After months of hard work by Banks’ Stylist, Sean Torres , the D-Max Type-R custom body panels are finished and molds are being made. Once final designs were approved by Gale Banks, Torres worked virtually alone on the body panels until each panel was ready for moldmaking. To say Torres did a great job is an understatement.

Torres, started each body panel with blocks of rigid foam, attached them to the vehicle and then shaped them into the desired configuration. For large areas, plywood was added to support the foam. This process not only allows visualization of the final shapes, it also permits easy revisions. Normally, automotive clay is used to cover the foam, but to save time that would otherwise be spent revising the composite molds, Torres used body filler over the foam. With each panel, when the prototype shape was finalized, the body filler was sanded to produce a smooth finished surface from which a perfect mold can be made to make replacement parts for any future repairs.

Body panel placement and attachment actually 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 part 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.

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 will be used on Banks’ Sidewinder D-Max Type-R. These items are separate from the hood and front fender assembly and will remain in place on the vehicle when the front-end piece is removed.

Finished composite parts will be installed on the D-Max Type-R using pins and quick release fasteners.