2000 Ford F-150 Prerunner - Scary Fast

A prerunning crew of as many as five can take their places in the Renegade Racing buckets. Comfort is on par with the best in the industry, and Simpson harnesses keep occupants in place. FST fabricated the custom floor mounts that hold seats and belts to the cab floor. A full rollcage is in the works and will tie the front and rear suspensions together through the cab. Seat and belt mounts will then be transferred to the in-cab portion of the rollcage.

The factory Ford rearend was stuffed with 5.13 gears and a limited-slip differential. Trucks built purely for the dirt often use spools to lock both rear axleshafts permanently together. This provides ultimate traction when off-road, but leads to difficult steering and accelerated tire wear on the pavement. Since this truck does dual duty on the street and dirt, a limited-slip was deemed the right tool for the job. Heavy gusseting not only braces the rearend against bending under load on whooped-out roads, but also integrates the rear trailing arm and wishbone mounts. When the truck's tail lifts off, dual Beard limit straps protect the shocks during suspension top-out.

The Ford's framerails sit inboard far enough to make pivot-mounting a simple task. No frame-notching or cutting required; just weld the mounts outboard on the frame, and bolt up the trailing arms.

An aluminum race jack rests at the ready behind the Glassworks bedside. If that looks like a propane cylinder behind the fuel cell, that's because it is. If the fuel cell runs dry, the Ford can run on propane to return safely to the pavement.

What does it feel like to ride in a truck like this? Speeds of 50-plus-mph across deep whoops feel as nonchalant as tooling along a dirt road in search of a good fishing hole. The 'runner soaked up the desert mayhem with ease and begged for a heavier throttle foot to be engaged. Since the truck doesn't have the full rollcage, we had to exercise a bit of restraint. Trust us, though. As soon as this truck is fully race-prepped, the hammer will be laid down with reckless abandon.

Our camera caught the custom control arms and fabricated spindle in a rare moment of stillness. Spherical rod ends, aka Heim joints, were used for reliable steering in the rough. The FST spindle configuration places the uniball through-bolts in the control arms rather than in the spindle itself. Thanks to high-misalignment spacers (also called over-extenders), there's plenty of steering angle available for slow-speed maneuvers in traffic on the street.

Feet of suspension travel are all for naught if the truck fails to steer properly. Correct frontend geometry dictated that the idler arm needed a new home with heavy gusseting.

Peering beneath the generous wheel opening of the Glassworks Unlimited fender reveals the rest of the front-suspension story. A trio of Bilstein dampers controls the 20 inches of front suspension travel. A 2-1/2-inch 9100 coilover supports the vehicle weight and assists with damping duty. The 9100 bypass shock situated aside the coilover is the main suspension control device. Different suspension configurations require different shock-mounting locations. Had this been an I-beam setup, the coilover would mount behind the beam, with the bypass shock in front of the beam. The rule of thumb is that the shock responsible for the main damping duties should be mounted farthest away from the pivot point. In this case, mounting both coilover and bypass at equal distances from the bypass shock allows both the coilover and bypass to have equal stroke lengths. Fabricating mounts is easier, too, since the mounting points are now symmetrical. The look is clean and functional. A Bilstein pneumatic bumpstop controls the last 4 inches of compression travel and prevents metal-to-metal contact and shock damage.

This upper wishbone was so cool, we had to wriggle under the truck to snap the image. Since this truck features substantial bump travel, the tube joining the forward edge of the wishbone has been bent into a sweeping curve to clear the driveshaft when the rear wheels stuff deep into the 'glass wheelwells. When the main tubes found their place, equally trick plating filled in between the main tubes. The plating adds strength to the tubular structure. Check out the gusset just above the rear pumpkin. FST burned its logo into the gusset with a CNC laser cutter. Details such as this upper wishbone trickery make this truck a force to be reckoned with in the dirt.

Tie-down straps? We don't need no stinkin' tie-down straps! These FST quick-release clamps held the rear dump cans in place with a viselike grip. Sky shot after sky shot, they dutifully held their position.

In keeping with the front suspension, the rear layout is clean and travel is long. Since rear trailing arms can be much longer than front control arms, rear travel is a whopping 37 inches. FST worked overtime fabricating gussets and tabs that sport flowing lines and are lightened up with go-fast holes. In contrast with the frontend, the coilover sits closer to the suspension pivot, and the bypass is situated a few inches farther toward the rear. Dunbar Spring provided the front and rear coils surrounding the Bilstein 9100s. Mounting the lower shock pivot inside the trailing arm (as opposed to on top) allows the shock to be mounted lower in the chassis and fights the trailing arms' tendency to rotate laterally while cycling up and down.