anyone ever autocross/road race their truck?

[munroe]

has anyone road raced or auto crossed their truck? i just read an article about the trans am series coming back online and it got me thinking about this

[BusinessProfessor]

munroe

Interesting idea!!! I always thought that this type of racing would be fun and within the scope of enthusiast's budgets. Perhaps a new craze a la 'drifting'?

[Restrorob]

Originally Posted by BusinessProfessor

Perhaps a new craze a la 'drifting'?

I just don't get anything out of watching a bunch of rice burners smokin tires around a track.

BUT, A bunch of good ole American pick-um-up trucks doin it sounds like something worth watching.

[tvblazer78]

I have not but I love this pic!

[spr85gmc]

Originally Posted by tvblazer78

I have not but I love this pic!

that truck is sick ...........

[rod86]

.... would be fun to have a truck built just for tarmac driving events...

[munroe]

ive been thinking about this for a while. if anyone is into the old trans am series racing, thats where i got the idea. of course these trucks wouldnt handle like an old challenger or a camaro geared up for the track. but with a well thought out suspension setup, some sway bars and a good wheel tire combo it bet it could be a damn fun time. a short bed or step side with a 327 and a four speed ir 5 speed, 4/5 inch lowering and a set of 16 or 17 by 8 and 10 inch wheels is what i have in mind for a setup.

[Cherub]

Oversteer would be your worst enemy. With the back end being so light every turn the back would walk around on you. I would concentrate on centering the weight on the vehicle. move the engine back some, gas tank and battery in the rear.

[tvblazer78]

Originally Posted by Cherub

Oversteer would be your worst enemy. With the back end being so light every turn the back would walk around on you. I would concentrate on centering the weight on the vehicle. move the engine back some, gas tank and battery in the rear.

This is true, that would help a lot..

[munroe]

a fuel cell and battery box over the rearend would help. anyone know the weight distribution of a short bed? i doubt its anywhere 50/50, or even 60/40. im going to look at an 87 short bed to replace the long bed i have now. definitly not going to be my daily driver, but i will want to keep it verry streetable for my summer fun toy.

[Wild83C10]

I actually plan on running some road courses hopefully next year. I'm looking to run 11s in the 1/4 then switch my back tires and do some corner carving. Suspension plans:
C4 DM
trailing arm conversion
shockwaves all around
I have already shifted some weight to the rear. I'm right around 3700 lbs now and hope to be closer to 3400 by next year @ about a 55-45 weight distribution. The C4 stuff is aluminum and a lot lighter then the C-10 stuff.

[munroe]

Originally Posted by Wild83C10

I actually plan on running some road courses hopefully next year. I'm looking to run 11s in the 1/4 then switch my back tires and do some corner carving. Suspension plans:
C4 DM
trailing arm conversion
shockwaves all around
I have already shifted some weight to the rear. I'm right around 3700 lbs now and hope to be closer to 3400 by next year @ about a 55-45 weight distribution. The C4 stuff is aluminum and a lot lighter then the C-10 stuff.

3400 pounds, thats not bad. id like to see where weight can be cut out of these trucks . the only thing i dont want to do is gut the interior, thats one of the things o love the most about them, i was looking at a set of corbeau seats and seat rails,

[Wild83C10]

Right now the way mine sits it has a weight distro of 58/42. That is with a 20 gal aluminum fuel cell sitting just behind the rear end and a battery box in the front pass. corner of the bed. I have a full interior with dynomat, but no power anything. I have an aluminum radiator but I also have DJM tubular control arms which are probably heavier then the stock CAs. I removed some weight by pulling everything our of the engine compartment thats not needed. Ditching the stock fuel tanks helped, not sure where else I saved some weight though.

[tvblazer78]

Wild83C10

Post some pics of this thing, I would like to see it..

[killthewabbit]

I always wondered how the trucks were set up in the race in bigblock73's avatar:



Sorry to beat a dead horse, but the thing I don't like about drifting is that winning is subjective. It's like extreme sports and skateboarding - probably more fun to do than to watch.

[stepside85]

Originally Posted by killthewabbit

I always wondered how the trucks were set up in the race in bigblock73's avatar:



Sorry to beat a dead horse, but the thing I don't like about drifting is that winning is subjective. It's like extreme sports and skateboarding - probably more fun to do than to watch.

I'd like to see more of these pics.

[tymbom]

If you go to 73-87chevy.com and look under the information heading, there is a circle track article that the picture is from. Right click, save as... I look at it about once a week.

[andrewmp6]

Some oval tracks use to have a truck class the one here use to do mini stock which was all the small trucks.Anything can handle with enough time and money tho.

[LBJ]

When I had two C5 Corvettes back around 1999 - 2004, I auto-X'd with the local BMW club. Talk about fun. If you haven't tried it, you need to. Watching from the sidelines won't get it. You need to get out in the right seat with a good driver and feel the rush.

I took a lady out one Sat to spend the day auto-x'ing. She went ONE time with me on the runs and then said "it looked a lot slower from the pits." Point is, it's about a million times more exciting than the 1/4 mile. Hell, anyone can blow down the strip. Auto-x'ing requires real driving skills and you get better every time out. You only race yourself and damage to your car is just about zero.

As far as trucks on the course, I once saw a guy with a Ford "something" that was a special edition with big engine and all the trim. May have been a Cyclone or something like that. Lightning? Forgot the name. But the point is that after he was thru fooling around on the course, his brakes were practically on fire! Smoke was coming from the brakes very noticeably.

I suppose you could set one up to auto-X but your money would be better spent on a used Corvette C5 which should be gotten for a reasonable price these days.

This is a bit more than you wanted to know, but might as well hear what I had to say cause I been there done that. <grin>

[Wild83C10]

I don't have any recent pics and I haven't done any of the work that was listed above. The suspension as it is now has DJM control arms, cut springs, QA1 adjustable shocks for the front. The rear is a spring flip, with the overload leaf removed and a 1-1.5" drop shackle and caltrac bars. The front sits a bit lower now then it did in the pics below. I originally had a 2"drop spring in the front, but that was just two stiff and I didn't like the way it rode.

[Wild83C10]

LBJ,

Your right anyone can go down the 1/4. Hell, anyone can go around a road course too.
However, if you want to be good at either one you need some driving skills.

[aggie91]

I autocrossed by 65 back in college a few times, it was a ton of fun. Even though it handled like a turd, I knew that I could fix that.

If you have the chance to do it, go for it!!

I was at the Good Guys show in the Texas Motor Speedway this past weekend and there was a few trucks out givin' it a shot on the autocross.

[LiveAnimals]

Huge Truck Drifting

YouTube - Drift Truck

Another...

YouTube - Sisu Truck drift

I'm going to defend the rice burner drift qoute from above. I actually enjoy the idea of controled chaos. A lot of the drift champions dont even drive "Rice Burners" here are a few....






Got off track of the post a bit, its the same as when I take a turn in my p/u and whip it to the side a bit just for the fun of it.

[tymbom]

I built this truck for circle track but never got to run it because the rules kept changing and that meant more money. I have since bought a '79 to keep on the street with the intention of running it in Auto-X, road courses, and Hillclimbs (the paved kind, not Pikes Peak). It will be a weekend cruiser and track toy. I know there is better ways to get around the track, but I just love Chevy trucks.

[bad_burb]

Originally Posted by tymbom

I built this truck for circle track but never got to run it because the rules kept changing and that meant more money. I have since bought a '79 to keep on the street with the intention of running it in Auto-X, road courses, and Hillclimbs (the paved kind, not Pikes Peak). It will be a weekend cruiser and track toy. I know there is better ways to get around the track, but I just love Chevy trucks.

Alright, we need to see more of this.


I have also been kicking around the idea of an Auto-X truck. It would be nice to see a truck out there in a car dominated sport.