Prepping for an Ultra4 event - what is required.

[napsta]

I thought I'd put something up about what goes into prepping the buggy for an Ultra4 event for those that are interested. It's a pretty big effort.

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A month ago we raced in Utah where the car got pretty beaten up on the intense short course. Straight after that we put the car back into KOH style setup as our next race is the Stampede which is a mix between rocks and high speed desert. We then went out and ran the car for two days playing with suspension setups and working out any bugs from the last race. Then it was into the shop and time to tear the buggy down. These photos are from the 3rd weekend of prep.

We start by removing all the panels, seats, skip plate and wheels. Then the buggy is cleaned as best as possible and then wiped down. Wiping it down helps me identify any small cracks in the frame. I will especially inspect the link mounts and axle housings. After Utah our front housing was bent in two places and had some cracks in the link mounts so we took it off and sent it out to get fixed.

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[napsta]

Essentially we pull every moving part and inspect it, service it if required and replace it. The alternator was pull and replaced with a new one. Same with the Howe steering pump. The old pump has been sent to Howe for a rebuild and will be our spare during the race. A new filter was put on the steering reservoir and fresh fluids all round.

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The shocks were sent back to King where they were completely rebuilt and serviced so as to be in top condition. I just got them back this weekend:

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New heims were fitted where they were found to be loose or worn:

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[napsta]

We then pulled the pan on the transmission and not liking what we found the decision was made to pull the transmission and have it rebuilt. This turned into a very lucky decision as the output shaft was nicely twisted:

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Here's our Atlas waiting to go back in:

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[napsta]

Then we stripped down the rear housing. We've been having problems with stripping threads in the bolts that hold the 3rd member in, so wayne did some plating on the housing and also fixed a crack he found:

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Here's the rear third member out of the buggy. It's a Ford 9 inch with a 40 spline spool. 4:11 gear set with the 35 spline pinion. It will get new seals and an inspection to make sure the backlash and patterns are still right. We would normally check the ring gear bolts, but now we have fitted the locking bridges from AllTech we have not had an issue. This has taken several racers out this year so it's great not to have to worry about it.

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[napsta]

In the rear of the buggy we run 40 spline axles. Here's a picture of them next to a toyota. We check all the axles and shafts to ensure that there are no twisted or damaged shafts. We also inspect grease the drive shaft U joints and CTMs in the front axle.

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Fuel has been a huge learning curve as rock crawlers turn into high speed race cars. We've been improving and improving and here is our current set up. After this race I am moving to an in tank setup, but we are waiting to ensure we have adequate test time on the new system rather than installing it right before the race. I always try and minimise any major changes in the month before the race.

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Below the fuel cell at the rear are dual accumulation tanks. The fuel then goes through the blue pre filters and then the long thin silver pumps. Then there is a post filter and then into the regulator. One pump is on all the time with the second pump able to be switched on from inside the car should the first fail.

You can also see the size of the radiator and also the fans required to keep this car cool.

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[sloshy]

Interesting read

[Giggles83]

Nice working thread. Interesting to know were and what are areas of attention in this sport.

How's standings for the series?

[bru21]

Nice read, thanks. It seems trasmissions are always a problem, its funny that all these cars, right through to tt and drag all run essentially crap 1960's boxes. In any Baja event many guys fail through their 20k+ prepped th400s etc. Does anyone run a 6l90e over there? I'm leaning towards this box for better clutches and improved torque rating. I still cannot find a manual kit for them though. I just find it funny that if you run a class1 you can buy a custom box off the shelf, but there is nothing (i can find) for tt, ultra4's etc. Out of interest who built your trans and what work has been done?

Thanks for sharing,

cheers bru

[napsta]

Currently I'm 2nd in the series. I really want to win this next race though. It's the Stampede where I came 3rd last year.

Bru, there's a heap done to my transmission, but at the end of the day it's a small one (4L60). The buggy is built around it so there's no getting away from it right now. There's lots of talk on what is the best option and everyone has a different opinion. Depending on how much $$$$$ you have you can have everything done custom. That's not me. I have upgraded clutches, pumps, some porting and some upgraded parts such as the sprag bearing. I'm no expert so I can't list everything, but we've done as much as possible. The shaft that twisted was a chromoly part. Keeping them cool is the key to make them live. Also filling them up after you roll helps!

[RED60]

Thanks for the info here NAPSTA..... hope you keep doing well and take top spot in the Stampede

[SIM79]

Currently I'm 2nd in the series.

Well done and good luck.

[zukIzzy]

Ben you are forgetting the hours on the phone chasing parts that will be done and to you last week, and the endless sponsor search which we could not do this without them and ........well I don't type that fast

Wayne

[zukIzzy]

Nice read, thanks. It seems trasmissions are always a problem, its funny that all these cars, right through to tt and drag all run essentially crap 1960's boxes. In any Baja event many guys fail through their 20k+ prepped th400s etc. Does anyone run a 6l90e over there? I'm leaning towards this box for better clutches and improved torque rating. I still cannot find a manual kit for them though. I just find it funny that if you run a class1 you can buy a custom box off the shelf, but there is nothing (i can find) for tt, ultra4's etc. Out of interest who built your trans and what work has been done?

Thanks for sharing,

cheers bru

There are several 4l80E and 6l80/90E running in cars but it has been proven time and again Keep It Simple Stupid is the way for desert racing and U4.

Class ones may have a spec built mendi/fortin whatever but if you ever race one the maintenance cost will have you wanting a T400 fast. We never saw a bill less then $2500 per teardown and there was always something broken CVs especially. their service life is 1500 race miles between inspections. some guys go more between but for the total cost of racing a broken part that could have been found during prep can cost $10,000 if you figure the total cost.

Cheers Wayne

[Black Bull]

Some good info there guys, thanks for sharing

[Giggles83]

Just watched the valley of kings ben. How much you get payed for being the feature presenter?