LESS Horsepower Equals More Crawling Power?!?! Why This Turbocharged Buggy Outperforms Heavier Rigs on the Rocks

When you think about the evolution of rock crawling, few builders have pushed the boundaries quite like Kalif Redden. This dude has been crafting some seriously gnarly chassis for years, and when someone like Scott Grotness - who goes by “Pastor Scott” - decides to build out one of these rigs, you know it’s going to be something special.

Scott’s 2020 Kalif Redden portal buggy isn’t just another trail toy. This thing is a purpose-built rock crawler that shows what happens when you combine smarts with lightweight construction. The chassis itself is the real star here - it’s a “big and tall” version that gives taller wheelers some extra room to work. The cab got stretched two inches up top for headroom and two inches forward so you can actually reach the pedals without feeling like you’re driving a clown car.

What really sets this rig apart is the power plant. Instead of stuffing a massive V8 under the hood like most people do, Scott went with a 2017 Chevy Cruze 1.4-liter turbo motor. Yeah, you heard that right!

It’s a little econobox engine that weighs just 216 pounds fully dressed and cranks out 150 horsepower. Before you start laughing, think about it for a second. This isn’t about straight-line speed or showing off at the gas station. This is about having just enough grunt to get up the rocks while keeping the weight down where it matters.

The transmission setup is equally smart. Scott paired that little turbo four with a Chrysler 904 three-speed automatic and a Dana 300 transfer case running 4-to-1 gearing. That combination gives you the torque multiplication you need for technical crawling without adding unnecessary complexity or weight. The whole drivetrain is protected by full aluminum belly skids because nobody wants to crack their oil pan on a pointy rock.

Portal axles are where this build really gets interesting. These aren’t your typical axles - they’re basically a modification that raises the diff above the wheel hub, giving you massive ground clearance. Jesse Haynes built the portal boxes, and they’re mounted to Trail Gear housings with 300M RCV shafts and 5.29 gearing. The whole setup runs air lockers front and rear, so you’ve got traction on tap when things get sketchy.

The steering setup is another cool feature. This rig runs rear steer, which means the back axle does most of the turning work. Both axles have 45 degrees of steering angle, giving you the ability to basically pivot around obstacles that would stop most rigs cold. When you’re trying to thread the needle between boulders or make a tight turn on a shelf road, that kind of maneuverability is worth its weight in gold.

Rolling stock consists of Trail Ready 20-inch beadlocks wrapped with 42-inch BFG Red Labels. That’s a lot of tire, but when you’ve got portal axles giving you all that clearance, you want to make the most of that clearance. The whole rig sits on a 108-inch wheelbase with 82.5-inch axle width and 20 inches of belly clearance. Those numbers might not sound crazy until you realize the whole thing weighs under 2,900 pounds without water in the tires.

Suspension duties are handled by 16-inch 2.5 Fox air shocks on all four corners. Air shocks let you adjust your ride height and spring rate on the fly, which is clutch when you’re going from smooth fire roads to technical rock sections. The rig also packs front and rear Warn winches because sometimes even the best crawler needs a little help. It’s never bad to be able to suck down the front or rear on certain climbs, also.

The interior keeps things simple and functional. Instead of a traditional gauge cluster, everything runs through a Switch Pro Bluetooth system and a phone app called Torque that reads OBD data. It’s actually pretty clever - you get all the info you need without cluttering up the dashboard with a bunch of gauges that might not survive a hard hit. The cab is wide open for visibility, which is huge when you’re trying to place your tires on specific rocks or avoid dropping a wheel into a crack.

What really impressed me about this build is how it performs on the rocks. Sure, it doesn’t have the horsepower to just power up everything, but that’s not the point. This rig was built to find traction and crawl up stuff that other rigs have to shoot at with momentum. You can watch Scott work both axles to keep the rig level and find the grip points on technical obstacles. Those portal axles keep the diffs and tubes well above the rocks, so you don’t have to worry about high-centering or snagging on something.

The lightweight construction really shines when you’re trying to maintain traction on steep or off-camber sections. Heavy rigs tend to break traction and slide around, but this thing just sticks to the rocks like it’s glued there. The rear steer setup lets you make corrections and adjustments that would be impossible with a conventional steering system.

Scott’s build shows that you don’t need to go overboard to build a capable crawler. Sometimes the smartest approach is to focus on the fundamentals - keep it light, keep it simple, and make sure every component serves a purpose. Yeah, there are a lot of pricey parts here, but this build keeps things as simple as possible.

You can follow the WRECKED GEAR crew on Instagram @wreckedgear for more builds like this one. They’re always finding cool rigs and breaking down what makes them tick.