Desert Truck Advice

TheCarCrazedKid

TheCarCrazedKid

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Hello Offroad Community!

My name is Kyle and I'm huge into any sort of racing and high-performance race cars and trucks. I love any high-performance vehicles and cool looking vehicles. I turned 16 this December and I've been saving all my money since I was about 5 for a car/truck. I go to a CTE school in Las Vegas and I major in Automotive Tech. I have been thinking of building a Baja/Prerunner for my first truck. I am looking at something under 30 grand and something that I can take my friends to have some fun in while showing my love for trucks! I was thinking of a 2004 Chevy Silverado 1500 Z71 extended cab. I was looking for some advice to make my truck comfortable and useable for the road, but also being able to take on any desert jumps or trails that come its way. Thanks for the help and I cant wait to see the responses!
 
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critter81

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TheCarCrazedKid said:
Hello Offroad Community!

My name is Kyle and I'm huge into any sort of racing and high-performance race cars and trucks. I love any high-performance vehicles and cool looking vehicles. I turned 16 this December and I've been saving all my money since I was about 5 for a car/truck. I go to a CTE school in Las Vegas and I major in Automotive Tech. I have been thinking of building a Baja/Prerunner for my first truck. I am looking at something under 30 grand and something that I can take my friends to have some fun in while showing my love for trucks! I was thinking of a 2004 Chevy Silverado 1500 Z71 extended cab. I was looking for some advice to make my truck comfortable and useable for the road, but also being able to take on any desert jumps or trails that come its way. Thanks for the help and I cant wait to see the responses!
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I would stay away from the Chevy's as they use a torsion bar front end it's kind of old school technology. Modifying a coil over front end would be easier and give you better results....
 
michael.gonzalez

michael.gonzalez

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critter81 said:
I would stay away from the Chevy's as they use a torsion bar front end it's kind of old school technology. Modifying a coil over front end would be easier and give you better results....
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1500 uses coil spring suspension FYI. Only the 2500/3500 get torsion bars (and different frames)

2004 cat eye 1500 is a great option.
 
92OCHO

92OCHO

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Look for a project and put your finishing touches on it ....
Ford ranger ............... to start
 
TheCarCrazedKid

TheCarCrazedKid

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I'm grateful for the feedback. I'm now confused about if 1500 has coil overs or not though. At my school, we can custom fabricate, but then I would have to have the other majors come in, which I can do. I was looking at ford rangers and is there one particular I should be looking at? Also, what is the difference between a 2004 Cateye 1500 to a standard Z71? I also am having trouble finding one.
 
michael.gonzalez

michael.gonzalez

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Z71 has some shocks, tires, and maybe a LSD in the rear. Nothing too fancy or really worth looking for over a regular cateye.

For rangers, 2001+ Edge is your best bet for A-arm. ( Ranger Edge has torsions, Ranger XLT has coil springs and buckets which will require extensive frame modification to change to coilovers.
 
TheCarCrazedKid

TheCarCrazedKid

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thank you, I was inspired by BJ Baldwins Silverado. I'm a chevy/ford fan. I don't really have a problem with dodge.. just had past problems with them over the others. I looked at some and I found some rangers and some Silverados. I'm guessing coil-overs are the best kind of suspension for desert racing? I hear a lot about those. I can also fabricate a full-body roll cage and birdcage for suspension at the school. are there different suspension, drivetrain, or wheels i should be looking for?
 
bajafox

bajafox

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Here's a good base to build on

classifieds.race-dezert.com

Ford Raptor Prerunner *SOLD*

2001 Ford Raptor Prerunner This is a great example of a 2001 F-150 upgraded to run in the desert. It is a 2001 f-150 4WD extended cab XLT, this truck comes with air conditioning, tilt wheel, powe...click to see more of this listing
classifieds.race-dezert.com classifieds.race-dezert.com
 
92OCHO

92OCHO

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Check out Auto Fabs web site.... the suspension kits they sell for specific trucks
those specific trucks are the ones I would start with
 
TheCarCrazedKid

TheCarCrazedKid

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The Raptor is my dream truck, and its cool to see someone built one from a 2001 f150. For 14 grand that not bad either. Ill have to look at it some more. I looked at the Auto Fabs website and I should look at the suspension components correct?
 
michael.gonzalez

michael.gonzalez

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TheCarCrazedKid said:
The Raptor is my dream truck, and its cool to see someone built one from a 2001 f150. For 14 grand that not bad either. Ill have to look at it some more. I looked at the Auto Fabs website and I should look at the suspension components correct?
Click to expand...
If you want a raptor, look for a 2004+ F-150 and do a raptor conversion. Can either convert to 1st gen or 2nd gen raptor.
 
wrightracing.net

wrightracing.net

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You had mentioned bringing friends along, so getting a crew cab 2014 F150 4x4 and get the convert it to the Raptor Fox Suspension upgrades and conversion fiberglass from Fiberwerx. That would give you the last year they did the 6.2L V8 motor and right out the door with 411hp and if you add a Rough supercharger upgrade, which was a option, you could get that up to 590HP and 590lb-ft of torque. Try to find an F150 with the factory selectable rear locker, that will save money. Also get limiter straps to save your shocks if you want to jump and get fox hydraulic bump stops. This two things make jumping easier on the truck. To a point, I repeat my previous statement this is not a race truck but you still can have lots of fun in it.

That gives you alot of bang for the buck with a clone Raptor. It's no race truck, but you could take your friends and not totally break the bank if you do most of the work yourself.

Good luck and have fun
 
TheCarCrazedKid

TheCarCrazedKid

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a raptor conversion would be great... this might beat the point of being on a budget, but how do you think I could put full-blown racing shocks on the truck. like the ones on racing prerunners, with like over 30 inches of travel?

like this Raptor deberati, but not hundreds of thousands of dollars
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