|
Introduction
INTRODUCTION Our “Hammers” story actually begins out on the lakebed, and for that, we feel more fortunate than most. In 2012, Will worked in the pits for a team that had been around since the start. It was that trip that locked him into photographing the race, and its local off-shoots, for the next 7 years. Also a photographer, Alex quickly found himself sucked into the adrenaline rush that is KOH week. In many ways, it’s what led the two to start their first business in the industry before the age of 20. Their company, Sherpa Equipment Co., manufactures storage solutions for the Toyota off-road community. Now that the business has its own legs the two are looking to get back out on the lakebed and put their driving skills to the test. IN THE CAR Our team’s trail experience is based almost solely in the same suspension system. With some of the toughest trails in the Rocky Mountains right in our backyard, we know exactly how an IFS system will perform in the rocks. We are firm believers that the combination of modern IFS and coilover technology will prove to be the winning combination for the 4600 stock class vehicles. We are also connected to OEM-vehicle based IFS and believe that racing is the perfect way to help aftermarket manufactures push the technology forward. Alex and Will have been wheeling together as an effective team for the last 5 years. This can be critical on race day as clear communication and teamwork are essential to complete the King of the Hammers and other races. OUR TEAM We at Sherpa Motorsports have a great community of friends and family who want to help us build this car to be one of the most capable and tough 4th gens out there. We have a dedicated pit crew who is chomping at the bit to help build, prep and maintain the race car for the upcoming race season and seasons to come. ALEX FLEMING Driver Practically born behind the wheel, Alex has been wheeling or going fast most of his life. Alex has also spent the last 4 years studying marketing and journalism. He understands the significance of going fast and making sure our sponsors get the attention they deserve. WILL OLIVER Co-Driver Known as the “Spotter” in the group, Will has been known to be able to walk just about anyone through the toughest of obstacles. Will also studied design and marketing. As a photographer, he has been shooting KOH since 2012. JOSHUA JACKSON Team Coach Josh has participated in the 4600 class since its inception. He has racked up more podium finishes in his WJ Grand Cherokee than any other team. He will be providing our team with the necessary guidance to ensure we are as competitive as possible. HAYDEN DEATHERAGE Crew Chief Recently graduated from Colorado State University with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, with an internship at NASA and experience with CSU’s Formula SAE program. JIM REYNOLDS Suspension Pit Team 15 years of experience in the suspension industry having worked at Honda designing components for the NSX, King Racing Shocks, and now Specialty Vehicle Products. CAMERON AMIS, NOAH MICHAELSON, and NICK CRAIGMYLE General Pit Team Cameron, Noah, and Nick have been in and around Toyota’s from an early age. These guys are truly the ones who can fix just about anything themselves. With years of employment in different auto repair/off-road shops, we couldn’t be more excited to have these guys rounding out our pit team. THE 4600 CLASS This class has been racing in ULTRA4 since 2012. It is one of the 4 classes that races on Thursday of KOH week during the Smittybilt Every Man Challenge. The class was created as the perfect opportunity for aftermarket manufacturers to showcase their consumer-based products. The vehicles are easily relatable for the spectators, oftentimes because it is the same vehicle they have at home in their garage. THE VEHICLE CLASS RESTRICTIONS: Stock OEM Frame Factory Engine Factory Transmission 35” DOT Approved Tires Single 2.5” Shocks per Corner Shocks Limited to 14” of Travel Mechanical Steering We plan to build out our 2004 4th Gen Toyota 4runner with the reliable 2UZ V8 engine. We have done a significant amount of research on vehicle platforms inside the Toyota family and have settled on the capable, powerful and unique vehicle that is the 4th gen 4Runner. Not only is it a great platform, but we have also been building one as a personal vehicle for the past 8 months and are very familiar with the vehicle inside and out. The IFS suspension is not something that is regularly seen within the stock class up until this last year. SRQRacing and Steel City Racing both raced IFS Toyotas this last season and brought some much need attention to the platform. The larger 4400 Unlimited Class cars have been using the advantages of IFS with coilovers to continuously win races. We hope to bring this same winning streak to the stock class. We also believe this vehicle presents a unique opportunity for our marketing partners to reach the "overlanding" community, that has exploded in the last couple of years. Many people who participate in this market segment are predominately using IFS based platforms and thus the suspension showcased on our vehicle will be of relevance to them. This platform, when combined with our technical ability in the rocks, will be the winning ticket. |
2nd Reserved.
|
The Beginning, August 28th, 2019. We found the heart and soul of our racecar! https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...2730cb14_z.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...45dd6035_z.jpg We have been looking for a vehicle to be the platform for this build since early June, and we found many potential vehicles but this one presented itself and it was too good to pass up. We also got a great deal on it which helps a lot. It is a 2004 V8 4runner with 195k miles. We were told it had a little less but really not a big deal. The motor runs really smooth and drives decent. Definitely in need of some love in the suspension department but most everything underneath is getting ripped out and replaced with something else anyway. This vehicle was auctioned off as a salvage title non-running vehicle. Come to find that it had been previously stolen, the head unit was ripped out and lots of wires under the dash had been cut. They spliced everything together and it fired right up. Other than some minor body damage, some paint fade, and a cracked dash its a pretty awesome truck. We drove it almost 150 miles home with no hiccups other than the 4low light randomly coming on. We also found out that 4low does not engage. (pretty common if it is seldom used by the previous owner). We think this will make a great platform for us to build off of and we are super excited to get the build going. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...2dc5a4e7_z.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...e3b371e4_z.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...dd7dc32e_z.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d654cafa_z.jpg We also picked up some goodies from PRPSeats! Next step is tear down and a roll cage! |
this is going to be great!
|
Subscribed
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
I am excited to see this build unfold
|
Tear Down This last weekend we got the crew together and we tore the inside of this car apart. All the seats, the interior panels, the glass, airbags, carpet, you name it. We gutted everything we don't need. This took about 3-4 hours with some time to drink beer and mess around. We also vacuumed and pressure washed everything that we could to make it as clean as possible. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f14dcc1c_z.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f3d7549d_z.jpg Beer keeping everyone happy! A little test fit of the PRP Seats. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...f0faf65a_z.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...1b7b6017_z.jpg This was the stopping point for the weekend. Everything is out and ready for cage measurements. We never ran into anything super weird, we tried our hardest not to break anything and that worked great. The most time-consuming thing was the dash, as well as the rear glass was hard to fish out. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...35b14fd2_z.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d19d7dbd_z.jpg We are excited to the for the cage build, should be moving on that in the next couple weeks. |
Are you going to race it in 2020? Please don't throw this thing together like the Steel City 4runner and have zero testing time. :thumb:
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
Subscribed! I'm sure there are quite a few variables that go into a build timeline. Just the rules interpretation would stump me backwards and forwards. I believe one hurdle involved for Steel City was the logistics of starting the build in Alabama, then ending up in California for everything to be finalized.
Hopefully you can get some seat time for a strong showing. But.... Getting a podium on an otherwise glorified test session....Priceless. I'm hoping for us 2UZ folks to MAYBE get more Factory/aftermarket attention. These 4.7s have so much potential. Good Luck!! |
If you need some test time close to home, check out Bonneville OffRoad Racing. We have quite a few racers that come out of Colorado to race with us. Next race is in Wendover, NV (Utah border on I-80) on October 12th. The closest race for you guys would be our first race of 2020, May in Vernal, UT.
Bonneville Offroad Racing or on Facebook. |
| All times are GMT -4. The time now is 09:35 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by
DragonByte SEO (Pro) -
vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
User Alert System provided by
Advanced User Tagging (Lite) -
vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
***This site is an unofficial Toyota site, and is not officially endorsed, supported, authorized by or affiliated with Toyota. All company, product, or service names references in this web site are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners. The Toyota name, marks, designs and logos, as well as Toyota model names, are registered trademarks of Toyota Motor Corporation***Ad Management plugin by RedTyger