One of the most time-consuming and difficult tasks in the construction of a racing vehicle that uses a tube chassis is mounting the body panels. The Banks Sidewinder D-MAX Type-R endurance racing truck was no exception. Placement and attachment of the GMC Sierra pickup body began after the chassis and suspension design and fabrication was completed. These components were completed to determine chassis ride height and the location of the wheels and tires.

Unlike a stock vehicle chassis, a racing tube chassis has no underlying structure dedicated to the location and support of body panels. These must be built and attached to the chassis. Struts and support structure must be fabricated to hold the body panels. The body mounting must also be rigid enough to support the aerodynamic loads placed on the vehicle at high speed, while offering some flexibility for the inevitable contact that happens between vehicles on the racetrack.

The Sidewinder D-MAX Type-R will use modified stock body panels for the cab and most of the pickup bed. The stock pickup bed was designed to be separate from the cab. This allows for flex and torsional twist of the stock frame. On the D-MAX Type-R, the rigid chassis prevents such flexing, so the bed and cab are attached for aerodynamics, but they are not formed into a single piece. The upper bed panel will continue to be separate from the cab. The lower side panels, from the rear of the front wheel opening to the front of the rear wheel opening, will be joined as a single composite piece on each side. The wheel openings also need to match the contour of the tires to minimize aerodynamic drag, but the wheelbase has been reduced to 110” (stock shortbed wheelbase is 119” and longbed wheelbase is 132”). The race vehicle body includes numerous aerodynamic details not found on a stock pickup.

Many things affect the roof panel, including desired vehicle height, hood height above the engine, and grille placement. These things must all be established due to the fixed dimension of the windshield that ties the hood and roof together. Crew Chief, Sheldon Tackett and Fabricator, Jon Whiteley, mocked up the roof, windshield and hood placement before they finalized the roof location and created the necessary support structure. Then, the cowl, grille, front fenders, doors, and bed panels were positioned. Next, adjustment and alignment of the panels was done to accommodate the wheelwell openings, aerodynamic considerations, and retention of a “production look.”

The finished body of Banks’ Sidewinder D-MAX Type-R will use a one-piece composite front end that combines the hood and front fenders. However, it was still necessary to correctly place the stock steel hood and fenders to serve as the basis for the composite mold that must be made for the front-end piece. The production grille and headlight assembly is used on Banks’ Sidewinder D-MAX Type-R. These items are separate from the hood and front fender piece and remain in place on the vehicle when the front-end piece is removed.