Creating an off road racing truck

[Andy833]

I'm interested in building an off road truck to race in not for the near future with time after build and practice and testing, i was wondering if anyone could provide me with a list of upgrades to do to a truck as I am new to this, a list perhaps around these guideline,

(Vehicles built from a 2 wheel or 4 wheel drive mini or mid-sized pickup having a maximum stock wheelbase of 127”.
Texas Desert Racing Association - 7S ClassAka: 7100 (BITD)
Horsepower: 175-265
Wheel Travel: 12 Front, 16-20 Rear
Weight: 3200-4000
Top Speed: 100+
Cost New: $20,000-60,000
Cost Per Prep: $2,000-5,000
BASIC RULES
Suspensions Components:
Front and Rear suspension must be of the same manufacturer, shape, size and configuration as the stock vehicle being used.
All suspension components except shocks and rear leaf springs will reamin in original stock locations and mounting methods.
A-arms, I-beams, and front axles must remain stock length; material may be added for strength and stock mounting locations retained.
Rear springs may be lengthened to that of the longest stock production rear leaf spring as delivered by the manufacturer. (57 1/2″)
Engine:
Must be of the same manufacturer basic design and type with a max of 6 cylinders.
Must use the stock block and cylinder heads as delivered for highway use from the manufacturer.
Updating and predating is allowed within the vehicle chassis and body series.
Maximum displacement of 3000cc.)

Thanks and I appreciate your time, I have a 96' ford ranger, 4.0 4x4 regular cab

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

#1] Get a truck that already fits in the rules. Your truck is a 4 liter and the rules spec the largest engine allowed is a 3 liter.
#2] Lose weight. This equals free horsepower.
#3] Know the type of racing your going to do. So are these races 100's of miles in length or 2 miles in length? Lots of jumps and whoops or a smooth groomed track? This makes a difference in the type of suspension preferred. The truck you have has a TTB type front suspension and is a good choice for whoops and jumps over 100's of miles, while a newer SLA type front suspension would work better for short course groomed tracks.
Take a look at my build linked in my response. There are other truck builds on site that I will link to later once I'm back from work.

PS; I know the pics are gone in my build. Photobucket screwed millions of people.

 

[Andy833]

#1] Get a truck that already fits in the rules. Your truck is a 4 liter and the rules spec the largest engine allowed is a 3 liter.
#2] Lose weight. This equals free horsepower.
#3] Know the type of racing your going to do. So are these races 100's of miles in length or 2 miles in length? Lots of jumps and whoops or a smooth groomed track? This makes a difference in the type of suspension preferred. The truck you have has a TTB type front suspension and is a good choice for whoops and jumps over 100's of miles, while a newer SLA type front suspension would work better for short course groomed tracks.
Take a look at my build linked in my response. There are other truck builds on site that I will link to later once I'm back from work.

PS; I know the pics are gone in my build. Photobucket screwed millions of people.

Thanks, I'll check it out, as far as engine specs not too worried , it DA just a set of rules I chose that seem fairly inexpensive to follow and work my truck into

 

[pjtoledo]

you might want to check out dezertrangers.com