2004 Alumicraft 2-Seat Pre-Runner turned Sand Car

[evantwheeler]

2004 Alumicraft 2-Seat Pre-Runner turned Sand Car - Asking $120k - Menifee, CA

I’m sure some of you recognize the car from when it was for sale out in Indio back in the mid 20teens. The car ended up going to Florida and the guy drove it in the 2016 Mint 400 sportsman class as a bucket list adventure. None of the race legal stuff is on the car or around anymore. Window nets, siren/horn, fuel cell bulkhead, etc., all that stuff is gone.

Purchased in September 2017.

Winter 2017/2018 6 Glamis weekend trips in the car as it was purchased.

Summer 2018

• Upgraded from LS1 to Alper Motorsports stroked 416 cu in LS3, purchased 2nd hand from Lambro (Matt Blackmon) off GD forum.
• 10.8:1 compression, runs on 91. Lunati forged crank, rods & pistons. Texas speed cam shaft, GMPP factory ported heads with LS3 titanium valves & Lunati double valve springs. Running GM Red/Blue ECU tuned by DuneHoon, with a CBM stand alone harness. Weldon fuel pump, 100 micron serviceable pre-pump filter & 10 micron serviceable post pump filter.
• Full chassis prep – rebuilt shocks, new hub bearings (2” spindles & hubs are Kartek units from mid 2000’s era), all new suspension & steering heims, new trailing arm bushings & heims, new Pro-Am micro stub assemblies, serviced CV’s.

Summer 2018 trip to Idaho Dunes

Fall 2018

• Alumicraft updated front & rear chassis tubing to the newer curved design.
• Upgraded to 17” DWT beadlocks front & rear with 12.5’s and 36” #2 blaster paddles

Winter of 2018/2019 2 Glamis weekend trips

Summer 2019

• Put all new shocks & springs on the car vs. coating old shocks to upgrade visual look. Black Fox Race series with Racer Engineering specd valving. 10”x2.0 coilover w/ reservoir & 12”x3.0 4 tube bypasses in front, 14” x 2.5” coilover with remote reservoir & 16” x 3.5” 5 tube bypasses in rear.
• New chromoly front upper control arms w/ uniball to fit larger front shocks from Alumicraft at the time of shock upgrade.
• Full front & rear alignment using LRS’s alignment plates.
• New Cages & balls in the 934 GKN CV’s.

Summer 2019 trip to Idaho Dunes

Halloween 2020 I rounded off the dogs between 2nd & 3rd in the Fortin at Olds and limped back to camp.

2021

• Purchased new S5D from McDowell. Gearing can be provided upon request.
• Alper Motorsports shifter
• New Kennedy LS Bellhousing flywheel, double disc clutch & stage 3 pressure plate
• New Meziere starter w/ Ford remote starter solenoid
• New 1-3/4” headers & exhaust from Hot Head Headers
• Serviced CV’s
• Installed new 25 gallon fuel cell & bladder w/ foam from Harmon

Spring 2022 quick trip to Glamis to break-in S5D

Summer 2022 trip to Idaho Dunes

Winter 2022/2023 3 weekend trips to Glamis

Summer 23

• Replaced all fuel hoses with XRP hose from Kartek & installed Oetiker clamps at each push-on fitting after having a hose coming off a fitting post-pump and draining all my fuel on a ride.
• Changed oil in transaxle

Winter 2023/2024 3 weekend trips to Glamis

Sumer 2024 trip to Idaho Dunes

Total use on the car in 7 years of my ownership is 15 trips to Glamis and 4 trips to Idaho Dunes. That’s probably less use than some cars see in a season or two in Glamis for some of the die-hards. Engine does not have an hour meter so hours are unknown.

Some Misc Notes:

• Car has a VIN and is CA titled as a TATM. I believe Rich got this thing titled in AZ at some point in time after the first owner/builder of the car sold it. Current CA OHV sticker.
• Car has never been wrecked.
• Comes with two sets of trailer wheels & tires as the rear is too wide to fit in most trailers with the paddles on. 33” on 15’s and some tiny little pizza cutters on 14’s.
• Exact wheelbase unknown off the top of my head, but it is about 4” longer and a little bit wider than the 2-seat sand car or Dual-Sport chassis I have compared it to.
• No dirt tires/wheels are included or available.
• Engine oil changed before every season of use & before every Idaho trip. 0w-40 Mobil 1 full synthetic from day 1.
• Jeff Davis aluminum body.
• Hydraulic power steering. New KRC pump from Alper Motorsports when engine was installed with a remote reservoir/filter.
• Dedicated Engine oil cooler & thermostatically controlled fan with remote oil filter housing up under the rear body.
• Large pre-runner storage compartment between the cockpit & engine over top of transaxle. Car also comes with an auxiliary steel tubular gear basket that mounts to chassis above this compartment and a chassis mounted spare tire holder that mounts over top of the engine.
• Car to car radio & in car intercom. No helmets or headsets included.
• Air pumper.
• Single lever dual cutting brakes.
• BD OnX6 10 front LED light bar is the only forward-facing light now, the upper cubes and mirrors have been removed. BD RTL rear light bar – yellow running, red brake, and white switched “bed” light. Buggy Whip white LED whip & quick connect. Interior white LED strip dome light.
• Car was wired for front blinkers when I bought it, but I removed the lights. I cannot recall if it was also wired for rear blinkers….but I do know the RTL light model I installed can be used as turn signals.
• Setup for two Odyssey PC925’s with battery selector switch, but only running a single battery.
• Glass windshield cracked and has been removed. I have still have the glass and weather strip.

Overall, I think the car is in great shape mechanically/structurally, and very good shape aesthetically for its age. While the black widow painted on the hood was definitely not my style, for some reason I could never get myself to cover it up or re-spray the hood. There is one small area on the hood where the powder coating has cracked along the drivers side upper contoured edge of the hood. The roof panel blew back on me when I was running without the windshield surround installed and the zip ties used to “secure” the front edge of the roof panel reached their limit. The roof panel could be replaced if I was going to objectively critique the body. Both side panels are in really good shape for their age, there is one chip in the paint on the rear of the passenger body. Most of the side panels are covered with clear PPF but some portions have been removed due to pealing & sand getting into the edges and looking like crap. The cerakote on the brand-new headers got scratched up on the way to Idaho due to my BBQ getting loose in the trailer. Never bothered to have them re-coated…. The front & rear tube work was prepped & sprayed black with rattle cans after the update at Alumicraft. The front shows some sand blasting due to following a bit to close to others…

I am admittedly being a bit pre-mature posting this ad, but want to get it out there if anyone is looking to upgrade to a bad ass new car for the upcoming season. There are a few small projects that I can think of to be done to prep the car for a more public sale on RaceDezert / FB marketplace, and I intend to start on this list as soon I can get another project out of my garage this month. If someone wanted to buy the car as-is and knock these items out themselves and get into the sand ASAP, I would definitely be open to that.

• Drivers outer CV needs serviced/rebuilt due to CV coming apart in the sand during last dune trip. It was driven back to camp with 3 CV bolts, cleaned up & put back together and ran for 4 days without another issue.
• Needs rear brake pads & rotor surfaced after dragging a caliper from improper cutting brake/brake pedal use….
• Clutch master either needs rebuilt or bled. It has never failed or lost fluid, but required pedal travel to disengage the clutch has seemed to increase since the car was last ran.
• Steering wheel mounted gear indicator has not been wired to the potentiometer on the transmission.
• The rear exhaust hangers were solid mounted to the chassis and have started to crack at the base of the tabs.
• The rear paddles are well used. I personally wouldn’t replace them yet, but I’m sure someone looking at this car will make the comment that it “needs” new paddles.
• The battery is 3 years old and should be replaced. I put a maintainer on it periodically, but if it sits for a couple months, it is too weak to turn over the engine.

I am definitely biased, but this car is an absolute blast to drive hard in Glamis. The power of the NA LS3 is great for pushing the car and not having to play footsies with the throttle pedal to be able to steer & control the car. The engine & exhaust sound fantastic, especially at the higher RPM due to the 1-3/4” primaries and 4-2-1 straight out the back design. I believe the sound is 75% of why I love driving the car so much. The car will pull the nose with some momentum and a little hump, but will not wheelie on command like a blower car. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want some boost in Idaho at 5000’ elevation….but outside of the drags, this car doesn’t need any more power in Glamis. The clutch has never once been side stepped or dropped. Car is extremely stable and slides VERY well for a bigger heavier car when you run higher air pressure in the rear paddles. I am going to miss the hell out of driving this car in the sand, but other interest combined with lack of use say it needs to find a new home.

 

[evantwheeler]

 

[evantwheeler]

If someone wanted a package deal, I have a 24' continental enclosed that is nearly perfect for this car. I say nearly, because the front does have to be strapped to fit through the door....setup with toolboxes (there are two of those HF carts side by side now), winch, and compressor. No fuel station, water, or generator. Trailer is not for sale without the car as I can still use it for my crawler. 1 trip to Idaho & 1 trip to Sand Hollow on the Maxxis tires, new brakes, hubs & bearings. Trailer has been painted, its black under the white. $15k with the car.

 

[acefuture]

Couple notes about this car:

- The car was originally built for Jim Anderson, who has been involved in the racing community for a very long time. Jim Anderson and Guy Evans (previous owner of my car, who then owned the alumicraft baja bug) went to John Cooley to have this car, and my car built at the same time. Both cars built as prerunners, but Jim's to also be used in the sand from time to time as well. Both of those guys sold these two cars to have new Alumicrafts built.
- It is a 128" wheel base car, which is about 3" longer than most of this gen.

We still never got the sisters together to get some photos of them together. Hopefully the new owner will keep her in the area so they can meet again one day. Good luck with the sale, bummed to see it go, but sure it will go to a good home.

 

[EmpirE231]

Good looking car! Can't go wrong with an alumicraft. Good luck with the sale.

 

[evantwheeler]

Couple notes about this car:

- The car was originally built for Jim Anderson, who has been involved in the racing community for a very long time. Jim Anderson and Guy Evans (previous owner of my car, who then owned the alumicraft baja bug) went to John Cooley to have this car, and my car built at the same time. Both cars built as prerunners, but Jim's to also be used in the sand from time to time as well. Both of those guys sold these two cars to have new Alumicrafts built.
- It is a 128" wheel base car, which is about 3" longer than most of this gen.

We still never got the sisters together to get some photos of them together. Hopefully the new owner will keep her in the area so they can meet again one day. Good luck with the sale, bummed to see it go, but sure it will go to a good home.

Thanks for the extra details and kind works Casey.