White Ford Ranger with off-road modifications, front view, showi…

Ayclass-71VIJD Ford , 1 Banger built for the rigors of Baja By Ben Stewart Phutus By Ben Stewart and Mmhael Rudd aja race trucks have come a long way in the past 10 years. The combination oi nearly lim- itless funding and vastly improved suspen- sion technology has allowed race teams to build Trophy Trucks that seem to share more with the aero~ _ space industry than four-wheeling Though these mega- wheel~travel two and fourwheel-drive beasts resemble factory Ford or Chevy pickups, like NASCAR, SCORE Trophy Trucks have little in common with any stock vehicle. And these several-hundred-thousancl-dollar Trophy Trucks are usually the ones to get the medias spotlight, They are the lastest vehicles to complete a 44 JULY 2000 FOUR WHEELER race, and the drivers are some of the biggest names in automotive racing, . , However, desert racing has other classes. And many 0 the less glamorous vehicles are closer in appearance to your own truckthan you might expect. In fact, there are several classes of 4WD trucks that share a surprising amount of parts with the average Ford or Chevy. These . race machines are compelling because the teams have engineered stock components and frames to handle the rigors of Baja; the C&C Motorsports Class 7100 4WD Ford Ranger is just such a vehicle. The C&C Motorsports Ranger and driver Joe Custer have an impressive pedigree. They