SEMA: Toyota Tundra Build
I have built several project vehicles for the SEMA Show over the years, including this 2008 Toyota Tundra. I asked my friend Ryan at Dirt-Tech if he would build me a cage that provided room for two spare tires, a modular light bar, Powertank and floor jack mount. He knocked it out of the park as always. The front bumper also came out gorgeous. Here are a few snaps of the cage as it was completed and mounted to the truck just before heading to SEMA. I later had the cage clear coated for rust protection. The truck was featured in Off-Road Magazine and in Pro Comp's booth at the 2008 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, NV.
Kincaid Racing
When Scott Kincaid calls you to come visit Kincaid Racing Engines to checkout his new toy, you go. Don't hesitate, GO. His Porter PRC-4 Unlimited Class Buggy is nothing short of spectacular. 700HP of pure, right-foot-happiness.
This vehicle was features in OFF-ROAD MAGAZINE 2008
Gary Hough THAT’S RIGHT
If you grew up near the deserts of Southern California, chances are you know Gary Hough. Gary has owned some of the nicest trucks you will see running around Ocotillo Wells, Anza Borrego, Glamis and the surrounding areas. Having gotten to know Gary very well over the years, I learned that unlike a number of off-road personalities, he is a really nice guy. His part-time property in Ocotillo Wells is perfect for when the race team needs a weekend away.
I've photographed several of Gary's trucks over the years for publication. This is one of his trucks from 2006. Enjoy a couple of the snaps.
Suzuki Equator Launch
How many of you remember the Suzuki Equator? (crickets) It was a rebranded Nissan Frontier sold through Suzuki for a couple years. Sales weren’t great but the vehicle was plenty capable. I was invited to Texas for the vehicle launch in 2007. We had a blast tearing up the trails testing out the trucks capabilities. We may have even found it’s limits along the way. Enjoy a few snapshots from the event.
SEMA 2013
For one week in November, Las Vegas floods with automotive enthusiasts from around the world. Hotel rates triple, the Monorail is packed to the gills and everyone does their best to not get sick. This year marks the 12th year that I've been attending The SEMA Show in Las Vegas. SEMA is 'THE' event in automotive aftermarket. If you make the car, or the part that bolts on to the car, you attend SEMA. Concept cars and new products are the highlights of the show. Throughout my 12 year attendance, I've seen the automotive industry both thrive and suffer. The SEMA Show is always a good representative of how industry blood is flowing. A few years ago when the real estate market fell out, quickly followed by the auto industry, SEMA suffered. No longer did we see a show packed with all-new and exciting builds. There was a good 5 year period where I can safely say, SEMA was barely worth attending.
Fortunately, over the past 3-4 years, SEMA has been recharged. New builds are showing up each year and we are once again seeing more innovation than in years past. It would be nice to see a few more off-road builds that don't look like they have been Armor All'd to death and maybe a few less stickers. Okay? This year, I was only in town for one night and without an official agenda, spent every minute snapping photos. Along with the photos, I am going to share with you some of my SEMA tips, how I do Vegas and a few other thoughts. So, I hope you actually read the rest of this and don't just skip to the photos.
How to make your SEMA/Vegas trip smarter!
1. Book your hotel as early as possible. If you know that you're going to attend SEMA next year, book your hotel NOW. Rates go up throughout the year and within 3 months from show time, they are double or triple what you would pay today. Remember, you can always cancel your reservation usually 72 hours before the date of arrival. With that said, stay alert to last minute hotel deals. I use the Kayak App on my iPhone and love it. It searches all the top sites and puts the results in the palm of your hand. This year, with only one night planned, I waited to see if any last minute deals popped up and got lucky. Treasure Island was charging $199 for WED and FRI nights, but THUR was only $64. Two weeks ago the entire week was averaging $156/night. I find Expedia.com and Vegas.com also have really good rates and checkout is easy.
2. Pack your room full of food and drinks. If you are driving to Vegas, bring a cooler and pack it with water, beer, snacks, whatever you don't want to overpay on in Vegas. The hotel store will charge you anywhere from $2.50 and up for a small bottle of water. You can buy a case of 24 bottles at home for $5. Be smart. I usually bring water, fruit, oatmeal, and MnMs. Between late nights and early starts, breakfast is often hard to come by in Vegas. So, I try to make a nice bowl of oatmeal to kick off my day. Much better than paying $24 for heat-lamp food in the buffet.
3. The best place to get free drinks in Vegas is at the casino bar. Any casino bar as long as it has table-top games. The bartenders will give you free drinks as long as you're playing. Please tip them! Throw $20 in the machine and play a few games before ordering a drink. The bartender will see you are playing and start shelling out beverages as long as you keep going. Some of the casino bartenders have told me that you have to play the $1 games in order to skip drink charges. So keep that in mind. My typical routine is to throw $100 in the machine, play $1 blackjack for a little while. I don't even need to play that often, just having cash in the machine provides me drinks. Also, don't be scared of the receipt that will show up in front of you. They have to put that there to keep track of your bill. As long as you're playing, all you need to worry about is the tip. I suggest you tip the bartender well, especially if you just sat for an hour, pounded down 6 beers and only gambled $5. Give the guy a good tip and he will remember you the next time you sit down at his bar. He is also less likely to worry about how much you are playing. If you are thinking, "Hey man I can do the same at any slot machine!" Wrong. The waitress serving you at the slots barely cares you are there. She takes forever to bring you a drink and if you're like me, you get tired of a slot machine after about 2 minutes. At least, the table games give you half a chance to win some cash. I usually win enough to pay for my hotel charges and score plenty of drinks in the process.
4. Let's talk about the Monorail. This is by far the easiest way to get to the SEMA show. If you can, book your hotel at one of the stops. That way, you have easy access. I suggest staying at the MGM. It's the farthest hotel from the LV Convention Center, but its also the easiest Monorail station to use. It's the last stop for southbound passengers and the first for northbound. With an empty car, you are assured a seat for the entire route. By the time you reach the convention, the monorail is packed all the while you've been seated comfortably. If the MGM is too expensive for you, try staying at Excalibur. Rates are cheaper and MGM is a short walk across the street. Keep an eye out for an elevator just right of the front doors outside valet. Its a secret shortcut to the monorail station.
5. Remember when I mentioned people getting sick? It's true. With that many people slammed together over a week barely sleeping or eating properly, people are inevitably coughing on you and shaking your hand. This is typical for all conventions. I do have a small bottle of hand sanitizer in my pack but I'm not the guy using it every time I touch something. I recommend stopping in the restroom every now and then to wash your hands. Pack a few pouches of Emergen-C and dump it into a bottle of water once or twice throughout the day. Airborne is also a good idea for keeping germs away and just as easy to use. This may all sound a little ridiculous to you but I no longer get the 'Sema Sickness'.
6. Depending on why you are attending the show, I recommend you carry a backpack. Please, for the love of everyone else at the show, STOP bringing roller cases to conventions. Those annoying bags trip people left and right and I have no qualms about kicking your bag when it gets in the way. "But I don't want to carry the weight of a pack on my back all day." Too bad. Man up or woman up and stop thinking about only yourself for a change. I've noticed people carrying stacks and stacks of files and wonder if they realize its 2013? We are in the digital age people, a laptop or tablet packs down flat and is very easy to carry.
7. Grab coffee at your hotel before getting to the show. The Starbucks lines at the convention center are nothing short of depressing.
8. Get up early and photograph the cars outside while the sun is coming up. This should be a no brainer for any photographer reading this. I know getting up early in Vegas is tough, but your photos will show the difference. There are also far less people walking around in the morning both inside and outside. Nice clean photos of cars without people blocking them is tough to come by. Arrange your schedule so you can make this happen.
9. Check your hotel for special SEMA shuttles. Most of the big casinos offer FREE shuttle service to and from the show. If you don't mind waiting for the next bus to arrive, this could be your best and cheapest bet for getting there.
10. For those of you that are health nuts or have food allergies, doing Vegas can be tough. There are a few Chipotle's on the strip and this year I found gluten free pizza inside Treasure Island. One of my favorite restaurants is also inside Treasure Island. Gilley's has great BBQ, just checkout this photo from my Instagram. There is also a Whole Foods on LV Blvd just a few miles south of the big casinos. Fill up that cooler or hotel fridge with healthy goodies!
I hope you enjoyed a few of my SEMA/Vegas tips! This post has inspired me to do a more thorough Vegas Tips post soon to come. There are a few more tricks up my sleeve I will share soon enough. By now you are probably wondering where the photos are!
Behind Baja
This was slated to be published in Off-Road Magazine 2008, until the Editor decided to jump ship and the Publisher wanted to take the magazine a 'new direction'. NONSENSE! I was really upset at the time because not only did Pflueger Racing treat me really well and allow me to be a part of their Baja 500, I also felt that some great images came from it people would enjoy. Images you don't usually see because everyone is focused on the race.
This photo series is from the 2008 SCORE International Baja 500. Unfortunately, Pflueger would suffer from the loss of four blown transmissions on the day. Through thick and thin, the team hung together and worked their butts off to keep the truck on the move. I hope these photos show you the hard work that goes into keeping a Trophy Truck together and on course during one of the most grueling races in the world.
Thank you again to everyone from Pflueger Racing for having me!
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Seattle with ARB USA
Seth from ARB asked if I wanted to come up and run some trails just outside Seattle, Washington. Without hesitation, I was on the first available flight. Seth is one of those really good guys you meet in the industry and quickly become friends with. An article in 4 Wheel Drive & Sport Utility Magazine came out of this day, here are some extras. I love your green Seattle!
ToyoVette
Jon has been racing the deserts of SoCal and silt beds of Baja longer than most. Spinning dirt for the first time in 1972, gives Jon a credibility and experience level not commonly found. Having owned and raced such a great number of vehicles, Jon’s answer to our question of what he has previously owned was, “You name it and I have run it!” If you happen to see a 2-door bright yellow Tacoma running around, be sure to take a glance underneath.
Jon’s wife insisted that the next prerunner Jon built had real doors, a windshield and working air conditioning. Starting the build with the cab from a ’06 Tacoma provided just what he (she) needed. The majority of this build was completed by AJ at The Baja Shop located in Corona, California. The new fiberglass hood, fenders and rear bedsides were designed by Glassworks Unlimited and painted Bright Yellow by Speed Shop Painting in Corona, California. Mounted to the front bumper are a pair of Kragen HID lights.
This vehicle was featured in Off-Road Magazine.
See something missing? That’s right, the motor isn’t where it should be. As we already mentioned, from the outside, this looks like a Tacoma, but from underneath, it’s a completely different beast. Baja Shop built a vehicle more resembling buggy characteristics and slapped a truck body on top. Center mounted 4130 chromoly control arms provide over 20-inches of wheel travel. Jon chose to go with 2.0 Fox shocks all around.
You were probably wondering where the name of this truck came from? Under the hood is a tightly tucked Chevy LS-1 pumping out more than 400 horsepower. The same 5.7-liter engine found in the Corvette. A Ron Davis radiator is also found under the bonnet as well as a UMP Air Filter System, Mike Leach custom headers and Fox reservoirs mounted high for easy access.
The rear bed space was built out of form and function. Remembering this truck is built to prerun as well as chase on occasion, an aluminum storage compartment was built to house equipment and a removable chase rack was added on top to hold larger items.
Well that’s definitely not a Tacoma! Baja Shop built the rear half using long 4130 chromoly trailing arms to provide 20-inches of wheel travel. Stuffed into the rear differential is a limited slip locker and 4.10 ratio gears.
Jon’s son, L.J. Kennedy runs a shop called The Body Guys and built the dash for the truck. The aluminum dash is powder coated black and holds all of the proper components. Auto Meter gauges, Racer X communications, Lowrance GPS, Sparco steering wheel, and a Vertex radio. Beard provided the seats using Crow belts and Dirt Bagz made custom equipment bags that are mounted throughout the cabin.
