Build Canguro Racing's Monica

[TexAZ]

Somebody call janitorial....I just drooled a puddle in my office.

The pics are a great peek inside the world of a dessert racer. Killer Kings!!!!

consider me a member of the fan club, "Monica's my mistress."
Love the thread, thanks for posting up.

 

[InkMing]

I will say I am surprised you are using the stock upper and lower control arms up front.

 

[dmc]

I will say I am surprised you are using the stock upper and lower control arms up front.

Mandated by our class rules. 8100/Stock Full requires stock sheet metal, suspension links and drivetrain. We even have to keep the factory dash. If we were to move up a class to allow aftermarket arms we'd be a huge weight disadvantage and have to start shedding body panels. At that point we'd be better off running a Tundra. As Cruiser guys we'd rather run competitively in a slower class and be in a Cruiser than a faster class in something else.

 

[InkMing]

Gotcha! Makes complete sense.

 

[Thebedouin60]

I'll 2nd much of DMC's thoughts.

I've spent a fair bit of time off-road in Land Cruisers the last couple of years and I've grown quite accustomed to 15+ hours in the seat at a time (thanks Expeditions7 ) which lends itself well to desert racing. It's not uncommon to be driving/co-driving in race conditions for 12 straight hours, hyper-focused on the terrain and competitors around us, mile posts, vehicle condition, etc. Hope in my normal 200 and it's like a walk in the park

This couldn't be more true.

The Canguro Race Cruiser was a baseline (somewhat inspirational) for what i wanted my 200 to be, i didn't want to build a race truck but i wanted something along the lines of a prerunner that could handle abuse. I did not know that the team was also a part of 'Mud.

I also do a fair bit of high speed "Baja" style driving, I also run king components but only the stock replacement stuff. So i am nowhere near the performance envelope of the race rig. It's pretty interesting how well the stock components hold up to abuse and even when you get it wrong its still a forgiving platform. I switched over from a 4.6 to a 5.7 around September last year after seeing how well my 4.6 motor and drivetrain could take the high speed punishment so the 3UR shouldn't be anymore different in terms of reliability. I am one satisfied customer, this has been my weekend sprint for the last 2 seasons and is a great baseline for engine and chassis testing:

 

[dmc]

This couldn't be more true.

The Canguro Race Cruiser was a baseline (somewhat inspirational) for what i wanted my 200 to be, i didn't want to build a race truck but i wanted something along the lines of a prerunner that could handle abuse. I did not know that the team was also a part of 'Mud.

I also do a fair bit of high speed "Baja" style driving, I also run king components but only the stock replacement stuff. So i am nowhere near the performance envelope of the race rig. It's pretty interesting how well the stock components hold up to abuse and even when you get it wrong its still a forgiving platform. I switched over from a 4.6 to a 5.7 around September last year after seeing how well my 4.6 motor and drivetrain could take the high speed punishment so the 3UR shouldn't be anymore different in terms of reliability. I am one satisfied customer, this has been my weekend sprint for the last 2 seasons and is a great baseline for engine and chassis testing:

makes my desire to visit Dubai that much greater. nice speeds and love the camels.

 

[yotasavg]

Sub'd! Any race videos?

 

[dmc]

Sub'd! Any race videos?

here is our team page on YouTube...
canguroracing

A lot of hours of video out there.


This is a section from our very first race in the 200. We've since added police lights, siren and air horn to help with passing. It wasn't this truck that frustrated us but his teammate. We followed him for almost 30 mins and would not move. We hit him twice and still wouldn't pull over. We finally passed him in a corner (there is video on our page of the entire start) the got behind this guy 10 mins later. We were not anywhere near as patient. I'm the babbling co-driver. I talk a lot in the truck .

 

[chilibit]

Did you weld up a pedal for the left foot brake? I am quite comfortable with that arrangement for some vehicles. The 200 pedal layout is terrible for me. Actually it is tied to the seat placement and alignment. I don't really want to re-aim the seat. I know, drivers get paid to 'drive around' such idiosyncrasies but I hate it.

 

[yotasavg]

We hit him twice and still wouldn't pull over.

Wow! Is bumping someone purposefully commonplace? Or was that a last ditch effort to get attention? (I know nothing about offroad racing, but I love to watch it lol).

 

[dmc]

Did you weld up a pedal for the left foot brake? I am quite comfortable with that arrangement for some vehicles. The 200 pedal layout is terrible for me. Actually it is tied to the seat placement and alignment. I don't really want to re-aim the seat. I know, drivers get paid to 'drive around' such idiosyncrasies but I hate it.

Monica has a custom brake pedal. It's spaced just off the dead pedal. It's amazing how easy it is to left foot brake when you're strapped in with a 5 point harness and aren't bracing yourself with the left foot. I don't think we have a picture but I'll go through my stuff. If not I'll snap one next time we work on the truck.

edit: This is probably the best pic we have. You can see the dead pedal, huge brake and just a bit of the factory gas pedal.

 

[dmc]

Wow! Is bumping someone purposefully commonplace? Or was that a last ditch effort to get attention? (I know nothing about offroad racing, but I love to watch it lol).

It's totally accepted and understood. Not super common in the classes we've raced in but it does happen. In the case of the video above those are what are referred to as "rent a racers." People who show up and pay to race. They usually don't have the experience or knowledge to understand why it's happening. There is so much noise in a race vehicle, so little visablity and so much going on it's very easy to not notice someone behind you. In our class 5 it was almost impossible to see anyone and with the motor right behind us we would never hear them. Kurt was in our Class 5 when they were nerfed (that is the term used) by a Trophy Truck. He can confirm but at the time they said it felt like the back end of the car came off the ground.

Our standard process is turn on all the lights we have, siren and air horn from about 100 yards behind them. Usually the car in front will pull over in less than a minute. It's always stressful at that point. You've driven up through their dust, which has been slowing you down and now you're on their tail, with very little room for error, and you just hope they move before you have to hit them. It isn't that big of a deal when it's truck on truck but Monica behind a side by side is scary. We'd run right over them. It's huge adrenaline rush for sure.

 

[chilibit]

Monica has a custom brake pedal. It's spaced just off the dead pedal. It's amazing how easy it is to left foot brake when you're strapped in with a 5 point harness and aren't bracing yourself with the left foot. I don't think we have a picture but I'll go through my stuff. If not I'll snap one next time we work on the truck.

edit: This is probably the best pic we have. You can see the dead pedal, huge brake and just a bit of the factory gas pedal.


View attachment 1218406

Thank you. I will look into how to create something that I can reverse for resale.

 

[dmc]

Thank you. I will look into how to create something that I can reverse for resale.

If you want more detailed pics I'll snap some for you. As mentioned above our stock brake set up has been removed so it's all aftermarket. But I can still get some pics.

 

[chilibit]

If you want more detailed pics I'll snap some for you. As mentioned above our stock brake set up has been removed so it's all aftermarket. But I can still get some pics.

Any help would be sincerely appreciated. A picture can be worth a thousand.... as they say but make it a low priority as I don't have a ready way to return the favor. Vince

 

[dmc]

Any help would be sincerely appreciated. A picture can be worth a thousand.... as they say but make it a low priority as I don't have a ready way to return the favor. Vince

No need to return the favor. Glad to help. It's what cruiser guys do. It may be a week or so before I get up there.

 

[arich]

Kurt
Can change a steering rack without removing the engine.
I recalling seeing this in the factory repair manual.
To replace he steering rack:
Step one, remove engine
And thinking that can be!!!!!!!

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Kurt
Can change a steering rack without removing the engine.
I recalling seeing this in the factory repair manual.
To replace he steering rack:
Step one, remove engine
And thinking that can be!!!!!!!

Absolutely, we've had our motor severely torn down (oil pan and front cover off) but not out. Rack replacement is completely doable sans motor removal. It's far easier than a 100 Series rack R&R.

 

[Hornd]

This pretty much ends the longstanding debate of IFS vs Solid!
Is the Truck Road Legal?

 

[cruiseroutfit]

This pretty much ends the longstanding debate of IFS vs Solid!
Is the Truck Road Legal?

Not as it is currently configured. No windshield, no wipers, non-DOT tires. It could likely be modified slightly to allow a plate but it's not a concern for us.