what would be the grm version of the svt raptor? could one comparable even be made on a working man's budget?
what would be the grm version of the svt raptor? could one comparable even be made on a working man's budget?
Lift a lightning? 
whatever it is you must put a hinge in the middle of the chassis so it will bend on the first offroad trip like the raptors...
I know it isn't exactly GRM, but easily could be, Extreme 4x4 is doing this exact thing. So far, their 98 or 99 F150 got a lift kit, tars, wheelz, and a refreshed Lightning 5.4L. Haven't seen anything else done on the toob.
A Defender V8 pickup is pretty close, a Toyota Pickup/4runner is actually a better offroader overall IMO but not so powerful.
patgizz wrote: whatever it is you must put a hinge in the middle of the chassis so it will bend on the first offroad trip like the raptors...
Is that legit? I remember someone whining that when they took a massive hit at 75 MPH there was a frame tweak, but complaining about that is kind of like wrecking one's WRX at the track and blaming the factory for the understeer.
Baja bug?
I'm going to say the only thing you'll be able to buy thats better for the same price might be a used trophy truck.......
home built prerunner ranger
I checked the Phoenix CL for pre-runners, and found a few options. How about an S-10 with fiberglass body and prepped for an LS swap? I would search Phoenix to So Cal and look for someone elses project truck.
An '80's Toyota with a SBC swap. There used to be bolt-on kits for the IFS trucks that would give over 12" of travel. Unfortunately, I think the company that made them (Downey?) is no longer around. There were huge flared fenders available back then as well. I always dreamed of building my truck into such a beast, but there isn't any place to drive a truck like that on THD east coast. Mostly slow woods trails around here.
kreb wrote:patgizz wrote: whatever it is you must put a hinge in the middle of the chassis so it will bend on the first offroad trip like the raptors...Is that legit? I remember someone whining that when they took a massive hit at 75 MPH there was a frame tweak, but complaining about that is kind of like wrecking one's WRX at the track and blaming the factory for the understeer.
Its blown way out of proportion. Yes if you hit a jump at 80+ you might bend the frame. The fact that it can take whoops at 50-60 isnt good enough
And you can add hydraulic bump stops and some reinforcement to fix it
you can build a prerunner a lot cheaper but it wont have the factory refinement of the raptor
GRM-budget version of an SVT Raptor?
If you live in this area, at least, all the Raptors are mall-crawlers (and most of the lifted jeeps, pickups, etc)......so for around here, that's easy:
Ian F wrote: An '80's Toyota with a SBC swap. There used to be bolt-on kits for the IFS trucks that would give over 12" of travel. Unfortunately, I think the company that made them (Downey?) is no longer around. There were huge flared fenders available back then as well. I always dreamed of building my truck into such a beast, but there isn't any place to drive a truck like that on THD east coast. Mostly slow woods trails around here.
In college our neighbor had an SBC-swapped early 4Runner. He never put the roof on, had the whole interior bedlinered, and off-roaded it extentively. It had a E36 M3load of rust on the chassis (it's a Toyota truck....), but on the street he could light up the tires in 4WD hi.....it was pretty damn impressive.
In reply to irish44j:
99% of the raptors were bought to cruise to the mall in. I think it is impressive that they are actually pretty good at speed in the desert.
I finally saw my first one at Home Depot before the storm... nice looking truck in the flesh
singleslammer wrote: In reply to irish44j: 99% of the raptors were bought to cruise to the mall in. I think it is impressive that they are actually pretty good at speed in the desert.
I do too. Just like it's impressive what Jeeps can do off-road. I just find it sad that so many posers out there buy them, deck them out in wheeling gear, racks, hi-lifts, etc., and then never get them dirty. And off-road trucks are such little pleasure to drive on-road, so I don't see the point other than ego-boost.
(disclaimer: I had a lifted, rigged XJ several years back. Built with the intention of taking it wheeling frequently in the Blue Ridge Mts. Once it became clear that I wouldn't have the time to do that, and that it is absolutely no fun to drive that kind of vehicle around locally, I sold it in short order. Also because we got a new 4Runner that can do 95% of what the XJ can do off-road, but also drives great on-road)
Personally, the price of a Raptor would make me hesitant to take it off road with serious intent. Sort of along the same vein as taking an expensive new car on the track.
The Raptor actually is a decent street vehicle
Ian F wrote: An '80's Toyota with a SBC swap. There used to be bolt-on kits for the IFS trucks that would give over 12" of travel. Unfortunately, I think the company that made them (Downey?) is no longer around. There were huge flared fenders available back then as well. I always dreamed of building my truck into such a beast, but there isn't any place to drive a truck like that on THD east coast. Mostly slow woods trails around here.
These guys still make the various kits for early 4runners:
http://www.chaosfab.com/
Remember the '85 is the best, it's all downhill after that.
Really there are two best answers
1) Jeepspeed XJ, you get some gofast ability (not a ton but enough) and have a nice usable SUV 4x4 you can use on trails etc still. Jeepspeed also being a sort of "spec" race series you can find their set suspension pieces and whatnot relatively cheap
2) Ford Ranger, bang for buck by far the easiest and cheapest trucks to build into prerunners
Of course I would love to build a fourth or fifth generation Ford Bronco prerunner
I bought this for $7K. The suspension will outperform the Raptor.
Buying something already built is the key to a low cost Raptor alternative.
There is some CRAZY stuff out there you can buy for an XJ Cherokee/Comanche that would put it on par with the Raptor in terms of suspension.
Power is left up to your imagination.
In the meantime, i leave you with this: http://youtu.be/iGk_CAVZfZI
Raptors are just so friggin HUGE. maybe if i ever start crapping money i'd be more interested.
Huge is bad for driving through forest or jungle, and huge has an effect on center clearance. That's a big part of what makes Sammies and Wranglers so capable - it's hard to high-center them.
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