Here are some pictures from Reeve’s Racing Photos:
Hit The Ground Running- TT250
We have always wondered how the other trucks could drive by us so fast. We have tried to win races for 5 years in our old black truck but 3rd was the best we could ever do. However, we did win at least 12 races in 3rd place. It is now up to us, this truck can place 1st. Our new truck was built from the ground up to race in the desert. Our name for this project was Solid Ground and we are hoping to build a future for Lost Boys Racing with this truck.
Stewart was to drive the first lap, I would drive the next, and Derek the third. Stewart had the most time during testing and had worked on the truck for 4 months. I had less than 5 minutes and Derek now living in Colorado was just seeing it completed for the first time. Soon after we started I realized that it would be better to leave Stewart in as driver for at least two laps. The truck is a handful, not because it hard to drive but because everything now happens twice as fast as we’re used to. There is a little body roll that got worse on the 2nd lap (we may have broke the torsion bar.) The way the 4.5 liter engine was set made it drive like a 2-stroke. The torque was only there after the engine cleared and you are on the pipe. The power hits like a turbo with a little lag.
The course was short and hard. Lots of turns, 20 miles of rocks, and with no GPS we missed one or two turns… OK maybe more like ten. We hit the core track full speed. Just like two kids in a candy store we were bounces off the walls. We hit each jump as full speed but could not turn while breaking into the corners. Our lack of skill and the rear spool drove us high up into the turns only to stall the truck. It even gets worse… on the third jump we slid sideways into the berm almost rolling the truck sitting still! We think this was filmed by a helicopter by Sopwith Motor Sports and live on the net. Maybe we’ll make the TV series.
We completed one lap passing at least four 7200 trucks including Certified, even after changing a flat and correcting a power steering problem. We fueled at the main pit and took on only 11 gallons. We started the race with 60 gallons in our 80 gallon tank. Our goal at that point was to make it through the rocks and past where we got our first flat. We got down to the rocky canyon and hit the flat ground as fast as we could but just before the checkpoint our trannie locked up and filled out skid plate with fluid. After a couple of quick checks on the linkage we could not find anything wrong and were done for the day.
Great fun! The truck drove better than we expected. Sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll ain’t got nothing on off-road racing.
Harder Than I Thought
Before I get started I need to thank everyone who helped Lost Boys Racing get ready for the race. The truck as it sits now represents a total of over 4 years in the making. It was started by Dave Clark and Kyle Taylor. I purchased the truck about 6 months ago. And within a few days I knew I needed help. So, I asked the owner of Wicked Sand Toys to help. He didn’t have time because he was getting rails ready for Glamis; building one and finishing others. But all this would soon change. The economy came to a halt last December and he was looking for work. We agreed on an hourly rate and they began full time on the truck on January 5, 2009. Stewart also went to work at Wicked and this would be his new home for 4 months.
I picked up the truck 3 weeks ago. Rolling but not ready to go. After 4 days of prep and final wiring we were ready to start the engine. It wouldn’t fire. I made a major mistake. I added contaminated fuel from one of our race jugs. I changed all the filters and drained the complete fuel system and started over with new VP 110. It fired first time. Lots of leaks but we fixed everything quickly.
Our first test run was down Menifee Ave. and everything looked good see the video in the last post. The second test run we took the truck to an old housing tract down the street. It ran good and was really fast but we pulled the brake lines out of the rear calipers. Well, it looked like the rear arms hit the brake fittings and smashed the adapters. After 8 hours we got the calipers relocated to the top of the rotors and we tried again. Everything worked well so we called Brett at King’s Shocks and set up testing in Barstow.
On Wednesday, April 15th, 3 days before the race it was 35 degrees and 30 mph winds at 10am in Barstow and time to test the shocks. After five passes and a couple of changes things seemed to be on the right track that was until the trannie went out. We loaded up the truck and hit the road. I called Mogi from the road as we got on the freeway. And we were told that they needed it in the shop the same day in order to get it fixed. It was 1pm and we were since in Barstow and he wanted the trans out of the truck and in his shop in Riverside by 4pm. At 3:55pm we delivered the broken trans and Ken said he would have it fixed by 4pm the next day. Instead he stayed late that night and machined new parts and completed the repairs by 9am. Now it was our turn. We checked everything, reinstalled the trans, and were ready to race by 8:30pm and could probably make Vegas by 1 or 2 in the morning.
I need to thank King’s Shocks for set-up. Stewart Dixon, Jeff McCullough, and Butch for testing in Barstow. Kurt Mantwell for helping in the shop. Mogi Transmission in Riverside for awesome service. Shawn and Ronnie from Wicked Sand Toys in Riverside. This is just a small example of what it takes to get ready to race in a truck like ours. I will post a couple of completion photos and a complete update to Terrible Town’s 250 later this week.
We are no comtemplating entering Vegas to Reno: The Long Way. The dates of this race are August 19th-23rd. Here’s the catch though… we need one sponsor to cover fuel costs. More info to follow.
Getting Closer
After two straight weeks of hurdles we are able to post our first test run. This is far more complicated than we ever imagined. With each problem that we solve it seems to create a new one. The time involved with a truck like this is incredible. Don’t ever ask me to put down on paper what we’ve spent. Attention to detail is the key to producing a truck like this. We’ve done the best we can and hope that the rest of the testing goes well.
Lost Boys Racing 