More than 650 kW, four wheel drive, a full tube ‘spaceframe’ chassis – off-road racer Joel Giddy’s new Ford-bodied race truck came out for a pre-season eye-opener at the Counties Classic club series event in late January.
Giddy says the truck is a Pro4 formerly run in US short course racing by Todd LeDuc.
It is set up specifically for short course truck racing and was used in the USA for the Lucas Oil Pro4 Championship. The end of the series sent a flood of very advanced trucks onto the market, a boon for countries like New Zealand where short course racing is gaining in popularity.
Giddy’s truck has a high compression Ford ‘small block’ engine built by Pro Power in Michigan, USA and has been detuned for flexibility and durability in New Zealand race conditions.
Dubbed the Big Dog, the truck represents a new level of performance and investment for NZ off-road racing’s unlimited truck class. A Pro4 engine, for example, runs to tens of thousands of dollars. Pro Power is a specialist competition engine builder that specialises in engines for speedway and off-road racing; its Facebook page currently lists a built Chev 496ci V8 with race carburettor for USD$27,000 and a Ford 436 ci complete V8 for $35,000.
The engine in Giddy’s new machine drives all four wheels through a Fortin four speed race transmission that will run as a pre-selector auto-shift or in full manual if preferred.
The Pro4 category features mechanicals also used in the big Trophy truck class – the mightiest of the Baja 1000 desert trucks.
California professional off road racer Todd LeDuc has raced in this country: the Cherry Valley resident came here in 2015 to race New Zealand’s longest and toughest race, the Polaris NZ 1000. He drove one of three race cars entered in the event by Kiwi racer and Lotto millionaire Trevor Cooper.
Pro4 specifications
Pro4 race trucks use fibreglass bodies designed specifically for racing, draped over a single-design steel tube ‘spaceframe’. The body panels are styled after full-sized pickups made by Chevrolet, Ford, Ram and others and are designed for quick replacement. Full specifications for building a truck are available on the internet. There are three or more Pro4 trucks in New Zealand; Joel Giddy’s is the newest and fastest of them.
Due to the American origins of the class, measurements are in Imperial.
• 700+ horsepower, but typically ranges between 700-900hp.
• 18 inch front wheel travel limit.
• 20 inch rear wheel travel limit.
• 113 inch minimum wheelbase.
• 122 inch maximum wheelbase.
• 93 inch maximum track width.
• 4000 lbs. minimum weight, including driver.
