He asked me to post these pix since he doesn't have webhosting available. I think you guys are going to like his ride.

This is the Silver X from the commercials. NISSAN donated the X with only 288 miles and he has done all the mods himself. He will be competing in desert racing. See www.bitd.com

I will let him answer any questions. For larger sizes of the pix below see target and remove the "s" in the file name.

Dave is a native of Utah and hopefully we will be able to see his trailer queen at some UXOC events!

Congrats to Dave on the sponsorship and thank you NISSAN!

Directly from his email:
"This started out as the silver X in all of Nissan's commercials and website. It was totally gutted and had a 1 3/4" chromoly tube chassis fabricated in side. Inside I installed all the necessary safety stuff, 32 gal fuel safe and 2 spare tires. I went with a brighter yellow than the solar yellow. I cut out the front spring bucket and change them to one FOX 3" coil over shock with triple by-pass tubes. In back I trussed the rear end housing, heavy skid plated the diff, with FOX 3" 4 tube by-pass shocks, hung by National 13 leaf spring packs.
I will be racing the first race for the X on April 29th the Best in the Desert TT250. Our number is #3112. We race in class 3100 along with the Hummer's H3 and Ford's Explorer. For more info on the race go to BITD.com"

Looks good so far, you will have to keep us updated on the progress!

Is it bad that I'm almost sexually aroused?

looks great although its missing atleast 1 thing...an XOC sticker.

Crap! That is sick!

The XOC sticker will be in place as soon I get one! Hint, hint!!!!

Damn!!! Now THAT is awesome....I will be following it closely...I think XOC SHOULD sponsor that truck....first "stock" Xterra I can think of running in a major offroad racing competition...

No personal website for your truck, team, and/or fab shop Dave??

Until recently I have not had the need for my own website. I will be looking into a website soon. As far as my own fab shop, I work for a living and do this at night in a private shop. Who knows that could change too!

Look awesome!!!

Can you post pictures of the front and rear suspension (details).

Congrat!!!

JJ

One of your buddies (Doug?) is giving you props after I posted about you over on RDC...Sounds like you got a good bunch of people around you...Make sure to keep us all up to date.... Race Dezert.com posting on this racing Xterra....

That is sweet!

real nice, go kick some ass!

JJrasta you requested more detailed picts of the suspension. I will get those up in a day or two.

Looks great!

and......

I win!

For those of you that weren't here for the old discussions about the uselessness of a 2wd X and the advantages of 4wd (which there are many) I declared at the time that you will see an X racing in the desert before you see one entering any serious rock crawling competition. And here we are!

I really belive that the new X finally has the HP along with the other tools to get it done as a stock SUV. It takes a lot for someone to invest in a race truck and it takes even more for them to take something and compete with conventional thinking in the BITD and run something as unique as the X.

I hope you give the Hall H3 team a run for the $$.

Questions: Is Nissan/NISMO/Stukenberg actually behind you at all in regards to promotion, support parts or engine program such as Donhahoe was with Toyota in his SCORE program or are you on your own with the exception of the provided truck?

Are you planning to run the whole series and go for a points title or are you planning on running selected races?

Are you going to run any SCORE races or have it tech inspected by Savage in case you decide to run SCORE? Is it eligible to run in Stock Mini? I think it would be amazing after a few shakedown races to put together a true NISSAN support crew and run the 1K.

You'd need at least tree or so driver's for that right?

I'm jealous.

Congrats again.

SocalpunX, you are so very right we will be able to take it to them. We have more motor and suspension travel that any of the competitors in our class. I'm Nissan supported is the term we use. Nissan provided the vehicle and factory parts. I get to pay my own way. The H3 and Ford guys all got their first look at her last weekend at the pre-fun run. They all had good comments and agreed we should be very fast. We only plan to run BitD for this year. Thanks for the comments, See you at the races.

Oh yeah, I forgot to ask. Are you running an off the shelf MT/R or the Kevlar? I also recall you talking about an AT/S variant tire as well. What are you guys going to be racing on?

Any other pics from the prefun run?

..........................................

For those of you guys who don't folow dezert racing, Ford is a major sponsor of the Best in The Desert Series. They offer the most contigency and prize money to guys running Fords so in this particular series there are a great deal of Fords running and winning especialy in the stock classes. Scott Douglas, a CORR racer and long time desert racer races with Ford support.



The Hall H3 is driven and built by Rod Hall, a legend in the sport who has raced and won in a variety of classes, most recently with GM factory supported programs with H1's an H2 and now the H3.



This stock against stock arena really highlights the factory build of a vehicle along with team preperation and driver's skill as opposed to how much money can be thrown at a race program as it is now with other open classes.

As of Saturday we had 3 factory Fords Explorers, 1 factory Hummer H3 and the Xterra entered for the Terrible Town 250. We are 4th off the line.
Desert racing is done by elapsed time. They start 1 car every 30 seconds. So the first car into the finish is not always the winner.

We will be running the kevlar MTRs, just like in the picture. The only reason I forsee any change would be due to too much traction, causing parts to break. Then we would go to the new style wangler w/silent armor.

I sent a request to High Rev Photography asking if they could get some pics of your truck in the upcoming Terrible Town 250 and that I would be interested in buying at least a couple copies if he should do so...

Whats done motor wise? If its stock or close to it I would think you would run out of gas in the middle of the dessert with the amazing mpg our trucks get! lol.

That's awesome man..I love the truck..And I wish you the best and hope you do well...Now get out there and show them X's are bad ass..

That truck is the BOMB... I was thinking about cutting the shock buckets out of mine and going with coil overs but have been chicken. Now though I will be keeping up with your progess for sure. Best of luck on your race. If you smoke the Hummer you'll have to get that sticker that says " If I wanted a Hummer I'd ask your sister."

thats what jerry cans are for.

Check out where the air intake is - INSIDE THE VEHICLE...now thats a snorkel kit!

Coming up next to a series near you "Xterraspeed."

It could happen.

Do you have any more interior shots with everything put back together? Dash, seats (Two seater or three?) ect. It would be nice to see how your cage work works with the dash ect. since you had to keep most of the stock interior.

Do you have any idea what your weight is loaded with fuel ect?

These guys have raced a car in BITD and been part of a class winning team in the Nevada 1000 so this isn't their first rodeo.

That big silver thing in the second picture is a 32gallon fuel cell. There are also various pits that the team will set up along the route for tire changes, fuel stops and other mechanical issues.

Keep in mind that there are race cars moving at race speeds. No one is getting great mileage. Some of the bigger open classes run 40+ gallon cells and are getting 5-7 miles to a gallon if they are lucky. That's why fuel costs are one of a racer's biggest expenses.

Cool! I'll look for you at the races. It should be legal for SCORE so if you want to check out the 1000 next year for the 40th running. We will be there and several other Nissan lovers so we could lend a hand.

Give Rod and Scott hell!

From the BITD website here is a list of the team members and sponsors....

Dave Blakely (44) Eagle Mountain, UT
Don Blakely (32) Saratoga Springs, UT

Nissan Motorsports, Goodyear, Fox Shox, National Springs, PIAA Lights, DJ Safety, Evco House of Hose, Speedhut Gauges

Let us know if we can help with checkpoints? Pit stops, that sort of thing? Lets get some involvement?

I agree...Hell, given enough lead time I'd fly to Vegas for a few days to help out if needed...

Ive got alot of build pictures Ill try to get them up in the next little while.

AWESOME work! Good luck to you and here's hoping for success!

Hi everyone, Sorry I have not replied on a lot of your questions. I am trying to get the X ready for the EXPO this weekend. Between work and that I have little free time. Your questions will get answers. Doug and I took some 80+ pitures last night of some detail items. We will go through them and post some of the good ones. Thank you all for your replies and questions. Keep watching this thread, I will reply.

Wow, this is sweet!! What a great thread-Xterra and desert racing?!?!?! Can't wait to see more pics!!

Got a response back from Jason at the above website....said he will be looking out for the Xterra and will try to get a # of good shots of it....

holy shit! where the hell have i been!? thats awesome!

Hey guys, I have bad news. I will not make the EXPO this weekend, it started today. I have the X tore down for a new clutch and only got some of the parts I ordered in. If you loose a clutch in a 05 expect to be down a week. Nobody stocks the parts to do this, not even the dealer.

That bites. Hope you ordered spares
Your still good for the Terrible's Town 250 though right?

That sucks big time!! How'd the clutch go so quick and what parts are the dealership missing?

I have recieved the new clutch disc and pressure plate, but have not seen the new flywheel yet. I went to several machine shops to get the original surfaced, which nobody had the abilities to do this style of flywheel. It is one wierd set up. Shops tell me that Ford powerstrokes have one like it. It has a loose hub assembly that can rotate a few degrees. I've been told it cost some big bucks. I will be ready for the TT250 for sure!!! I noticed it slipping when hard shifting out testing after I shot those photos. It let loose pulling on the trailer. I guess who ever drove it during commercial shoots, etc. drove it hard. It only has 355 miles on it total.

SPALIND, thanks for the heads up you gave High Rev Photography. They do good work. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------You guys that want to help out in the pits. I need to know ahead of time who I can count on. The Vegas to Reno race is August 24-26. I need to book rooms now and plan my pit assignments. If you want to really do this send a private message to me here. Tell me a little about your mechanical ablities, Nissan experience, etc. so I can place people together for strong well rounded pit teams.

Awsome truck good luck

Nice! Another XterracerX!

Good luck out there!

Since you'll be doing practice laps and such on Friday let me wish you good luck now...Hope everything turns out well and everyone returns in one piece!! I'll be following your progress over on DirtNewz....

spalind, Thanks for the well wishes. The #3112 Xterra is ready to do battle. We exspect the X to do very well this first time out. I will keep all posted.

Wow, love the pree-runner look!! Good luck and stay safe!

Any news on this? Don't mean to ba a Pain in the Butt, but I'm just looking for ideas for my suspension.

Thanks, and good luck.

Uhhh...he might be a bit busy..........He was racing n the Terrible's Town 250 this weekend...still waiting on what the results were for them...

We are back from the race.Very busy weekend Dave will post (hes still recovering)tonight or Monday on the X.Lets put it this way LONG day in the desert.I bet he will be drinking tons of water to rehydrate for the next week. But we will be ready for the Vegas to Reno.

Still waiting for the official results to be posted...Jeez....its killing me...though by the sounds of it it was a rough day...Can't wait to hear all about it....

Argh!! Good effort guys!! The Dave Blakely Xterra looks to have finished 5th out of the 6 trucks racing in the 3100 class and unfortunately posted a DNF....Can't wait to hear the stories behind the carnage and what your experiences were in the first race in this Xterra...

Hey guys, I just got home. Midnight here. I did have a hard day racing. Our day ended with a broken lower A-arm on drivers side at mile marker 144. We started 4th off the line with 7 entries listed, only 6 left the start. We saw from the start we had more motor than the others as we reeled in second and third off the line with in the first 3 miles. But then midway to check 1 we started having over heating problems. The computor went into "LIMP" mode, at that point Hall was able to catch us and then came Falkawski too. We stopped for a long pit 1 trying to get the X cooled down. Still running hot, we headed on fighting limited rpm due to being in "limp mode". Before pit 2 we had to stop and try to bleed a air pocket out of the radiator. At pit 3 the crew jerked the grill and front bumper for more air flow. We still over heated!!! At pit 4 we placed flow restrictor on the upper radiator hose. This cured our problem. As we could run harder, now we started to notice that we had the shocks fading out. We settled into a slower pace to save the vehicle for a finish. Then out of no where, we broke the A-arm. Thats racing, we will be back! Good night all.

well for the first time out sounds like you did pretty well.. This all goes to lessons learned for later down the road..

I'm proud of you guys. Even though the vehicle had some gremlins you did not give up at any time.

As you say for racing - it happens. Just make sure you're back

I am surprised to hear that the shocks faded on your rig. Nice job on the finish though.

AWESOME.. AWESOME.. AWESOME!!! I dont know what else to say. Even though you had problems still trully awesome!

Hmmm better say awesome one more time for the hell of it.

If you post any vids of the action let me know or if you know where it is posted.

"I am surprised to hear that the shocks faded on your rig."
This race coure was one of the roughest I have raced in recent memory.The coarse consisted of either rocks,rocks and silt,or just more rocks.With this in mind it took 100 miles for the shocks to start fading.If we play with the valving and shock oils we will get them to last 10 times longer.Its part of the new car blues in desert racing.This is the most brutal thing that you can do to a vehicle.This why Nissan is useing it for a testing ground for future vehicles.We duplicate more in one day than more people will even think to do in the lifetime of their vehicles.We will get the bugs work out.Its just takes time.

I just got back from the doctors. During the race the floor board was getting very hot. I notice it burning my shoe and had to reposition my foot several times. Well, in deed it did burn my shoe and my foot too. I have a third degree burn on my heel where it rode against the floor board above the exhaust. I've talked to Don my co-rider, he check his hickers and said his whole heel had melted. I guess this grants a extra day off before trying to get it back in to my work boots. I will install a heat sheild on both sides before the next race. I have not gone over the X yet to find all the carnage. I'll go wash it later today and see what we've got.

Oh I totally agree. While I don't run Fox's on my rig, I know about getting them dialed in. It takes time. I had to redo my front shocks once to get it right. It just made me wonder since you are running with 3.0 bypass shocks. They should be good to go for longer without fade. But as you said, it takes time to dial them in. Valving is more art than science IMO.

When we got these from Fox they where set up for around 550 lbs springs we are now up to 850 lbs.The valving and the shock oil are all wrong.We are also probaly going to go even stiffer in the spring rate witch will throw it off more then we will mess with the oil and valving.

That's a hell of a spring rate. I'm running KING 16 inch 600lbs springs on mine with a 4wd 2002. Your front can't be that much heavier can it?

I will let Dave answer that hes more in tune with it.Hes the one that got beat for 180 miles in it.

This is some fun stuff. As a racer (ATVs) I will be one to tell you that it takes all you have to endure the pounding and punches.

I agree with that previous post from Alpine... AWESOME!!!

Keep on it... and good luck Dave!

If you all would like to see the terrain they were running take a look at the video on this page: TT250 race video... which has video of the race from this past weekend....unfortunately I did not notice any film on the Xterra...

Found at least one pic of Xterraracer's X from the TT250!! Looks like it was taken on Friday, during contingency...posted over on Offroad.com...here is the link....
Xterraracer\'s X during TT250 contingency!!

Found 4 more pics of Xterraracer's X!! This time in full racing action!!






I think I'll be ordering a poster of the second image in this series....

These pictures are taken right after check 3. We had been working on a cause for overheating problems and just jerked the grill and bumper. this corner was actually a fast sweeper, but the X does not drift much while running in 4hi.

Pretty cool videos and pix!

Not to steal his thunder but I found pix of me racing in Victorville Racer 715 and in the pack.

Racing... once its in your blood, its all over!

Read this or post the pictures as images rather than web pages:
http://www.xterraownersclub.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=36;t=000948

Here they are.

Just go ahead and delete your last two posts if you want.

socalpunX: "Here they are"

Thanks for all your help! Where were you on race day?

Working. It's playoff time $$$$$.

Are you guys coming out for the CORR races in San Diego? Since you are dialed in with Nissan we can all hang out in the Nissan VIP tent.

This could happen. I had not thought of it yet. I would just need to get the dates and plan to display the X. I'm sure Nissan would be all for it.

May 20-21st is the first round.

Full CORR schedule

Nissan, being a title sponsor has a nice tent with buffet along with a penthouse type covered seating area at the top of the stands at a primo spot. You might want to talk to your marketing guys into parlaying your program into a nice weekend in San Diego. Are Dean Case or Ken Zapp any of your contacts at Nissan?

If so, I know they were part of the team last year and might be along the lines of the guys to talk to.

Patrick.

I dont reconize those names. I have good sources though. I will bring it up and see if there is an interest on Nissan's part.

Sexy beast, way to go

I have no connection to the guy/company who produced the first set of photos--the ones that I posted with the KODAK watermark on them--but he sent me an email regarding what his prices and options are for ordering the pics and figured I'd post it in this thread...

"We are offering an 8"x10" Glossy Print in the custom event border (Terrible's Town 250) for $25 (shipping included), and a 13"x19" Poster, complete with event border, Race Number, and the names of the Riders (3 max.) or Drivers (3 max.) for $45 (shipping included). We will need an address to ship to, and a Visa or MC Number from you, as well as the extra information if you get a poster." His contact # is 702.278.2909