The first thing you need to know about the Reaper is that despite the word ‘Ford’ emblazoned across the grille, it’s not really a Raptor—and not based on any Ford truck, for that matter. This thing rides on a chassis and wears fiberglass panels built in-house by Jimco Racing, a California-based company that specializes making and racing off-road machines for events like the Baja desert races.
The second thing you need to know about the Reaper is that it’s designed as a prerunner for those events—the team’s support crew takes it on a reconnaissance run to gauge actual race conditions. Which means a prerunner has to be a very capable off-roader in its own right, even if it doesn’t exactly run the course in anger.
Based on these images alone, you can already tell the Reaper is very capable indeed. But let’s run through the specs provided by Jimco Racing owner and off-road racer Robbie Pierce.
The custom Jimco suspension—made up of A-arms in front and four-links in the back—is equipped with Fox coilovers and bypass shocks. Wheels are 17-inch trail-ready beadlock rims wrapped in 40-inch BFGoodrich KR3 race tires. The setup allows for wheel travel of 26 and 32 inches front and rear, respectively.
Propelling the 3,084kg Reaper is a Chevy big block V8 supplied by Dougans Racing. Displacing 555 cubic inches (around 9,100cc), it’s good for 800hp and 949Nm of torque, delivered through a GM 4L80-E four-speed automatic provided by Gearworks. Brembo six-piston calipers clamping down on 17-inch rotors take care of stopping duties.
This custom truck—built for LA Dodgers owner Bobby Patton late last year—is billed as a luxury prerunner, and one look at the interior clearly shows the luxury part of the equation. The MasterCraft Pro-4 racing seats are finished in custom black upholstery with diamond quilting, the dashboard is decked in leather, and the steering wheel is a suede-wrapped Momo unit. Amid all that nav and comms equipment, there’s also a couple of cupholders and, mercifully, air-conditioning. Perfect for driving this thing around Arizona, where it’s street-legal, according to Jimco.
You’ll be wanting more visuals, yes? Check out more photos below—and we’ve thrown in a video to boot. You’re welcome.
