LS-Powered Buggy Takes on King of the Hammers Trails

Where Short Course Meets The Rocks

Meet Steven Donovan, racer by day and firefighter by night. Steven is a guy of pure joy and excitement and is down to try anything! He brought this buggy over 50 hours’ worth of driving from Canada to the harshest rock trails in California at The Hammers in Johnson Valley. Even though Steven has been here at the Hammers many times, he has never been able to bring his buggy down and be able to party on these trails.

I’ve been a longtime wheeler and veteran of the trails in Johnson Valley, and I sat shotgun with Steven for these trails and got to co-drive and spot him through everything. Let me tell you, this buggy even surprised me, and that’s coming from a person with over eighteen years of experience in off-roading. I’ve seen and driven it all, but this buggy was special in all forms, if you ask me.

Being that this buggy is a short-course rig, it didn’t have any forward lights. When we went night wheeling, it gave us an interesting feeling as we practically drove blind and hoped to not run into anything crossing the desert. We did have some rock lights from KC, including its Cyclones angled enough to be able to see decently in front of us, but nothing that makes the desert shine like most trophy trucks or many other types of Ultra4 cars! Nevertheless, once we got into the rocks, this rig showed out, making quick work and setting the pace for the rest of the group.

Let’s hop into the chassis system, which is a familiar TMR Customs chassis built by Steven in the shop. It sports all TMR goodies, from the trailing arm 4-link system to the front hydraulic steering assist protection to the link tabs in both the front and back. Covering the body is a set of TMR custom fiberglass side panels, roof, and hood with a Jeep grille to give it that front feeling and aggression.

Packing a punch behind this rig is an LS motor packing a mean kick and cam setup tuned by the Holley ECU management system. The screen’s dash placement helped to read all the information needed, from RPM numbers to water temp and fan info. Controlling those goodies is an 8-button Switch-Pros panel on the aluminum sticker-slapped dash, which for me is super cool and unique to have! It’s something you don’t see often in racecars. Keeping Steven stepped-down and safe is a set of Sparco bucket racing seats and harnesses that give the rig a comfortable feel when trail riding while also making safety issues a priority. Shifting this rig is a built Turbo 400 connected to a Winters shifter with a manual valve body built in-house. Keeping everyone in contact is a full Rugged Radios comms setup, ensuring reliable connection inside and outside of the car.

Creating true strength is a set of fabricated front and rear housings, sporting all 40-spline goodies to ensure this buggy doesn’t have any slips or breaks when out racing around the desert or crawling through the trails. Rotating from the axles is a tried-and-true off-road staple and championship-winning tire at The Hammers—the Nitto Trail Grappler in size 37×13.50R17. These tires shocked me by not only being DOT-approved but also by hooking up in the rocks, sand, and even on wet, slick rocks. Taking further abuse from rocks and scrapes is a tough set of Trail Ready Beadlock wheels, which are already showing battle scars throughout their lifetime on this rig.

This buggy is packed with industry-best components in all aspects, and another highlight feature is its system of 2.5×14 King shocks. The coilovers were revalved and tuned for short course, but they do justice in the rocks as well! From flexing on the rock trails and staying stable off-camber, these shocks were abused to the max, racing across the desert and taking on some whoop sections. We had the time of our lives with this rig!

Steven’s ear-to-ear smile said it all during the entire trip. I couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunity to capture, write, and ride shotgun in this rig for an entire weekend. It was a blast that I’ll forever remember and something for which I will forever be grateful! Thank you, TMR Crew and Steven, for bringing this rig so far to party and have fun with. We aren’t done with this crew, as they have other builds that capture attention in every way! We are excited to see what’s next from these gentlemen. Until then, (as always) keep that tread off the pavement!