1987 Ford F-150 pickup truck with custom off-road suspension and…

PNOTOGEAPHy l The lrnntend usually takes the brunl of landing after a jump, and it almost always suffers damage I' it's not modied. The Ford TTB axle Is more Susceptible to damage from a lateral hit, but because 01 the scissor action DI Ihe MD axle arms It can handle more up and down impact if properly sprung and shocked. Steve Spirko" of Spirit Racing believes the most important modication (many vehicle is to match the Spring rate and shock valving to the situa- tions the truck will encounter. Notice that the lower shock mount seems mounted fairly high (arrow), but the steering linkage travels up to that point on lull compression and needs the clearance. 64 - AWHFFI,&OH~HO/D DECEMBER l997 TRICK FORD TTI3 TIPS; FOR GOIN FAST on DIRT By RIck Pewe S our magazine, but what ii you wanted a truck that could crawl a trail and stIll whump down a desert twortrack, catching air WIthout a worry7 Most dedicated trail 4x45 are lot slowspced use only and have soil suspensions and gobs of travel that usually want wnhstand the rigors of IumpIng and hard-hIttIng speed abuse. Conversely. most chase/race/pre. run trucks can handle the rIgors ot slamming and banging through ditches while carrying extra tires and parts, but they fall shon oi oplimum trail performance. And a stock truck? WIthout a bunch of modifications, it Just cant perlorm in either arena but is perfectly suited to getting the groceries if you want a 4x4 that can handle all these chores well and exceed In the speed department, you need some special suspension tIps and tricks to make your truck survive aIr time and still deliver a comfortable, controllable ride. Alleut 4x4 race rIgs generally have so much suspension trlckery that the cost Involved In converting your own truck is nearly prothltlve. But much ofthe technology developed in realrworld whumpln' can be translated into appllcatIons for the chase-lruck performance many wannabe ilysboys and lIy-girls need on iheIr personal nnas. One at the racmg worlds leaders in suspension Iech Is Steve Spirko of Spirit Racing, who has been heavily involved with the Ford Rough RIders racing team and bullds up his own F-1 505 as prerun and chase trucks. SpIrkorl can modify your truck or even sell you parts in kit form ior around $5,000 or fully Installed ior about $10,000. He thinks With that amount at cash put into a standard truck, It'll be able to withstand hard running. thrash- ing, and bashIng that would llat rum 3 stock truck We took a close look at how SpIrkofl goes about making Ford 4x4 Twin TractIon Beam (TIE) lrontends live In the grueling environ- ment theyre subjected to in hIghispeed desert pounding. kyIII yourtruck Isn't what you normally read about in