Gordons Well "Go Fast Car" Testing and Pics 11-10-06!!

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Well, i finally got the chance to pilot a 450hp Baja Race Car!!!

A good friend of mine built this thing from SCRATCH over the last 3 years. Its basically a SCORE Class 1 car with sand tires on it for the dunes!

Every single inch of this tube, aluminum sheeting, wiring, everything was done by hand over the last 3 years by one guy (27 years old mind you).

I was very fortunate to get about 30 minutes of seat time in and put the pedal down.

450hp + 2500lb Chassis + 22" Of Travel F&R = Silly Fast Whoop Soaking Beast!

Its been over 24 hours and i am still grinning ear to ear!

Even at speeds over 90mph in the bumps this thing handles likes its on a rail!

Here are some pics!

The Beast

Sand Car "vs" Race Car

Nick (owner/builder)

Me

Me On Cloud Nine!

 

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[Grim Reaper]

I need to move out of here and get out west....you guys have too much fun.

I was wondering what he was running to make that sort of power till I saw that LSI hanging in there.

What transmision is that? Only tranny I can think of simular to that is the 914 Porsche.

 

[Scott Brady]

Awesome Kevin

If your schedule allows, maybe you will be able to come do some pre-running with me as we set up the Yota in the CA deserts.

 

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What transmision is that? Only tranny I can think of simular to that is the 914 Porsche.

Its a Fortin Sequential (no clutch needed) 5 Speed Transaxle unit. Cost is around $9-12k depending on setup. My friend used to install motors for Fortin so he got a smoking deal! Info here: http://www.fortinracing.com/transaxles.html The gears are "Straight Cut" so they are loud as hell, buts if a nice sound!

Anyone wondering why the name Fortin sounds familiar, Doug Fortin Jr. was the guy who won the 2003 Baja 1000 in Dust to Glory. Nick did a lot of tube work on that car.

Most of the 1 cars in SCORE use this (or a similar setups). They can handle up to 900hp (updated from the previous 550hp) and shift smooth as butter even when you dont fully let off the gas, trust me, i know!

It was very forgiving for a newb like me and i felt like a pro driving it. :smiley_drive:

I must note that i am very thankful to my friend Nick, that trusted me with the car, and I was able to have a ride of a lifetime that will be hard to top!

This unit was installed backwards to get the engine in front of the rear axle for better weight distribution.

The really trick part of this tranny is the PTO Powersteering pump that runs off of the back of it:

(only downside is that when you use the clutch you have no power steering, solution = DONT use the clutch, hence Sequential )

 

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If your schedule allows, maybe you will be able to come do some pre-running with me as we set up the Yota in the CA deserts.

Sure thing, just let me know!

 

[adventureduo]

Sweet dude!

So whats the difference between the race car and sand rail? What is the race rig being raced in? Desert? Looks like its for sand.

Very bitchen though.:beer:

 

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So whats the difference between the race car and sand rail?

The sand rail is very sand oriented and has MUCH lighter duty parts, much thinner tubing, much lighter, rear engine for wheelies (its a sand thing), very light duty steering components, seats 5, very cush riding but it will not take a moderate-serious beating.

What is the race rig being raced in? Desert? Looks like its for sand.

It was built for prerunning baja (but could be raced in the sportsmans class if he wanted to) and it does an amazing job down there. Everything was built 2-3x heavier then it needed to be so its super stout and reliable.

He built it for Baja but a lot of his friends are "Duners" so he brings it there too and kicks some serious butt in most of the stuff!

The 800hp Twin Turbo LS1 Flour Orange/Chrome Sand Machines will take it on the big comp hills but no sand car can catch this thing in the whooped out technical sections or the bowls! Several tried and i was lucky enough to co-dog while he took them to school :smiley_drive:

Great all around rig that is truely a "Dual Sport" :smiley_drive:

 

[adventureduo]

Sweet! didnt even think about the lightness/heavy factor. Makes sense man.

 

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Sweet! didnt even think about the lightness/heavy factor. Makes sense man.

If you take a close look at some of those sand cars running 800+hp Twin Turbo LS1 Motors, it would HORRIFY you to see how light duty some of the components are! We saw several that were running STOCK VW steering units! :Wow1:

Of course, some are very nicey done and serious, but the majority were scary! :Wow1:

 

[blupaddler]

VERY NICE!!!

Looks like you had a "little" bit of fun.

:jump:

 

[blupaddler]

Dooood!

What were you doing up at 215AM!!!

 

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What were you doing up at 215AM!!!

Good catch! To quote the great Scott Brady:

"I guess i can sleep when i'm dead!"

Honestly, i still havent come down from the Adrenaline rush!

Between the car testing Thursday and Friday and the 150mile ride i did in the dirt on my bike yesterday i am still all amped up.

Got home from the desert at 1am, took a nap from 1am to 5am, woke up and rode the bike in the dirt from 8am until 3 pm, ate lunch at a biker bar and rested from 3pm-5pm, came home and crashed from 5pm-8pm, went and saw Borat, crapped my pants laughing so hard*, came home, changed said crapped pants, went and got mexican food and then got online until 4am or so getting the pics up then slept from 5am-7am! I think i will try to go to sleep now!

Also, NICE QUOTE ROBB!! Nacho is my IDOL!

* I didnt really crap my pants, but DAMN is that movie funny!

Few pics from the bike ride:

YOURS TRULY

 

[+ d]

:smiley_drive:

Yeah! That's a good way to spend a Friday afternoon!

(Are you hooked Kevin? You can't afford another toy!!!)

 

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:smiley_drive:

Yeah! That's a good way to spend a Friday afternoon!

yeah, new job schedule is working out quite well! Cant complain, life is good!

(Are you hooked Kevin? You can't afford another toy!!!)

HA! Hooked on the fun? YES! Even thinking about buying/buidling one, NO!

I dont have the skills or the patience to take on a build like this. He has over 3 years of labor and 75k in PARTS/Materials only invested into this thing!

I will settle for a once/twice a year outing!