Ultra4 4628 Race car - Sherpa Motorsports

[SherpaEquipmentCo]

The Sherpa Motorsports 4628 IFS Ultra4 Build

Current Partners:
Yota Mafia: Page not found - YotaMafia
Yukon Gear and Axle: Yukon Gear & Axle. Error.
HPS Performance: 404 Not Found - HPS Performance Products
Total Chaos Fabrication: TOTAL CHAOS FABRICATION
General Tire: https://generaltire.com/​​
Warn Industries: https://www.warn.com/​​
Black Rhino Wheels https://www.blackrhinowheels.com/​​
Colorado Waterjet
Front Range Powder Coating
Extreme LED Light Bars: https://extremeledlightbars.com/​​
Shrockworks: https://www.shrockworks.com/​​
Locked Offroad: http://lockedoffroad.com/​​
OTRATTW: https://www.otrattw.net/​​
Rugged Radios: https://www.ruggedradios.com/​​
Summit Machine: https://www.summitmachine.com/​​
Hot Rod Fuel Hose: https://hotrodfuelhose.com/​​
Addicted Offroad: http://www.addictedoffroad.com/​​
Factor55: https://factor55.com/​​
Opt Offroad: https://optoffroad.com/​​
Eimkieth: https://eimkeith.com/​​
333 Fabrication: https://optoffroad.com/collections/33​​...
Gibson Performance: https://gibsonperformance.com/​​
McNeil Racing Inc: https://www.mcneilracinginc.com/​​
Beyond Wraps: https://www.beyondwraps.com/

[/URL]If you are interested in Sponsoring the build please email [email protected]​

 

[SherpaEquipmentCo]

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.​

 

[SherpaEquipmentCo]

2nd Reserved.

 

[SherpaEquipmentCo]

The Beginning, August 28th, 2019.​

We found the heart and soul of our racecar!

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.

We also picked up some goodies from PRPSeats!

Next step is tear down and a roll cage!

 

[sogoood]

this is going to be great!

 

[DZNUTS]

Subscribed


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Captain Sanuk]

I am excited to see this build unfold

 

[SherpaEquipmentCo]

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.

​

Beer keeping everyone happy!

A little test fit of the PRP Seats.

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.

We are excited to the for the cage build, should be moving on that in the next couple weeks.

 

[thegame7]

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:

 

[SherpaEquipmentCo]

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:

We do plan to race in the 2020 season. We are not decided on King of the Hammers 2020 yet as that entirely depends on our build timeline. Lots of prerunning time is a must for us to consider racing Hammers this coming season.

 

[Inv4drZm]

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:

Not bashing these guys but they are well behind the timeline of what the SSR 4Runner was at last year. Not to say they can't build it in time, the Marlin kit is now further developed, but it takes time to build these trucks. The SSR truck had as much testing and development put into it as man hours would allow.

 

[SherpaEquipmentCo]

Not bashing these guys but they are well behind the timeline of what the SSR 4Runner was at last year. Not to say they can't build it in time, the Marlin kit is now further developed, but it takes time to build these trucks. The SSR truck had as much testing and development put into it as man hours would allow.

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:

Teams have built trucks from the ground up in 3 weeks and podiumed at Hammers in the 4600 class and im sure other classes have seen similar stories as well. It all comes down to how much time you have available, your budget and how methodically everything is done. There are a lot of factors that play into this. We are going to work on our car when time allows and build it as our budget allows. Would be awesome to have it finished a month before hammers and give us lots of time to shake down the car. We are however going to be at Hammers regardless if we are racing or not, the atmosphere is awesome and we have a few other race teams to support. Will be a great opportunity for prerunning for the 2020 season and if time allows we may race if we are feeling confident about the car and its performance.

 

[Inv4drZm]

Teams have built trucks from the ground up in 3 weeks and podiumed at Hammers in the 4600 class and im sure other classes have seen similar stories as well. It all comes down to how much time you have available, your budget and how methodically everything is done. There are a lot of factors that play into this. We are going to work on our car when time allows and build it as our budget allows. Would be awesome to have it finished a month before hammers and give us lots of time to shake down the car. We are however going to be at Hammers regardless if we are racing or not, the atmosphere is awesome and we have a few other race teams to support. Will be a great opportunity for prerunning for the 2020 season and if time allows we may race if we are feeling confident about the car and its performance.

I would imagine even without much testing time, going out there and competing in the race will put you further ahead for what to expect next year. What better place to test your parts than during the race itself. I just don't know what you have to lose by trying. I'd hate to see you guys get everything built a week before and not try it out. Whatever you do though, good luck!

 

[4RunnerAquasport]

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!!

 

[kyle_pc_75]

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.

 

[SherpaEquipmentCo]

Tear Down Continued...​

This last weekend we continued to tear down the vehicle. The main things we tackled was removing the rest of the glass. This was a bit of a process as we had never pulled glass before. We also managed to crack the windshield prior to removal which made it much harder as it splintered as we worked it out.

We did manage to get it out though and we learned a lot during the process!

We also pulled out the driver airbag, this was super easy. There are two T30's under each plastic cover on the wheel and the whole thing just pops out. We plan to replace it with a nice aluminum cover and run the stock wheel for a little while. Eventually, we will replace it with a quick disconnect wheel to make it a little easier to get out of the vehicle in an emergency though it doesn't seem that it will be a big issue as is...

We pulled the rear glass as well, these came out fairly easy, we used a torch and some welding wire to cut the glue and with some patience and muscle, they came out unscathed. We plan to replace these with aluminum panels that we can use to mount fans for trans cooler and maybe power steering cooler as well. Then a fill neck on the opposite side. Managed to not grab a picture of these sadly but you'll see soon enough.

We lastly made up a quick bracket for the driver seat to hard mount it where we want while we design the cage around it. We should only need the one as the cage will be symmetrical so we will just mirror what we do on the driver side to the passenger side. We will then replace the mount with a mount that ties into the cage and frame because these nuts are known to rip out in a hard crash.

[/CENTER]

We started designing the cage and ordering more things to get the cage started here shortly.

We have a Warn VR-10S Platinum with some goodies coming our way. 8 General Grabber X3's. Doug Thorley long tube Headers, Mid-Pipes and new O2 Sensors. The Marlin Crawler kit should be buttoned up around mid-October as well. We need to hit a junk hard and find a Ford 9" and order up the components needed for that as well.

We should have all the wiring components we need ordered here in the next couple weeks along with a Switch-Pros system.

We also need to order some more stuff from PRP Seats, we are going to run their harnesses, window nets, and limit straps. Just getting the details finalized and need to send in our window net templates.

This car should start looking more and more like a race car here pretty soon. Beyond excited for the progression of this build and the awesome connections we are making within the industry and community. We love seeing how stoked everyone is and how supportive people are of this build.

 

[SherpaEquipmentCo]

TPMS Sensor Bypass​

This mod is super easy, we will not be running TPMS sensors so we wanted to get rid of the light on our dash. It was already flashing when picked up the car and frankly just did not want to deal with it. So we get rid of it!

There a lot of threads on here explaining this well, we referenced this one by [MENTION=19387]txt4r[/MENTION].
Write-up: How to Disable (Bypass) the TPMS

To save you some trouble this is all you need to do.

"Steps (on my '05 4Runner):
Disconnect the battery (Although I did not do this)
Take out the screw that holds the black plastic panel located below the glove box
Gently pull the black panel and it should just pop out
Drop the panel and you will see that the TPMS module is right there
Unplug the harness (as show in the second picture below)
Use utility knife or scissors and cut the yellow type open (BE CAREFUL-Not to cut the wires!!!!)
Inside the yellow type there is another layer of black type, cut that open as well (again, BE CAREFUL Not to cut the wires!!!)
Now, look for two wires: the Pink-Black one (TPMS) and the White-Black (ground) wire (see below the third picture)
Use Scotchlok wire connector to connect the Pink-Black wire and the White-Black wire (watch youtube Scotchlok Wiring Demo clip here: ScotchLok Wiring Connector Demonstration - etrailer.com - YouTube) NOTE: Check both channels inside the connector. If one channel is blocked, you need to cut out the plastic block to make adjustment so that the wire can go through just like the other channel).
Done! The TPMS light is now bypassed and the light will never come back on. (Note: this mod is reversable by simply removing the connector or wire a switch to turn it on or off: see TPMS light bypass switch)

Since the TPMS is disabled, be sure to check your tire pressure regularly."

Here is ours

​

No more light!!

 

[SherpaEquipmentCo]

General Update (October 2nd, 2019)​

Quick update for you all.
Things are starting to trickle in for the racecar!

First is our tires for this build.

We first did some test fitting while it was still stock because why not. We tested the tires from [MENTION=129084]Flemster[/MENTION]s personal vehicle. Looks good! Of course, 35's on any 4runner is nice.

But these are what we will be running!

They are General Tire Grabber x3's in a 35x12.5r17 flavor! We are pumped on these tires. Huge shoutout to General Tire for supporting our team and coming aboard as our tire sponsor for the foreseeable future. They got us started with 2 full sets to keep us rolling in case we had a couple failures. Though we don't plan on it being an issue we did not want tires to be the thing that kept us from finishing a race so we are well prepared with this setup.

We just need some wheels and we can get these mounted up! Still deciding on what wheels to run. We are chatting with a company that works mostly in Europe doing things like Rally Cross, Dakar, and other series but hoping to bring some attention to their product in the US market and in our application. So hopefully more on that at a later date. THEY LOOK REALLY GOOD as well.

Next is our Medium Duty Epic Recovery Kit from Warn Industries.

This kit is going to be awesome for races that we find ourselves needing it, everything gets packed nicely into a backpack. Being organized and able to pull this out in a pinch with no hassle can save us valuable time. This will also be great to have at events we are not participating in so we can help the staff with recovery or emergencies.

Excited to get the rest of our Warn recovery gear.

We finally tracked down a good supplier for our steel as well, we have about 200ft of tube in our shop as of today as well as the means to get the cage started. I want to give a huge shoutout to Scotty at Addicted Offroad for his advice and time on this subject. He pointed us in the right direction on where to get our materials at a great price here locally.

Lastly, the first episode of the series is live!! If you guys want to watch the build process as well as read it, definitely check it out and share it with your friends who like race car things.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jMlyRk8vY1E" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[BackOff]

:couch2:opcorn:

 

[SherpaEquipmentCo]

Slinging Tube (October, 6th 2019)​

We finally got a bender all set up and started on some tube projects. The first of which is a rear bumper. Being that none of us have experience working with tube we decided to start on a smaller project than the cage to learn the bender and the process of measuring 100 times and cutting only a few times... I feel like I picked it up fast and only made minor mistakes. The biggest learning curve for me was measuring out where to put the tube in the die to get my bends where I need them. But taking my time and getting the feel for everything has made this easier. I did most of the bumper solo as the team was gone all day Saturday but here was the process.

First I cut out the stock cross member and welded on some new plates to start off the project off of. I thought about using 1'4" plate here but the frame was still fully plated in and I figured 3/16" was plenty.

I also cut the stock bumper wings at relatively the height of the hatch. I ended up cutting all the way to the height of the tape by the end. I was just using this as my reference line mostly.

Then I made a new rear cross member out of 2" .120 wall tube.

Then I bent up the outer bar.

It looks pretty slick. I made some posts to mount directly to the cross member then made some wings that bend up slightly to tie it all together. All of which I just notched with a grinder. We picked up a tube notcher the next day and they are helpful and time saving for sure.

Here is how it turned out. I need to grab some more photos at some point soon once it is fully welded up.

Next, we started on the cage with confidence that we won't ruin a bunch of tube. All we got done in the hour and a half we worked on it was the main dash bar, but that gets kickstarted for sure.