Riding the 'Rail
Keeping up with a Titan across the sand is no easy feat, which is the exact reason for Loren's draft of famed sand car-builder AG Sand Cars in El Cajon, California. After a brief description of what he was looking for, AG's Dustin Dumas and his team went to work fabricating the four-seat 4130 chrome-moly frame. Once the skeleton of the beast was completed, the suspension tabs and components were installed. To achieve the 20 inches of front and rear wheel travel, the components had to be rated for heavy-duty usage. Turning to 1 1/2-, 0.095-, and 0.120-inch 4130 tubing meant that the custom A-arms and 4130 boxed spindles would endure whatever was thrown their way. Assisting with damping duties are single 2-1/2-inch Fox Racing coilover shocks at each corner.
Sand Tires Unlimited's 33x13.00x15 Blaster Paddle rear tires, mounted on 15x12-inch Douglas wheels equipped with 24-bolt OMF bead locks and billet aluminum centers, are responsible for floating the 8.80x5-inch Apex-series tires wrapped around 15x4-inch Douglas wheels of the same configuration as the rear across the hot desert sand.
Producing the required horsepower to turn the massive rear tires is the duty of a custom-built 3.5L EFI V-6 Short Star motor that was built by New School Motorsport's of San Diego, California. The engine produces upward of 275 hp and is mated to a four-speed Mendeola 4E transmission with a Stage 3 Kennedy clutch and Fortin shifter kit. Custom 930 mid-board Gear One CV joints serve as the actual drive units in place of the standard stub axles that have been race-prepped along with the 930 300M axles that were made by Apache Gear.
To combat the extreme heat generated by the sun beating down on the key engine components, all hoses and connectors are silicone, with the brake lines of the four-piston Gear One rear discs being made of stainless steel. Further engine cooling efforts are delivered via a double-pass aluminum Saldana radiator and a single 16-inch electric Zirgo fan. For extended fun in the dunes, a 12-gallon custom aluminum fuel cell was fabricated.
The steering components of the sandrail allow for extra-tight turning ability while riding along the ridgelines of sand mountains. The Kartek rack-and-pinion setup includes custom engraving that was later chromed by Cal Chrome of Chula Vista, California. All the aluminum bracketry and mounting plates were fabricated by the AG Sand Cars crew.
Moving to the inside of the sandrail reveals the same spare-no-expense attitude, which instantly passes through your body the moment you sit in the Beard Ultra racing seats and cinch up the Crow restraint system. From there, the feeling continues to move to your feet as you press down on the chromed CNC pedals while glancing at the Auto Meter Pro Comp gauges as you hold onto the 14-inch Momo steering wheel for dear life. A Lowrance Baja GPS system ensures that Loren and his copilots will not get lost in the sea of sand. For added insurance, a Pro Comp off-road battery was installed and assists in powering the 100-watt off-road lights that are installed onto the front of the sandrail.
The finishing touches to the sandrail came after it was tore down and readied for its application of Candy Blue powdercoating by East County Powder Coating of El Cajon, California. The sides of the 'rail and the rear cowling have the same matching vinyl graphics that were applied to the Nissan Titan.
Like we said in the beginning, all it takes is one look across the dunes to know that the Pro Comp crew's actions are speaking much louder than their words. But then again, with as much horsepower as they have and the sand from the 50-foot tall rooster tails hitting the ground, who can hear what they're saying anyway?