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Santa Fe SpringsCalifornia is home to one of the finest off-road fabrication shops, SI (Suspension Innovation) Motorsports Inc. Owner Tom McKenzie, started his career in 1996 when he began working for Larry Plank of the legendary Plank Motorsports.
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Tragedy struck in September of 2000, when Larry was killed in an unexpected plane crash. With his Boss, Mentor, and one of his best friends now gone, Tom knew he had to keep the knowledge and expertise learned at Plank Motorsports alive.
As the saying goes, “Every cloud has a silver lining”, well the F-150 Trophy Prerunner you see on the pages of our magazine, are that “silver lining”.
This F-150 prerunner looks like it should be touring the show circuit, not hammering through the desert at warp speed, but warp speed is exactly what is was built for.
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Starting with the front suspension, the overall track width in true Trophy Truck style is set at 90 inches. This is accomplished with SI custom fabricated billet 4130 Chromoly equal length beam assembly with custom radius arm and zero bump steer crossover steering system. Handling the bumps in the front are King Internal Bypass Coilovers and a 2.0 Bumpstop to produce a whopping 24”of useable wheel travel.
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So the rear of this prerunner can keep up with the front SI Motorsports fabricated a four-link assembly to work with another set of custom King 4.0 Internal Bypass Coilovers to produce 34” of useable wheel travel. Now you can see why this prerunner gets the name “Trophy Prerunner”.
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A prerunner of this caliber needs to have an equally impressive drivetrain. Patton Racing Engines built the Ford 442 C.I. engine that produces 650HP and 600FT-LBS. with the help of custom fabricated stainless steel headers and a Patton modified Holley Carburetor. Sending the power to the rear is handled by a Ken Mogi built C-6 transmission.
Handling all the abuse and putting the power to the ground is a custom built 9 in. housing. Take a look at all the gusseting SI incorporated to ensure this axle stays straight.
Supporting this truck are a set of BFG Baja T/A’s measuring 37”x12.50”x17” mounted on 17x8 Ultra Racing Wheels.
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All the fiberglass on this truck is from Autofab in the form of custom 4” bulge fiberglass front fenders, 6 pin hood, and 4” bulge rear fenders.
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Some misc. parts worth mentioning are: Fuelsafe 75 gallon Fuel cell, Ron Davis Radiator, Fluidyne transmission coolers, SI Motorsports custom front hubs, Sandy Cone rear hubs, third member, and axles. CNC Brakes, Hella HID lights, Lee power steering, and wiring by Tom Oliva.
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It is important that the occupants be comfortable when storming the desert, to ensure this SI Motorsports added all the creature comforts of a luxury touring car.
Custom Aluminum dash by SI Motorsports, PCI Race Radio and Intercom system, Lowrance GPS, Pioneer stereo and amp, Autometer Gauges, Vintage Air A/C and Heater, Art Carr shifter, complete upholstery by Ron Mangus, and room for 3. I don’t think anything was left out.
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Overall this prerunner performs well inside and out, and craftsmanship like this gives you the piece of mind you will get out of the desert safe and have a blast while you are in it!
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