Off Road Race With Aaron Kaufman – Getting A Beaten Up Old Scout Ready For King Of The Hammers!
In the corner of the automotive community that deals with everything off-road, there are a lot of events to pick from. It would be really difficult to put our finger on which one is the “best” because of all of them have a lot to offer, however, I think that many will agree that something like King of the Hammers really puts the biggest beating on a machine possible. As the brutal race through the desert begins, drivers and their equipment both need to figure out a plan to hold up through the elements as they face all sorts of adverse conditions that will really put man and machine to the test. This is where build quality can REALLY be tested out thoroughly.
However, it doesn’t really seem like Aaron Kaufman is the type to back down from a challenge. In fact, when it comes to what we’ve been hearing through the grapevine about his plans as Shifting Gears, his fresh new television show, goes on, it becomes more and more apparent that Kaufman really takes the approach of that go hard or go home mentality, really looking to crank out some top notch stuff and prove that both himself and his crew are some of the best in the business and that they aren’t afraid to take on any challenge by the horns.
If you follow along down the video below, you’ll get a taste of just that as Kaufman brought into the shop a ’71 Scout International that has definitely seen better days and the idea here is to transform it into an off-road machine that will be able to stand up against one of the roughest events that we currently know of.
You’d think that, with the end goal that they have in mind and the tight schedule on tap, that the starting point would be jumping off with something that’s part way together, however, it seems like Aaron had other plans in mind as the starting point here is going to really push the team to make something that is entirely their own and we’re loving every minute of it!
| BUILT BY: | Arclight Fabrication by Aaron Kaufman, Jason Bowman, Josh Freeman, Jon Rodriquez, Jeremy Webster and Jonathan Mansour, Brooks Martin. |
| BUILD TIME: | 100 days |
| ENGINE: | 4BT P-Pump Cummins, machine work by Industrial Injection, Late Bowl pistons, Fire Ring head, Stage 2 cmshaft, Steed Speed exhaust manifold, Borg Warner compound turbo |
| DRIVELINE: | GM 6L80 by Monster Transmission built for 750 lb-ft with Kilduff Shifter, Atlas 2 transfer case, Currie front and rear diff with F9 housing and 3.5 tube, 35-spline axle shafts, ARB front and rear lockers, 4.56:1 gears, custom high-angle driveline shafts, Wilwood 14″ rotors with 6-piston calipers |
| SUSPENSION: | 3-link; King Coilover (2.0×14), bypass shocks (2.5×14 front, 2.5×16 rear), 2.0 bumps; 12″ front travel, 18″ rear travel; Currie Anti-Rock front and rear sway bars; AGR Steerco box and Ram Assist |
| WHEELS: | Fuel Beadlock Anza 17×9 cast aluminum |
| TIRES: | Nitto Trail Grappler 40×13.5R17 |
| BODY: | Arclight Fab custom fabricated chassis using 2×4 rectangle steel tubing, 108″ wheelbase, 21.5″ ground clearance, 6,210 lbs, stretched and re-radiused fenders; KC headlights and Pro-6 LED lights and rock lights, Bulldog winch |
| INTERIOR: | PRP Comp Elite seats, Arclight Fab custom interior components, RacePak dashes, Restomod A/C, VIAIR Corp on-board air |
