Hammertown Heroes

These 4x4s are winners … but not on the podium

- Jered Korfhage 

Point your phone camera at this code to see over 100 machines from King of the Hammers It comes once a year and draws thousands of off-road fanatics into the desert of Johnson Valley, California. It’s called King of the Hammers and the main attraction is a week of off-road racing in some of the most unforgiving terrain. Every type of machine, from dirt bikes and side-by-sides, to garage-built 4x4s and Ultra4 cars can be found ripping through the racecourse throughout the week.

Austin Arce put on a show in his 5.3L LS-powered ’81 Toyota. The big mill is backed by a TH400 transmission and an Advance Adapters Atlas transfer case with 4.3:1 reduction gears. His highpinion Dana 60 frontend is located by a RuffStuff Specialties three-link kit with King 2.5 16-inchtravel coilovers. Out back, the 14-bolt holds 5.38 gears while Bilstein shocks and 63-inch Chevy springs are on suspension duty.

Daniel Bruley’s ’64 Ford F-100 sits on an F-350 chassis that’s been shortened to 110 inches—making it close to the wheelbase of a Bronco. Up front, the Dana 60 was given an Artec truss, three-link suspension, Eaton Detroit Locker, and Fox 2.0 coilovers, good for 14 inches of travel. Daniel’s Ford is motivated by a big-block 460 and grabs the trails with a set of 40-inch Nitto Trail Grapplers.