In an earlier life, the truck you are looking at won the 1987 SCORE Baja 500. Back then it was run as a bruising Class 8 truck and was the featured star of ABC’s coverage of the 1987 Baja 1,000 race. After a long life as a Class 8 competitor, the truck was completely blown apart and rebuilt as a full tilt desert pre-runner as you see in these photos. The truck wears a later grill headlights but is actually a late 1980s style body. Looking at the lines of the cab will tell you that along with the front fenders, etc. Here at the eastern BS world HQ, trucks like this do not exist as we’re largely short on desert and desert racing. That doesn’t mean we’re not pining to own it! With a GM 383ci crate engine backed by a Turbo 400 transmission and a suspension system about as elaborate as the one on the new Mars rover, it would be riotous to drive in nearly any situation. Yeah, ingress and egress are not exactly friendly, but once you’re in, you’re in. Then it is time to hang on!
This version of the truck was built by Reggie Dunlap of Dunrite Offroad and it is been used, not just polished. According to the seller it has competed in the California Rally Series of off road races and has been put into service pre-running the Baja course more than once. While the factory frame rails are in place, there is an amazingly elaborate tube chassis built up off of them and the detail photos in the ad do it more justice than our words ever could. There seems to be enough tubing used to built about three sportsman style dragsters in this truck!
The suspension is all full boogie as well with King coil over and bypass shocks on all the corners. Their remote reservoirs are easily seen perched up by the engine and atop the tube frame in the rear of the truck. The suspension travel is not listed, but safe to say it is cartoonishly awesome. Pre-running Baja is nearly as taxing as actually racing the event, so this baby is built to survive whatever the desert throws at it, gullies, jumps, and huge rocks included.
We think that the best part of this truck is that it is apparently street legal in California, which means it should be legal in your neck of the woods, too. Not to say it would be a great cruiser, but you could just crank the 1,000 watt stereo and motor on down the road to the nearest open field, dirt bike course, or open sand dunes and then have some big fun.
In the words of the late Tom Hnatiw , “Does anyone NEED a truck like this? No. Do we WANT a truck like this? Yes!”
Scroll down to see the photos and then hit the link to the RacingJunk ad!
YUMMY
Now I know what to ask Santa for.