Total Chaos has carved a niche as a producer of high-quality bolt-on long-travel suspension kits for Toyotas and Nissans. Shown is the Tacoma kit, which fits six-lug Prerunner models and four-wheel-drive Tacomas. Do TC kits work? Dan Vance bolted one on his 2WD Prerunner-class pickup and proceeded to take the 2003 MDR 1450 class championship, one race at a time.
Scott Douglas brought his Rancho F-150 CORR Pro-4 racer out to meet the fans. Since CORR is still a Midwest series, most of the nation must tune into Speed Channel to catch the action. Compared with a Trophy Truck, a Pro-4 is set up with a lower and wider stance for superior cornering. Front suspension usually ranges around 2 feet or more on a Trophy Truck, but is reined in to about 18 inches on a Pro-4. Big horsepower and a few hundred feet of TIG-welded 4130 chrome-moly chassis tubing are common to both truck types. The Rancho Pro-4 F-150 uses a custom front differential mounted dead center and custom CV shafts to drive the front wheels.
A wide stance and a low center of gravity are also advantages for those on the polar opposite of the speed spectrum. Jon Bundrant's buggy, dubbed Tiny for obvious reasons, has been a dominant entry on the pro rockcrawling circuit. The tube chassis is a one-off build by Jon Nelson of Nelson and Nelson Racing to Bundrant's specifications. The drivetrain is a bizarre blend that is ideally suited to the task; an air-cooled VW motor feeds into a GM Powerglide transmission, through an Atlas II T-case, and finally to Ford 9-inch axles. Yes, the brand combo is odd, but the configuration is the big news: The motor is rear-mounted and faces forward. As such, the drivetrain rotates opposite of normal. To get Tiny moving in the correct direction, the 9-inch axles are flipped - flipped as in upside down.
B.K. Fabworks' Class 7 Toyota usually has too much dust and velocity to get a good look at. The Expo gave fans an opportunity to see Number 700 while it was clean and still. Barry Karakas spent three-and-a-half years building the metallic work of art, which features a long-travel four-link rear suspension and handmade control arms up front, which cycle 21 inches of travel. High-quality fab work, as seen on this TIG-welded dimple-died entry step, is par for the course.