Factory Five's latest kit? A DIY off-road race truck

alfadriver said:

So with the GRM version of this, anyone thought about taking a Locost chassis and making it off road capable?  

Long travel front and rear suspension?   Oddly enough, the one I worked with uses the same rear suspension design as the Fox Mustang- two long lower trailing arms and two diagonal upper.  

And the core chassis would need beefed up.

But it's not that far off of what it would need to be for a 2wd off road vehicle.

Yes I have. :) A lot of people that saw my frame under construction thought it was some sort of rock buggy. And of course, Atom made the Nomad.

But I'd take the concept more than try to modify the design. Front engine RWD isn't great for off-roading, you don't have the weight on the drive wheels. I'd build a small, light vehicle with a Subaru engine, reversed trans and 4wd. And invariably, I end up at Class 10. 

alfadriver said:

So with the GRM version of this, anyone thought about taking a Locost chassis and making it off road capable?  

Long travel front and rear suspension?   Oddly enough, the one I worked with uses the same rear suspension design as the Fox Mustang- two long lower trailing arms and two diagonal upper.  

And the core chassis would need beefed up.

But it's not that far off of what it would need to be for a 2wd off road vehicle.

I frequently have thoughts along these lines. Rather than start with a traditional Locost and beefing it up and lengthening travel, I've thought about doing more of a buggy design and rolling my own version of something like an Ariel Nomad:

I think that would be an absolute hoot! The other fantasy that crosses my mind from time to time is to take a side by side, find some sort of vintage small car body (with title) to drape over it, register as whatever the car is, and instantly become the focus of the hate of most of the neighborhood, and the envy of an enlightened few in the neighborhood! 

In reply to ae86andkp61 (Forum Supporter) :

I've seen the SxS hat car done with a classic Beetle. 

In reply to Keith Tanner :

If you ever get a chance to see a trophy truck up close, do it.  You will be inspired, quite a bit.  RWD trucks can go really fast over the desert.  Astonishingly fast.  

But to do that, the cost of the shocks will be more than the rest of the truck.  At least as far as I could tell of their capability.

I'm glad I never spent any time looking at classes for smaller engines on the top trucks.  It was bad enough to read a scta-bna rule book for any time.

Who was that guy who built the e30 and actually podium'ed in an open Baja race? 
 

1. what happened to that dude?  

2. The car was awesome and showed what could be done with pretty much anything if you have a tubing bender. 

In reply to Teh E36 M3 :

Bill Caswell

wae said:

In reply to Teh E36 M3 :

Bill Caswell

Yes and I believe it was rally mexico, so not Baja exactly but close.

Robbie (Forum Supporter) said:

wae said:

In reply to Teh E36 M3 :

Bill Caswell

Yes and I believe it was rally mexico, so not Baja exactly but close.

He did rally Mexico first then later was modifying it for baja but I don't know if it ever got done.

According to one of his bios, the first WRC Mexico was in March 2010 and the first Baja 1000 was in Nov 2010.  The car made it 180miles before breaking the steering rack.  He had a spare rack and replaced it, but it was obviously going to break again so he dropped out.  The bio says he entered both again in 2011 but I don't know how those races turned out.