Mexican 1000 Truck Build - The Beer Hauler

[bajaxp]

Well the journey began a while back, but the fun started today. I finally got my hands on my new NORRA race truck. I started out looking to buy a mid-70's to early 80's buggy to rebuild and race the Mexican 1000 in , but...I couldn't find what I was looking for. Actually I couldn't find anything even close to what I was looking for.

So after a long time looking, I got a PM from a cool guy here on RDC who said he had an old pre-runner/race truck with unknown lineage. A 1973 F100. I wasn't really looking for a truck but the pics looked cool and the best part is that the truck is original and wasn't all hacked up. It is actually a runner. I asked around and...not sure but we think it is the ex Michael Gaughan pre-runner, built or at least re-built by Walker Evans Racing way back when...but again, not sure.

Sooo...we are getting the band back together to rebuild and race this truck. Our small group of nutty friends, that I affectionately call the 'Baja Bobsled Team (BBT),' had a very successful season racing with BITD last year and we want to do it again with this truck with NORRA.

The BBT think that we have a pretty good plan for tires, wheels, shocks, fuel cell, seats, restraints, engine/tranny/driveline/rear end, lights, paint/graphics, etc. But this could change. Electrical will be a challenge. We have some sponsors lined up, and I will highlight them as they get on board or as their product gets finished on the truck. The first sponsor I want to call out it Bar-T Equipment in Phoenix Arizona. Kenny Bartee has been exceptionally helpful and generous and super-wrench Jason Spiess will be taking the Beer Hauler from 'Pile to Wild.'

So there you go and let the fun begin. Here is a pic of the truck on the trailer at Kroyer's shop today and one from the previous owner. Woot...woot!

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[swu chase1]

looks like a JD brag truck

[Mark Stahl]

Hey BBT, it looks like you've got a really good start. I look foward to following your build and watching some else do all the work. If I can be any help with info let me know and I look foward to seeing you in Baja next year.

[Petepecas]

Classic!

[560bajamike]

Looks like a great platform to start with.

Mike

[7D6F250]

i'd love to see this truck in person, i' seen the other threads on this truck. looks like a fun build!

[Quailhunter]

Thanks for getting that truck back to California. That truck is a solid platform for a NORRA truck (Runs strong). I thought I had bought that truck but Rick in Utah had beat me to the punch. Anywho have fun and keep us posted.

[bajaxp]

Hey BBT, it looks like you've got a really good start. I look foward to following your build and watching some else do all the work. If I can be any help with info let me know and I look foward to seeing you in Baja next year.

Thanks everyone for the kind words. The truck got picked up from Kroyer's on Wednesday and arrived at the shop yesterday morning. I think Super Wrench Jason about fainted when he saw the truck and all of the work ahead of us.
But he went through the 'Five Stages of Grief' pretty quickly:
1. Denial - 'What truck, what zip ties holding the grill on? If I cover my eyes I can't see the problem.'
2. Anger - 'Who is the dip chit who bought this truck and got me into this whole mess?'
3. Bargaining - 'Maybe I will start working on it in a few weeks. Hey if you are putting new Walker wheels on it can I have the Centerlines for my Jeep?'
4. Depression - 'I am so sad about this phaquinng truck...FML.'
5. Acceptance - 'Hey this truck isn't so bad after all. It looks like a solid platform for our vintage re-build. I can't wait for the 2013 NORRA Mexican 1000.
Woot...woot.'

Haha

Mr Stahl, thank you for offering up some advice. I do have a few quick questions for you. Are you happy with the Speedway floating rear hubs? How big is your fuel cell and are you happy with size of it? Where is your fuel cell mounted (I can't tell from the Dirt Sports pics). Are you running stock front hubs and did you drill them out to accept 5/8" lug studs? Are you running a single battery? Any and all help, questoins or comments, will be much appreciated. Thanks everyone.

[Mark Stahl]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. The truck got picked up from Kroyer's on Wednesday and arrived at the shop yesterday morning. I think Super Wrench Jason about fainted when he saw the truck and all of the work ahead of us.
But he went through the 'Five Stages of Grief' pretty quickly:
1. Denial - 'What truck, what zip ties holding the grill on? If I cover my eyes I can't see the problem.'
2. Anger - 'Who is the dip chit who bought this truck and got me into this whole mess?'
3. Bargaining - 'Maybe I will start working on it in a few weeks. Hey if you are putting new Walker wheels on it can I have the Centerlines for my Jeep?'
4. Depression - 'I am so sad about this phaquinng truck...FML.'
5. Acceptance - 'Hey this truck isn't so bad after all. It looks like a solid platform for our vintage re-build. I can't wait for the 2013 NORRA Mexican 1000.
Woot...woot.'

Haha

Mr Stahl, thank you for offering up some advice. I do have a few quick questions for you. Are you happy with the Speedway floating rear hubs? How big is your fuel cell and are you happy with size of it? Where is your fuel cell mounted (I can't tell from the Dirt Sports pics). Are you running stock front hubs and did you drill them out to accept 5/8" lug studs? Are you running a single battery? Any and all help, questoins or comments, will be much appreciated. Thanks everyone.

BBT, The Speedway Eng. floater is a good peice to work with. They have two types of floating rear ends. One is what is called their Super Speedway model that is used in all NASCAR Stock Cars with one large inner bearing and one smaller outer bearing. The other is what they call their Short Track style floater. It has two large bearings that are spaced closer together than the SS model. My truck came with the Short Track style floater with 31 spline axles with the center section offset so that both axles are the same length. I can carry one spare axle to fit both sides. I have the same rear end in my prerunner that is the same width and offset center section. We run a Nodular Iron third member with a Detroit Locker so I have a good selection of gears from all my stock car stuff. If your truck has either floater you should be good to go.
My fuel cell is a Fuel Safe cell that we can pull 37 gallons out of. It is mounted between the back of the rear end housing and the rear frame rail. If you check out my restoration thread on Shop-Show and Tell you can see my entire build.
My front hubs and spindles are stock F100s. All the wheel studs in the truck are 11/16 " because they will fit in your wheels with no play to center the wheels because the wheels that are avalable have a 4-1/4 " center hole to fit 4 wheel drive so they won't register on a 1/2 ton hub. I am contemplating changing to 1 ton beams and spindles that use a 1 inch king pin with Cone Hubs. The outer stub on a 1/2 ton spindle is about as big as one wheel stud.
I have dual batteries, carry two spare tires and other spare parts and tools in the bed for traction.
When I got my truck the grille and many other things were held on with zip ties. Your truck looks alot more complete than mine when I got it. Plus I had to just about redo everything. It was a lot of work but I'm really proud of the finished product and it's a blast to drive. My plan was to hit it hard at the start and have everything done with some time to shake down the truck before the race. Never happened. I got about 30 pavement miles and about 10 minutes of offroading before the race.
Good luck and I'll stay tuned.

[Lifeflight]

Ok, here's a long shot. My McPherson pre-runner was built by Randy Fortrune back in 1980 for Jeff. Well let me tell you by looking at your back cage i can tell you it's an exact copy of mine. So maybe, just maybe he's the one who built yours also.