Build Canguro Racing's Monica

[Whiskerz]

Good luck guys

 

[Climbingnut]

Good luck!

 

[cruiseroutfit]

We had a great race. Thinking we finished 3rd in a class with much faster trucks (ie. not a stock class and way more motor and suspension). We lost lost a front lower UCA cam nut on lap one but the sleeve held it together for the rest of the ~60 mile lap. Lots of sharp rocks, tire depth washes and massive day ender rocks. We were able to get a spare bolt installed and finish the next 3 laps uneventfully. Super fun course to drive.

We had a 5:45am wake up to get set up for the Wendover 250. Our front fenders have had years of abuse and we found a tear in the sheetmetal that likely wasn't going to survive the race. Ready Welder to the rescue. Yes I have a welding hood, no I wasn't wearing it... Ray Bans work too. Gloves? Meh. Perhaps this could be a "How many safety violations can you count?" post. #bor #canguro #wendover #readywelder Thanks @fzj80ryan for the pic!

 

[Ninja Cruiser100]

Congrats!

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Ended up with a 2nd place finish in the 8 unlimited class

 

[desmocruiser]

Well done! Congrats!!!

 

[Climbingnut]

Very nice placement! Well done!

 

[Whiskerz]

Very nice.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

We skipped racing the Baja 1000 this last year, just too many other obligations in life and many of the team members have been quite busy with personal endeavors. Instead we went down and enjoyed the race from a spectator point of view. Eating tacos, camping on the beach and watching Trophy Trucks roll past camp

We did have a great race season in some regional races and that leads us to what’s next. The Mint 400 has kick us in the tail twice now, 0/2. We’ve had just a few DNF’s and the Mint is 2 of them but, here we are a couple months out of the race and we really haven’t made much of an effort to even watch the thing since our last race in October.

A handful of team members did make it over to Saudi Arabia earlier this month to check out the Dakar rally and cheer on the many Toyotas and the 200 Series team racing there. To say the least, it has us anxious to get out a race again!

Here’s a small sample of the Toyota action there at the Dakar. One of the Toyota Auto Body 200's

And their chase 200

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Sadly race prep is at an absolute standstill at current. While we are anxious to get working on it, all of the spring races are cancelled so it’s not exactly pressing

The original owner of the vehicle (Joe Bacal who worked with Lexus USA) shared these great photos of the original build at Geiser Brothers Fabrication.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

 

[stevenjj71]

Hey @cruiseroutfit ..I keep reading references to various races like the one in Baja and the vegas/reno race. Do you know if regular folks ever get hold of the route maps and drive them at more leisurely paces? (not during the race event of course, but other times of the year)

...or are parts of them on land that are not permitted for travel outside of the events?

Just thinking they might make fun trip routes, I'm definitely not a racer!

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Hey @cruiseroutfit ..I keep reading references to various races like the one in Baja and the vegas/reno race. Do you know if regular folks ever get hold of the route maps and drive them at more leisurely paces? (not during the race event of course, but other times of the year)

...or are parts of them on land that are not permitted for travel outside of the events?

Just thinking they might make fun trip routes, I'm definitely not a racer!

Absolutely. Google “Baja 1000 route file” and you’ll find an assortment of files from various years and routes.

 

[tincan45]

This is really interesting. Thanks for posting Kurt. I've seen promo pics of this Lexus over the years and never realized this was actually "Monica". What a great testament to the durability of the 200 series drive train! Would love to watch you guys race someday...preferably baja!

 

[dmc]

Hey @cruiseroutfit ..I keep reading references to various races like the one in Baja and the vegas/reno race. Do you know if regular folks ever get hold of the route maps and drive them at more leisurely paces? (not during the race event of course, but other times of the year)

...or are parts of them on land that are not permitted for travel outside of the events?

Just thinking they might make fun trip routes, I'm definitely not a racer!

It's pretty easy to find route files. DM me if you want specific files. I have most of them for the last 10 years. You'll find very different experiences between US races and Mexico (aside from the Mint). For the most part US courses are graded right after the race is over and aside from some silt beds and the occasional whoop section the roads won't seem much different than an average wheeling weekend. I love some of the Vegas to Reno terrain and have visited some of those roads on other trips. In Baja the race course is pretty much that. There are many sections that the locals still use (especially on peninsula runs) but the rough stuff is only used by race traffic. A few years ago I took my personal truck through a section of whoops outside of San Felipe to show one of our rookie chasers what the course looked like and I'll never do it again. So slow and endless. It would be fun to see a short section of whoops or silt but to drive the 1200ish mile route of a peninsula run in a non-race vehicle would be miserably and would take a full week of driving to cover. If you're in the Vegas area go check out the Mint course if you have time. There is a specific area where the Vegas TT guys go to tune their trucks pre-race. It will show you all you need to know about what big whoops look like. You're mind will be blown that they can do it at 110mph.

 

[mep1811]

We ran a local race over the weekend and got lumped in with 2 Class 8 unlimited truck and 2 6100 trucks. We ended up taking second in our 'class' behind one of the Spec TTs. Once class 8 blew a motor, the other got stuck for over an hour and the we somehow beat the other 6100, they finished about 40 mins behind us. Not sure if they had mechanical issues or stuck. The course has lots of dunes so 2wd rigs can struggle.

The race was 5, 40 mile laps and each of us took a turn behind the wheel and we gave our chase team members a chance to co-drive and spend some time in the truck. Somewhere at the end of lap one, start of lap 2 we hit something really hard and bent our low control arm. It messed with the alignment (which made the high speed sections a bit interesting) but also clearanced a shock issue we had. King had clocked our shock slightly and the bypass tubes were rubbing on our UCA on the passenger side. Once the rock mangled our lower it also moved the shock enough to avoid further rubbing damage.

We also had our started quit on us. @cruiseroutfit and I had been through this on his own personal rig a few years back so we knew how to jump the starter directly. While the truck was off we filled the tank (plan was to do it after lap 3) then got her started using a lithium jump pack. We didn't shut her off the rest of the race. We have a lot of work to do before the 1000 but overall we treated this race like a testing session and now we know we have some things to get done, hopefully a new wrap and we'll be back in Baja.

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Knowing how to jump the starter directly would be a good trick to know. Care to share how it is done? Thanks

 

[dmc]

Knowing how to jump the starter directly would be a good trick to know. Care to share how it is done? Thanks

@cruiseroutfit will need to confirm. But essentially a 3 man job. Jumper cable on the battery. The other side attached to a screwdriver. Both ends grounded. 3 person signals guy inside to hit start button, and guy lying on the ground to touch the starter contacts with the screwdriver at the same time.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Knowing how to jump the starter directly would be a good trick to know. Care to share how it is done? Thanks

I posted about the process in "failed starter" thread here in the 200 Section a few years back. I'll see if I can find it.

 

[Tommy Dwyer]

Was reading through these specs as I thought I remembered this....with all of that suspension stuffed up in the front, while using stock upper and lower control arms, what’s the front end alignment look like?

Now how about some specs: 2010 Toyota Land Cruiser (rebadged LX570). The build was performed by Geyser Brothers, a well-known fabrication and prep shop behind some of the fastest desert race vehicles out there. They worked with Joe Bacal and LexusUSA to create this stellar machine to compete in Class 8 which is "stock full-size", competitors would be things like a Hummer, Ford F150 or Chevy Silverado assuming they stuck with the stock classifications.

Drivetrain:

Engine: Toyota 3UR-FE 5.7 liter V8 producing 383 HP @ 5,600 RPM and 403 ft. lbs. torque @ 3,600 RPM

Exhaust: Dual Flowmaster high flow mufflers

Air Filtration: AEM dryflow filter with custom intake routed into passenger compartment

Transmission: Stock Toyota AB60F six speed automatic with custom “one off” paddle shifter and custom external oil cooler

Transfer Case: Stock Toyota full time four wheel drive two speed case with Torsen limited slip center differential and electric locking center differential

Differentials: Stock Toyota differentials with 4.88 Nitro Gears; open front differential, ARB Air Locker rear differential. Both assembled by Just Differentials.

Fuel Tank: 46 gallon fuel cell with backup redundant fuel pump

Chassis:

Front Suspension: Custom tuned King Kong 3.5” triple bypass shocks with 2.5” King Coil-overs; stock OEM Toyota upper and lower control arms

Rear Suspension: Custom tuned King Kong 4.5” triple bypass shocks with 2.5” King Coil-overs; stock OEM Toyota 4-link suspension

Steering: Stock Toyota rack and pinion, with external oil cooler

Brakes: Custom CNC dual master cylinders, adjustable proportioning valve, TRD high performance brake pads; stock OEM Toyota disc brakes and calipers front and rear

Tires: 37x12.50R17 BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR2 on TRD forged wheels

Electrical & Interior:

Charging & Starting: Dual batteries with stock Toyota 175 amp alternator; stock Toyota push button start

Lighting: 8 ARB Intensity LED driving lights producing a combined 65,600 lumens

Communication: PCI race intercom with Kenwood 150 watt race radio

Navigation: Lowrance HD7 GPS

System Monitoring: Full complement of pressure and temperature gauges and a Scanguage II to keep track of live engine data

Climate Control: Air conditioning and heating systems removed from truck; dual parker pumper fresh air systems

Safety:

Seats: Sparco EVO III seats with Crow Enterprizes 5-point harness

Roll Cage: Geiser Bros built roll cage with integrated engine and passenger protection

 

[dmc]

Was reading through these specs as I thought I remembered this....with all of that suspension stuffed up in the front, while using stock upper and lower control arms, what’s the front end alignment look like?

We align the truck to OEM specs. When @onesprung60 was still in Utah he did the alignment at his training facility. Now we use a local tire shop that we have a relationship with do mount our tires and align the truck.