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Race-Dezert.com’s next stop on its industry shop tour was down in Santee, CA at Stewarts Raceworks.

Stewarts Raceworks is owned and operated by Craig Stewart (son of off road icon Ivan Stewart).

Craig has over 25 years of experience in offroad racing and fabrication. He opened Stewarts Raceworks in 1995 along with his wife Sherrie. Craig had a large hand in the development of the very successful Protruck class over the early years.  To this day you can still find Protrucks being prepped in the shop.

One of Raceworks customers who has enlisted their services is the TSCO team of Mark and Gary Weyhrich. They have a new Jimco TT which is currently being prepped at the Raceworks facility.

Raceworks is now well-known for its top of the line luxury prerunners it has built for some of the biggest and fastest names in off road. Each of these prerunners starts out at a CAD drawing and is then turned into a real life product. Currently they are working on a pair of Raptor prerunners which will once again set the industry standard for luxury. Stay tuned for a full photo shoot as soon as they are completed.

In addition to building custom one-off products, Stewarts also has a few new items they have designed that will fit your project.

The Rear End Skid Plate.  Fits most applications. Built using .250 thick material helps protects your housing from getting damaged in rough off road environments. Powder coat finish keeps the underside of your rig clean and looking good.

Another products that Raceworks is currently producing is their new Sun Visor. A necessity for any off road vehicle. Fits easily to your tube chassis. Poly carbonate visor will resist most obstacles it will come up against. Spring loaded slid keeps visor locked in position.

Perhaps one of their most well-known products is their jack mount kit for the Craftsman jack. In addition to their 2 ton model they now offer a 3 ton jack mount kit. Featuring a quick release spring latch which makes for easy operation and short removal time. Aluminum pan securely mounts to your vehicle for clean, finished look. Kit comes complete with spring-loaded holders to secure jack handle to vehicle.

If you would like any more information about any of the prep services, custom luxury prerunner, or any of the products seen above please contact Stewarts Raceworks by visiting their website:

http://www.stewartsraceworks.com



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Photos by: MWilson Photography and RCH Designs

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When Belden started his venture building the ultimate prerunner in 1991 he would never have thought owning the head-turner he drives now. A couple of weeks ago we had an opportunity to meet the owner behind this nice 1968 Chevrolet shortbed truck. It turned out that Belden bought a lowered sleeper truck with a straight six and 3 speed manual in 1991. The price was right and the title changed owners. Right away Belden thought about off-road and swapped the front suspension in favor of a ’87 Chevy stock a-arm unit running big-block springs, Rancho 9000 shocks all the way around and 1 ton coil in the rear. Keep in mind that the ’68 Chevy ½ tons came with coil springs and some form of 4 link in the rear. The stock sixer engine and tranny went out the door to be replaced by a 350-v8 and th350 combo. This setup served for various preruns and general playing in the desert until late 1995 when it was time to step up. This is when the truck shaped to what it is today.

Garry Keller with Tubular Motorsports fabricated the gage bumper to bumper, the huge center mounted a-arms in the front and the entire interior in one 4 month shot. Since the stock rear suspension used every inch of its travel the stock panhard bar offered a very unpredictable ride. The rear axle kept moving sideways. This called for an upgrade and a proven 62” leaf spring replaced the stock. To save weight and make room for the now wider front suspension fiber was needed, but where do you get ’68 glass fenders when everyone out there runs Rangers? Belden teamed up with a friend that was in the same situation and spend the coin to make molds. The Hood is an off the shelf item. At this point it has all the goodies every good prerunner should have. It reads like the who is who off racing parts manufacture. We’ll spare you the details right now, simply read the spec sheet below.

In December of 1999 Belden performed the latest upgrade. To keep up with the powerful front suspension the rear needed to get upgraded. Dana Cote at RAW Motorsports of Temecula, CA set our lucky Owner up with a nice 3 link suspension. A 40 spline Cone rear axle is what transfers the power to the ground

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Belden Alivio’s prerunner can be seen at various MDR races since he chases for Pechansky Brothers Racing and S+S Motorsports. Look him up to say hello and check this bad puppy out up close and personal.

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