Karl Goodall’s owned his Raptor 1 buggy since 2021.
He’d gone to photograph the very first Ultra4 event in New Zealand and got hooked.
“My wife and I had the opportunity to buy the Raptor buggy from a club member and we jumped at the chance,” he says.
The truck came with a V6 engine and transmission.
“We removed the V6 and single speed transfer case and replaced the engine with a 13b turbo rotary, a proper five-speed gearbox and hi-low transfer case.”
He did one race with the V6 and then decided to do the rotary swap.
“It took me three months to get it running again, from driving it into the workshop with the V6 to driving it out of the workshop with a rotary engine.”
So is it finished?
“Never. I am about to pull the engine out and rebuild it and fit a new bigger gearbox and a lot of other little bits and pieces.”
The chassis was already complete and well sorted, so it was left alone. For the rest, the modifications and maintenance have been mostly DIY.
Buying a truck that was already running and competitive has been a huge advantage.
“I bought it but have changed 90 per cent of it. I have put the 13b Mazda rotary turbo engine in and got it to Ultra4 specs for racing. As far as we know it’s the only rotary-powered 4WD off-roader around.”
If the truck looks vaguely familiar, it won a Hot Wheels ‘legends’ competition, so there are scale versions of it out there.
“We have just completed the Ultra4 at Tect park, so the off-season rebuild is now well under way.”
Karl says after a tidy-up, he’ll use the truck for club bush runs.
The adrenalin bug has bitten though. He’s got a new chassis under way and aims to hit Ultra4 2025 with it.
Indie’s rock crawler
It doesn’t stop there though. There’s also Rocky the Rock Crawler, run for Karl’s daughter Indie.
This one was built in Australia and the Goodalls have owned it since 2022.
“The guy who built it in Aussie took around a year – after work – creating Rocky in his shed.”
Rocky “seems to work pretty well” so key changes have been limited to a tidy-up and new colour scheme.
It runs a Suzuki g13b four-cylinder engine with a custom turbo manifold running on LPG. Underneath are locked Hilux diffs.
“It seems to work well so we haven’t done too much to it as yet.”
They have just had the engine and gearbox out, changed the exhaust and tidied up a lot of “little bits”.
Next on the worksheet is a dual battery set-up and bigger winch, new steering cooler fans and “a few other little bits.
Like the Raptor, Rocky will never be finished.
“We are planning on repowering with a bigger engine and a lot of other work over the next year or so which means there’s also a lot of strength to be added along with some creature comforts especially some drink holders.”
Karl has added diff breathers, light bars and has built a new dash to accommodate additional gauges. He has also added mounts for a high-lift jack.
“We try to get out in it at least once a month; a lot of time spent in Tect Park. We’ve done half a season of teams recovery and Porters Road is definitely a favourite in this rig.”
Plans for the future?
“More power and bigger wheels.”
The Cruiser
Finally, there’s the family’s 1993 Toyota Land Cruiser.
With ‘trailer-queen off-road weapons like Rocky and the Raptor, it’s essential to have a good strong reliable tow vehicle.
“We needed a good tow vehicle and camping vehicle. The Cruiser was bought on a whim for my 30th birthday.”
Key changes since it was bought in 2017 have been a lift kit, tyres and rims and camping set-up.
The build has slowly evolved, adding gear all the time.
“I installed the roof rack and solar set-up also the bed and camping set-up I have fitted a 70-litre water tank underneath with a 12-volt pump to the sink in the rear. There’s a 240v inverter, a JVC android auto head unit with sub and amp.”
Under the bonnet there’s an offroad addiction four-inch airbox and Karl made the stainless snorkel air intake.
“This thing has been everywhere in the North Island I think.”
Karl says he has “loads of plans” for the Cruiser, but race trucks and bush trucks get all the time and money.