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Product Review
Welcome to a visual tour-de-force examination of one of the best engines you can put in an off-road rig - the awesome 525hp Turn Key Engine Supply LS2.
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Reno Rocks!
Pirate4x4 stepped up the game in Reno with a live broadcast of Reno Rocks action at the Sands Regency. Check out Andy's blog and Jason's photo galleries here.
Coverage brought to you by Poly Performance |
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Nor Cal Rock Racing
Jon was at Prarie City for the much anticipated event #1 of the Nor Cal Rock Racing Series. |
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XRRA Jellico!
Nate went down to Jellico, Tennessee, to bring us live coverage of events #3 and #4 of the XRRA East series
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Baja 500
Check out our daily blog of Torchmate Racing's race effort at the Baja 500. |
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CalROCS Does Mustang Ranch!
Glenn Bonner and Kurtis Harryman continue to impress me. Not just impress me, but amaze me. I have been to my share of rock crawling events. I have been to a few rock races. I have even been to the legendary King of the Hammers race. With that in mind, from a spectator's point of view, this last CalROCS event will go down as one of the greatest 4x4 events I have ever been to.
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W.E. Rock Hannibal
Jason captured all the action, and Chicky Barton, Shannon Campbell and Jake Good took the gold in their respective classes. See the photo galleries here. |
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The LS Primer - Part 2
Part 2 of the BillaVista LS Primer article continues our look at the latest GM small-block V8 engines - the Gen III and Gen IV motors. We pick up where we left off with Part 1, starting with a look at the so-called "truck" engines. |
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The LS Primer - Part 1
The purpose of this article is to introduce you to the third and fourth generation GM V8 engines – the so-called "LS motors". I’m calling it a "primer" because the topic is so vast that it would take several hundred pages to cover every single aspect of these motors. Instead of drowning you in trivia, I’m going to concentrate on the basic and most important information. Of course, it’s still a BillaVista article, so there’s going to be plenty of technical detail.
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KOH Rausch Creek Qualifier
If you missed the live coverage of the East Coast KOH qualifier, you missed out! But don't despair, we've got all the blow-by-blow coverage and photo gallery for you to see at your leisure. |
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CalROCS Browns Valley
We don't know what Glenn Bonner and Kurtis Harryman did to piss off the "Rain Gods", but the Gods sure did bring the rain on Saturday during the first CalROCS event of the 2009 season.
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W.E. Rock Cedar City
Check out Andy's coverage of event #2 of the W.E. Rock West series.
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XRRA Gray Rock
Nolen was down in Gray Rock, AL for event #1 of the XRRA East series. Check out the action and gallery here. |
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W.E. Rock Dayton!
Jason got some killer shots of the action and even a few mud wrestling pics. |
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Pirate4x4TV Episode 15
In this episode Dirty Doug captures all the action at event number one of the XRRA West Rock Racing Nationals in Moab, UT. |
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Fabstock
Back in September of '08, Dan Dubose of Blue Torch Fab in Birmingham, AL, received a private message about Viktor Whitlow, a young Army Reserve Veteran who had his Jeep vandalized in the parking lot of his college campus. The vandals broke into his Jeep TJ, destroyed the interior and cut up the seats, slashed the tires, spray painted all over it, including painting "Soldiers are Murderers" on the hood. |
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XRRA Moab
Check out Jason's photos from the the 2009 XRRA season opener in Moab, UT. |
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W.E. Rock Tucson
We are live in Tucson, AZ, for event number one of the W.E. Rock West series with live streaming video and audio |
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King of the Hammers Movie Trailer
Here is your exclusive sneak preview of the King of the Hammers Movie, "The Second Crusade". |
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The Rocky Road to the King of the Hammers
The 2009 King of the Hammers winner, Jason Scherer tells his story on winning the world's roughest one day desert race here.
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Coverage of the 2009 King of the Hammers
Check out our in-depth coverage, blogs, photo galleries and video here.
Coverage brought to you by National Drivetrain |
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Atlas and TH400 Tech
Billavista demonstrates how to swap the input shaft in an Atlas-4SP. He also shows the finer points and considerations in mounting one behind a TH400. |
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IFS Rock Crawler?
Say it ain't so!
Shannon Campbell is making quite the stir with his new Monster IFS KOH rock racer. Pirate4x4.com brings you an exclusive sneak peek of this work of art. |
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Pitting 101
So you've been spending every last waking minute prepping your rig for the big race, and you think you have it all dialed in. But what about the big picture? Do you have a complete race plan including a pit strategy? In this article I will give you a few tips for operating a safe, and efficient pit. |
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The Plumbing Bible
Simply speaking, plumbing is the collection of components involved in moving a fluid from one place to another. The fluid could be a liquid (fuel, coolant, etc.) or a gas (compressed air, etc.) What all plumbing shares in common is that its importance is often overlooked. |
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KORE Suspension in Baja
Lance takes his Dodge Megacab equipped with KORE Suspension down to Baja to pre run the 41st Annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. |
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Featured King of the Hammers Rig
Check out John Reynold's tricked out and refined KOH Bronco. |
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Pirate4x4TV Episode 13 - Part 2 of 2 of the KOH Special at Off Road Expo
Special host Jessi Combs joins Lance and Camo down in Southern California for some King of the Hammers interviews and a little bit of smack talk. |
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The Pirate4x4 Game!
Compete in King of the Hammers, or beat up camo. It's all possible in this text based, addicting time waster! |
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Product Review
There aren't many products that are equally desirable whether you're a novice in a bone-stock 'wheeler or a hard-core rock racing pro with a six-figure buggy - but the Ready Welder II is just such a rare beast. It might just be the coolest tool ever. |
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Shifter Tech
Fact: Nobody makes a commercial, off-the-shelf automatic transmission shifter that is ideal for serious off-road use. That’s hardly surprising since one of the key requirements for a hardcore off-road shifter is the complete opposite of what anyone would want for street or drag racing use. |
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Baja 1000 Photo Gallery
The Pirate4x4/Torchmate Jeepspeed team makes it Baja 1000 win number three at this year's Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. Check out the photo gallery here. |
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A New President! Now What?
Recreationists who enjoy the backcountry, waterways, off-pavement trails and exploring have a huge new door of opportunity open to us, as well as a new challenge. |
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Product Review
Billavista installs a set of 16" Ballistic coilover racing shocks in this detailed technical review. |
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Pirate4x4TV Episode 12 - Part 1 of 2
Special host Jessi Combs joins Lance and Camo down in Southern California for the King of the Hammers movie premiere, and to check out the 2008 Off Road Expo in Pomona, CA. |
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Katemcy Rocks!
"Old Texas" is still alive and well at Katemcy Rocks, in the heart of the Lonestar State. Situated in the western reaches of the hill country in northern Mason County, Katemcy (pop. 90), swells to nearly 500 when the "Jeeps" roll into town...
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6th Annual Disabled Sports Run on the Rubicon
We are all aware that great trails like the Rubicon can be enjoyed by all with our 4x4s. Every true trail rider in the nation savors the access that we have to this trail and others like it, but there is a part of the national demographic that doesn't get to experience such great things like we do. |
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2008 Off
Road Expo
Some wondered if there would be anyone at this year's Off Road Expo. Well I can tell you there was plenty to see and tons of excitement at this year's show in Pomona, CA. |
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Product Review
Billavista threw the dice by installing some new 42" Pitbull Rockers right before heading to the Virginia Tech Memorial Ride at Big Dogs Offroad. Did the gamble pay off? |
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XRRA National Finals
The Rock Midget and Andy tag-teamed the coverage down in Jellico, TN, for the XRRA National Finals. Midget's post event coverage and photo gallery has been posted. |
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Get to know Blue Torch Fab
The Rock Midget gets a tour of Blue Torch Fab, and chats with owner Dan DuBose about buggies, shock tabs, floor sweepers and more in this interview and tour. |
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W.E. Rock Grand Nationals
Andy and the crew were out in Hannibal, Missouri, with LIVE coverage of the biggest rock crawling event of the year. Coverage included a live radio feed, live photo uploads, and of course Andy's blow-by-blow updates.
Coverage brought to you by Torchmate CNC Cutting Systems. |
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XRRA Eastern Finals
The Rock Midget was at the Badlands doing daily coverage of the XRRA Eastern finals. |
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2008 Rubithon
The Rock Midget heads West to visit Pirate4x4 Headquarters and to run the most famous trail in the world; the Rubicon Trail. |
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XRRA Cortez
The action was off the hook in Colorado for event number four of the XRRA rock racing series, and Jason was there to capture it. |
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W.E. Rock Donner
Andy, Jason, and Josh head to the Sierras to bring you live coverage of event number four of the W.E. Rock Western Nationals.
Coverage brought to you by Maxxis Tires |
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XRRA Hannibal
The Rock Midget battles the heat, humidity, and rain to bring you the action down in Hannibal for event number three of the XRRA East series. |
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W.E. Rock Jellico
Andy was in Jellico, TN, bringing you live blow by blow coverage along with live radio feed at event number three of the W.E. Rock East series.
** Coverage brought to you by Full Size XJ Gear and 4wd Hardware ** |
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Wheelin' in the Black Hills
The Rock Midget heads to the Black Hills of South Dakota to do some wheelin' with the Twisted Customs Boys. |
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Product Review
Deceptively simple in appearance, there are many nuances to a properly selected, installed, and adjusted driver restraint system; or as it is more commonly known: "five-point harness". There are also quite a few misnomers and some misinformation floating around out there, starting with the term "five-point harness"! In this article Billavista aims to present some tech on driver restraints and review some different systems available from Crow Enterprizes. |
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TLCA Rubithon
The Rock Midget comes out West to visit Pirate4x4 headquarters, and run the TLCA's 20th annual Rubithon on the Rubicon Trail. And to think he thought California was all surfing and tofu! |
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Bonner Does Donner
The classic CalRocs series is coming to Donner Ski Ranch June 28th and 29th. |
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W.E. Rock Cedar City Take Two!
Weren't we just in Cedar City? Yep, we were, but Andy is back to bring you LIVE updates of event number three of the W.E. Rock West series.
Coverage brought to you by Maxxis Tires. |
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X2 Rock Racing
Kurtuleas heads down to Prairie City, CA, to witness the intense action and wild carnage firsthand. |
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XRRA Colorado Springs
Jason captures the action in Colorado Springs, CO, for event number three of the XRRA West series. |
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Product Review
Often frustration leads us to do dumb things we later regret - it certainly has with me - more times than I care to admit. Every so often, however, frustration can lead to an unexpectedly awesome result. This article is a story about just such a rare occurrence. Seats so good you'll want to design a whole rig around them !! |
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W.E. Rock Dayton
Andy went to Dayton, TN to bring you LIVE event coverage of event #2 of the W.E. Rock East series. |
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W.E. Rock Cedar City
Andy battled the sun of Cedar City, UT to bring you LIVE event coverage of event #2 of the W.E. Rock West series. Coverage brought to you by Maxxis Tires. |
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XRRA Jellico
The Rock Midget is in Jellico, TN to bring you daily updates of the action at XRRA East #2. Check out the action here. |
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XRRA New Mexico
Jason heads to the Land of Enchantment to get some awesome photos of the action at event #2 of the XRRA West series. |
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Fuel Cell Tech
Billavista discusses the tech behind modifying, installing, and plumbing a fuel cell. The article Includes a detailed look at the F.A.T.S. system designed by Frank Daless to eliminate fuel spill at any angle. |
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Pirate4x4TV Episode 10
This no-frills video from W.E. Rock Hannibal puts you in the driver's seat on some of the toughest courses in the East. |
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W.E. Rock Hannibal
Andy is down in Hannibal, MO, for the kick off the W.E. Rock East series. Check out the live updates here! |
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Pirate4x4TV Episode 9
Check out this double feature of the W.E. Rock Perris event. Great action, and insane CARNAGE!!!
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BITD Terrible 250
Team Pirate pushes the 1705 Jeepspeed to the limit in an effort to de-throne the Dust Junkies. Find out what happened here. |
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Campbell Enterprises 1 Week Buildup!
Watch LIVE, as Team Pirate4x4 builds an LS7 powered Campbell Enterprises rig in a week! |
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The Coil Over Bible!!!
Thought you knew everything there is to know about coil over shocks? Think again, because professor Billavista is going to take you to coil over grad school in this series of articles. Brought to you by Poly Performance.
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Pirate4x4TV Episode 7 - King of the Hammers
Watch as teams battle for survival in the first race of its kind in Johnson Valley, CA. Where the desert meets rock. |
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Pirate4x4TV Episode 6 - Virtual Baja 1000
Ever wonder what it's like to strap yourself inside of a 700 horsepower truck and drive 1,296 miles off road? Here's your chance to ride in the passenger seat. Thank me later! |
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The Brake Bible
At first glance, it may seem that an article on brakes isn’t a terribly sexy idea. After all, brakes don’t make you go faster, look cooler or sound meaner. But, few things are less enjoyable than driving a rig with lousy brakes. Billavista "brakes" it all down for us in this massive tech article. |
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Double Beadlocks!
Why have only an outer beadlock when you can lock both beads and run any rim? Lance installs a set of Staun Products beadlocks on some Alcoa forged aluminum rims. |
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Got 60° Steering?
Dana 60's are so 2001! Check out Twisted Customs' bitchen 9" front end that is capable of 60° steering! Who needs rear steer? |
