1450 class. I am sure that I would get smoked in the 1450 class though. Mexico is probably more of a dream than a reality. I am tossed between the idea of not worrying about getting stuck (4wd) and being able to realy push it faster (2wd).

What advantages does the 2wd hold over the 4wd? I image that the steering will be somewhat easier in the 2wd as well as the benefit of the lower unsprung weight. Will using stock 1ton spindles w/ uni-balls be a reliability issue? I already have the rear end, shocks for the rear, and enough tools to finish it off, I just don't know which one would be more "fun". That is what it all comes down to anyways, isn't it? I don't have the time to compete on a serious level yet, so I don't want to be in the way of others that do, I just want to have some fun and go FAST!

[TVM Jeff]

Think less moving part and less wieght means less down time and less money. I have been doing fab work most my life thats my opinion.

[Wendell #527]

I say a 4WD is better for chasing, and a 2WD is better for racing. Pick which is more important to you and get to building!

[knuckles]

ya id say 12" of travel at the most for a straight axle 4wd. in my head the idea of 16" travel would have your front wheels damn near under your front doors at full droop. im running a little over 10" on my dodge and it runs pretty darn good for a big truck. and as for having 4wd, i find myself going in 2wd(dumb) places that my 2wd buddies wouldnt ever go. getting stuck then putting it in 4 and getting out just cause i know i can. but if i could do it over i'd go with A arms all day long

[smokey]

ya id say 12" of travel at the most for a straight axle 4wd. in my head the idea of 16" travel would have your front wheels damn near under your front doors at full droop.

My front axle only pulls back 1.5" at full droop with 16" travel. I don't know how much is too much, but that doesn't seem like a ton to me. And consider that all of the beam/ttb trucks deal with the same issue, since they all run radius arms as well.

Linked rear ends deal with the same wheelbase changes, as well. Granted, they pull forward, and can move up/back when they hit something, so maybe not a good comparison.

Anyway, my vote would be for 4wd if you think can get the performance even close to comparable. But maybe if I lived anywhere close to desert, I'd change my mind. I would think that for anything that resembled an all round rig the extra versatility would be nice.

Maybe I'm just biased, but I think the long travel 4wd trucks are cool.

What about swapping in a ttb setup? Those have been proven up to those travel numbers, and higher even.

[Lance T]

4wd is cool. The Blitzkrieg kit offered 12" to 14" of travel for your 77. I would love to build something up like a Class 4. This thing won SF at Laughlin a while ago. It was awesome to see him hit the jumps.

http://www.desertrides.com/multimedia/photo/score_laughlin04_race/images/laughlin04_race_120.jpg

This is one of the Total Chaos projects...Chaos' website isn't working.

The first attachment is the TC Blazer, Dale White Blazer, Fontana's Solid Axle Class 8 (Baja 1000 winner), and a solid Axle Blazer Prerunner.

There are some more photos of fast solid axle stuff in this thread: http://www.race-dezert.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34102

Fast 4x4 is possible...probably not cheap.

[yotasavg]

if you go with the SFA, you'd better put a PHAT truss under that axle.

[inmymind]

What shortcoarse are you thinking about racing?

[straightaxel]

I didn't know that this thread was still alive. I wasn't thinking of any particular short coursing, just keeping my optionss open if there is a type of SC racing that is sportman, kinda like Rialto used to be.
Thanks all for the info on the SA stuff, keep it coming!!