My new Ford F-350 4x4, aka "Great White". Man, this is a big vehicle and with options to the hilt: Power Stroke Diesel, Lariat Interior, Leather Captains Chairs, Power Windows, Power Door Locks, Wood Grained Door Inserts, A Leather Bench Seat to fend off Kid Gook (ice cream or MacDonalds mush burgers), Ice Cold AC, 4-speed Eee-lectronic Tranny, 3.73 Limited Slip Rear Axle, Heavy Duty Suspension, Trailer Tow Package, Skid Plates, Dual Alternators, Privacy Glass to keep me looking cool and an awesome stereo for my Sam Kennison, Marshall Tucker and Outlaws CD's.

Did I tell you that I had to wait 3 months for this damn thing!

Well, I did.

These rigs are extremely popular. Of course the vehicle in itself has incredible qualities that would differentiate it from it's competition. But, there is no competition.

"What!" you say?

Yep, GM has yet to release their new diesel. By all indications it appears to be a winner and we hope to get our mitts on one to tell you what we find. More on that latter via ORC/GM channel.

Dodge has an excellent truck but at the time of this purchase there was no crew cab available. Too bad, the Cummins motor is awesome!

The Ford is the choice today. And you wait...... And you wait..... And wait....

The Ford 4R100 Transmission is HUGE! In it's second year, it is proving to be a reliable son of the E4OD. We plan to clean up the shift points with one of the many aftermarket shift modules.	The New Process 271 Transfercase matches the Trans in Hugeness. For $125 extra, the "Off-Road Package" option provides a nice thick skidlplate for the case and the fuel tank.

This rig will live a serious and hard life at the hands of the crazed folks at ORC. A forthcoming, "Maximum Roadtrip" on the docket is a trip down to Cabo San Lucas with many diversions along the way as we cover the upcoming Baja 2000. To give the truck a chance, we have a whole gaggle of upgrades planned. Some will be first ever applications on this rig. Others will be totally custom that may see production if our readers show enthusiasm on our craftiness. Here's what's in store.

• Mile Marker 12,000 Pound Winch. Able to pull down tall buildings with a single tug. Being the off-road, inquisitive type, I always like to venture down unknown two tracks, at speed. In the past, my nimble little import kept me out of trouble in these blind forays with its light weight and small size. The Ford's poundage is over 3 tons of fun.. So, without the security of the Mile Marker Winch, if I make a mistake with this monster, I'll be shoveling till I breakdown and cower to the cell phone to call the high dollar AAA Auto Club, D-9 Dozer, Tow Truck.
• 4" to 6" Lift, Pre-Runner Type Suspension with remote reservoir, bypass shocks and fabrication by Foutz Motorsports. Did you know that the high articulation required by today's rock crawlers is a lot like what the off-road racers have used on their race rigs and pre-runners over the years? Yep, we'll show you how this mod does double duty through the whoops and on the rocks to include a ramp test.
• Custom Pre-runner style front and rear bumpers with winch mount and detachable light bar. We do a hell of a lot of driving down in Baja where the proverbial Baja Night is darker than dark. Our rig will sport 4 Hella HID's to help us find our way. Nothing is brighter and nothing is more expensive, hence the detachable part.
• Off-road Tires and Custom Wheels. We plan to tow a large fifth wheel trailer full of ORC toys and assault vehicles. There are only a few "Load Range E" off-road tires on the market today, we'll find the best deal for our project and then stuff them on some beautiful custom rims so that we can still tool up to the Bellagio and see nay a snicker from the valet.
• Mild Engine Performance Modifications.. Power is good. Ford Power is excellent. More Ford Power is bitchen! There are a number of performance kits that offer from a 15% to a 40+% power gain over the already awesome stock horsepower and torque specs of the "real diesel" Power Stroke. We are investigating the option now, from mild to semi-wild. Sorry, we probably won't opt for Propane Injection.
• Transmission Fortification. The Ford tranny is a stout unit but, seemingly tuned for the less performance minded driver. We'll add a shift performance package to fix this annoyance.
• Instrumentation Package. This truck will live many hours ahead of a heavy trailer, towing our race or play goodies to our favorite destinations. To keep our co-driver from becoming bored, we'll add a semi-home spun instrumentation package covering the following drivetrain points: Exhaust Gas, Trans, Front & Rear Differential, Transfer Case and Engine Oil Temp and Turbo boost. Emphasis will be made to make this package as small as possible so that it blends in seamlessly with the beautiful, Lariat interior.
• Auxiliary Fuel Tank. Remember that the first long trip is down to Cabo. Baja Diesel Fuel is generally excellent in quality but, sometimes sparse in availability. Our goal is to add enough fuel to travel 750 miles without refueling. We will choose a tank that best integrates with the Powerstroke Fuel System.
• Lowrance GPS. Being a consummate techie, I am a fan of GPS technology. The best unit for fixed mobile mount today is the Lowrance GlobalMap 1600. Used by the majority of Baja Racers, you know it's rugged and easy to use. Best of all, the same popularity offers detailed course map uploads to the system by the sanctioning bodies and larger support teams.
• Various 2-way radios (10 and 2 Meter) for use during our race exploits and when traveling far from the coverage of cellular phone towers. In an effort to keep the interior clean and uncluttered, we will craft a removable radio pod that can be R&R'd in no more than 5 minutes time.
• A custom "Headache Bar" behind the cab. I cannot bring myself to drill antenna holes in the roof of this new vehicle. So, Greg Foutz will also be charged to craft a mount for our radio, GPS and fixed cellular antennas.