SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/944316
PREPARED FOR FLIGHT Jason Tiedeken of Innov8 Racing built his 1990 Ford F-350 in true BaJa style By Dan Sanchez Photos By ICON Media While some may argue that the first production Ford F-350 Crew Cab was introduced in 1965, four-door trucks didn’t become super popular until the 1990’s. When Jason Tiedeken got his hands on a 1990 F-350, he wanted to build one as a true Baja capable truck. Despite the fact that a four-door F-350 is heavy, long and has a suspension that’s best suited for towing, rather than tackling desert terrain, Tiedeken was undaunted and took 2.5-years to build the truck into an inspiring desert pre-runner. Tiedeken owns and operates Innov8 Racing, manufacturers of off-road wheels, which allowed him the opportunity to have relationships with several off-road truck builders who use his products. One of these is Ryan Kibbe at Kibbetech, who Tiedeken asked to help with the fabrication of the truck’s chassis. The truck was completely disassembled and the front half of the 1990 F-350 uses the factory frame that has been strengthened by boxing it together, but the back half is fully customized, making the truck like a classic Class 8 style race vehicle. Kibbetech began by welding-up the complete roll cage that ties the front and rear chassis together using 1.5 to 1.7-inch chrome moly tubing. Up front, they added Blitzkrieg front radius arms with a 91-inch track width, along with Blitzkrieg kingpin spindles. At the rear, Kibbetech added a triangulated four-link with a Sway-A-Way anti-sway bar to give the truck plenty of suspension travel. At each wheel, a set of King 3.5-inch, three-tube bypass shocks with a King 3.5-inch coil-over shocks are used to smooth out the road and provide plenty of traction to the 39x13.5x17-inch BFGoodrich Baja T/A radials mounted on Innov8 Racing 17x9 forged aluminum beadlock wheels. The heavy-duty components are race ready, and require heavy-duty turning and stopping power. To do this, Tiedeken installed a PowerSteering Solution’s hydraulic steering system and relies on a set of Jamar disc brakes on all four wheels, which features a six-piston caliper on the front. While the truck originally had a diesel engine, Tiedeken swapped it out for a GM 6.0-liter LS gasoline V8 that he obtained from Mullenix Racing Engines. Additional strength in the engine compartment was added with a custom billet strut tower brace that Tiedeken created himself with his CNC machine. The wiring for the engine and ECU was done by Hardwire Performance, which allowed the engine to perform flawlessly, especially with the addition of a Holley High-Ram intake manifold. A 70-gallon Harmon Racing cell provides the source of fuel for the engine, while a K&N air intake system adds the incoming air mixture. The exhaust consists of a custom set of long-tube headers, that was created by Kibbetech, and flow out to a set of Magnaflow mufflers. The engine is matched up to a GM 4L60E automatic transmission that is controlled by a Winters Shifter and sends power to a Camburg Racing Ford 9-inch housing. The beefy race-ready housing features 4.0-inch axle tubes, and houses a Yukon Gear 5:36:1 ratio ring and pinion. Perhaps one of the unique qualities of Tiedeken’s F-350, which he rebadged as the KTF500, is that the truck’s body retains all of the original body lines of its 1990 styling. The fenders, bedsides, and hood are all fiberglass body panels from Autofab Fiberglass, but the cab and doors are all original metal. The front bumper and skid plate were made by Kibbetech, which gives the truck its hardcore off-road appearance, along with the various sets of KC HiLites lighting used around the vehicle. The aluminum chassis panels used throughout the truck were also fabricated by Kibbetech, including the rear bed cover, while the rest of the body was covered in a vinyl wrap that was applied by Vaderwerks Vinyl. Around the truck’s body, one can also see additional hints of Tiedeken’s machine work, with various braces and brackets he designed himself and anodized gold to match the truck’s black, white and gold color scheme. Once you step inside the F-350, however, all remnants of a toy-hauler pickup are taken over by pure Baja racing equipment. Four Beard bucket seats with PRP race harnesses are used to secure occupants to the truck before it takes flight over the desert terrain. The driver has a racing Sparco steering wheel connected to an Ididit tilt steering column and full instrumentation from a Fiberwerx dash. Outfitted with a PCI Radios communication system, Lowrance GPS and a Pioneer DVD head unit with XM radio capability, the F-350 is ready for a fast desert haul, or a trip to the nearest wheel dealer who wants to showcase the truck in their showroom. Tiedeken’s Crew Cab definitely captures the Class 8 racing trucks of the 90’s driven by veterans such as Robby Gordon, Rob MacCachren, Dan Smith and many others. The fact that the truck is also completely street legal makes for a great way for Tiedeken to showcase his line of wheels, and attract more attention to desert racing and that true off-road trucks are built to perform. SJ