The Titan is brand new, bought in December. It was bought as we needed a full size truck as a toy and for attending events. In addition to normal use the big news and plans for this truck is that it will serve as the Official Pace Truck of the CORR off road racing series. At each race the Titan will be out on track leading the field to the grenn flag and also helping with on track rescue work if needed.

The Titan that was purchased was Nissan's "Off Road Package", the Pro-4X, a name that associates the truck with Nissan's effort in CORR off road racing. The Pro-4X is loaded with aftermarket style parts that for your average Joe would would be fine if and when he ever took it off road. But for real off road use these parts are marinally better then stock, most of these parts will be thrown in the dumpster as the truck is going to get fully built. So why pay the money for the more expensive Pro-4X package? There are a couple of reasons, the first being the locker in the rear axle and the second being a more comfrotable and better looking interior. In the end the extra cash was worth it.

At this point we still have to keep some of the Nissan's future under wraps but the direction of the build has been decided. Everything we have built in the past has been a trail type rig suited for the rocks and that sort of thing. After spending a lot of time in the desert and at a ton of CORR races we have decided to take the Titan in that direction. It will still be trail friendly and it will be used that way, we can not forget our roots ;)

All of the parts are still being decided upon but this will be like no other Titan on Earth! That is a bold statement but we have a master plan that when it is unveiled (1/15ish/08) people are going to take notice. Keep an eye on this page for updates coming soon. 

2/2/08 Update

Work on the truck is well under way at this time. As mentioned above this truck will be on track at the CORR events, the duty it will serve there has help dictate the direction of this build. It needs to have the performance of a mild prerunner while also being able to perform the same sort of work that a light duty chase truck would have to perform.
In addition to the action it will see at the CORR races the truck is also going to be used as a chase truck for Baldwin Racing at a couple of events throughout 2008. Beyond that the truck is also going to be raced in a new off road racing sereis that will be announced and launched this spring. The series is designed so that street legal, average trucks can compete. More on that later.
And last but not least, the truck will be used as a show truck for Bully Dog Technologies who are on the verge of releasing performance products for the Titan.

Add all of those things together and it became obvious that we had to build a true hybrid, a truck that will handle the highway, fast paced dirt action, slow speed trails on the weekend for fun (Just because the Liberty is gone does not mean we will not be out on the trail on free weekends.), the utility to serve as a chase truck and look really good.
First things first, picking what parts are going to get installed and we will get in-depth on each piece as we come to the install of those parts. The first thing done was to decide on a paint scheme, the truck has to get attention on the track and at the events it attends for Bully Dog. A red, silver and black paint scheme was decided upon. Before the truck could be painted we had to source some fiberglass fenders and bedsides. We will be puting 35" tires on the truck, while they will fit with a lot of trimming it made more sense to go with fiberglass all the way around for optimum clearance.


A call to Glassworks was made and just like that we had fenders and bedsides sitting in the warehouse. Glassworks is well known for their tough fiberglass body panels, the fit and finish of their pieces are top notch. Once in house they were loaded in the back on the Titan and the truck was taken to Prestiege Auto Body in Pocatello, Idaho for the work to begin. It is scheduled to be out of paint on 2/ 5. Check back for an update then and the start of the suspension build.

2/12/08 Update

 The Titan is back from paint, there is some small detail work left to do but for the most part it is done. At least with paint and body work. Once back the suspension was the first thing to get modified. The decesion was made to go with a Camburg front kit including new upper control arms and coil over shocks. Having used their stuff before on a Toyota and a Ranger, we knew their stuff was tough. You will read a lot of stuff online, everyone is an expert on everything. We read a lot of negative about the Camburg set up for the Titan, it was all crap! In the rear we went with a Deaver leaf, mini pack and Sway Away shocks. Front and rear we gain a few inches of travel. The installation of all the parts was easy and really straight forward, the one suspension item that has not been finished yet is the front sway bar. Playing with the Titan in the dirt, wanting as much flex and travel as possible means getting rid of the bar. But our Titan is going to see a lot of highway miles so the bar is nice to have. The fix? Build custom sway bar disconnect links that allow the sway bar to be disengaged when we want to yet hooked back up fairly easy. We have designed two different styles and both suck. So we are going to have the pros at CBI Fab take a shot at it.
With the suspension installed the truck lloks really odd with the stock wheels and tires still on it. Custom KMC Enduo wheels and Pro Comp Tires will be installed in the next few days.

With the suspension done it was onto other necessary items. Installation of a Baja540 GPS/Navigation unit, a race radio, Sirius radio (We need Howard Stern and good punk rock music), a high pitched air horn, a cold air intake being developed by Bully Dog and few other small comfort sort of items.
The truck is going to see a lot of use on and off road, from simple daily driving to chase work in the desert, pace truck duty with CORR and our own fun in the dirt. It has to serve a lot of purposes, picking parts has been a challenge.

With just over 2000 miles on the odometer the truck was almost gutted, kind of a shocking sight when you step back and see interior panels all over the place, wiring hanging out of the dash and the smell of burning plastic in the air. I don't care how cool your wife is, she walks in the garage and sees that sight in your new truck she is going to be a little uneasy.

The Baja 540 GPS was selected for a few reasons; It is easy to use, read and navigate on, it is compact and can be removed pretty easy if desired, it is super simple to upload maps, course notes and all that and we had already purchased the World maps for another 540 in a chase truck last year.


2/27/08

The wheels and tires are finally on the truck, our friends over at KMC Wheels set us up with their XD Enduro wheels that we had powder coated a bronze like color that KMC uses on their race and beadlock wheels. It is a different color but looks really good.

With the wheels on it is time to start the fab work, the truck was taken to our friends at CBI Off Road who will are building a front and rear bumper, a roof rack/bed cage combo that will tie into the rear bumper and will also hold the spare, some various suspension bits, a rear axle truss/support structure. At this time we have decided to not do the interior cage, the truck has to be ready and shown at the Off Road Impact trade show on March 7th, having the cage built and powder coated is going to be immpossible. So before the summer we will get it done.

Here are some images, the front bumper looks HUGE but with the skid plates and Lightforce lights in place it comes together good.