You Won’t Believe the Real Cost Behind This DIY Ultra4 Race Car Build

Building a race car is expensive. Like, really expensive. The team at MischiefMakerTV just finished their latest project - transforming an ‘18 two-door JK into a 4500 class Ultra4 race car they call “Nessie” - and they’re being brutally honest about what it cost them.

Holly and Walter from MischiefMakerTV took their sweet time getting back to making videos after their King of the Hammers debut, and honestly, you can’t blame them. After working 20 hour days for two and a half months straight to get Nessie ready for race day, they needed some serious recovery time. But now they’re back with the full breakdown of what goes into building a legitimate Ultra4 race rig from scratch.

Nessie started life as a bone-stock 2018 JK with a 94" wheelbase and maybe 285 HP from the factory 3.6 Pentastar. Today she’s sporting a 109" wheelbase and pumping out 525 HP through a 6.2 LS3 with a 6L80E 6 speed auto. The transformation is nothing short of dramatic, but the price tag is equally eyewatering.

The suspension and steering setup alone will make your wallet cry. Holly went with an off-the-shelf kit from RPM Steering specifically designed for two-door JKs, featuring a triangulated 4 link rear and 3 link front setup. The kit allowed them to stretch the rear by 12" and the front by three inches to hit that target 109" wheelbase. The lower control arms are a massive 2 1/2" in diameter.

Fox Factory coilovers and bypass shocks handle the suspension duties - mandatory for 4500 class racing. These are 2.5" diameter, 14" travel units, but the way they’re mounted on Nessie allows for 17" of travel at each corner. Hydraulic bump stops and limiting straps keep everything in check when the going gets rough.

The drivetrain transformation is where things get serious. That mild-mannered Pentastar got tossed in favor of a firebreathing LS3 with nothing more than a Texas Speed stage 2 cam for modifications. The automatic got upgraded to a 6L80E with a Circle D billet torque converter, and they ditched the stock transfer case for an Atlas 2 speed with 3:1 gearing. Custom-length drive shafts from Tom Wood’s connect everything to Fusion 4x4 Dana 60 axles front and rear, geared at 5.38s with ARB air lockers.

The attention to detail shows in the smaller components too. KMC Desert Grenade beadlocks wrap BFG Blue Crawler DOT tires - the same rubber Holly runs on her other rig, Mischief Maker. The fuel system is all Deutschwerk components feeding a custom 35 gallon fuel cell from Pyrotech. Cooling is handled by a Ron Davis four-pass aluminum radiator with three 9" fans, plus separate CBR radiators for transmission cooling.

Safety equipment came from Pyrotech for most components, with PRP seats and harnesses keeping the occupants secure. The cage is custom-built with one primary goal - keeping Holly and her co-driver alive while still allowing all the body panels to mount up and maintain that Jeep look she was after.

So what does all this cost? Walter breaks it down category by category, and the numbers are sobering. The base vehicle cost $22,000. Steering and suspension came to $25,200. The drivetrain conversion hit $32,400. Safety equipment totaled $15,800. Fabrication materials and labor added another $8,300. The fuel system was $4,600, while wiring and electronics came to $7,300. Cooling components totaled $4,700, with brakes adding $1,300, exhaust $800, fittings $1,200, and the custom wrap $2,500.

When Walter finally adds it all up on camera, the total is enough to make both of them visibly uncomfortable: $126,100!!! We’re talking about a six figs build here, and that’s just for parts and materials. The fabrication time - with three or four people working 12-18 hour days for months - adds even more value that’s impossible to quantify.

Both Holly and Walter are quick to point out that this isn’t the smart way to get into racing. You can buy a used 4400 car for a third of what they spent on Nessie, or run stock class for a fraction of the cost. But sometimes it’s not about the smart financial decision - it’s about building something unique that matches your vision perfectly.

The crazy part? Nessie performed flawlessly at King of the Hammers with zero shock tuning or setup work. She’s a competitive 4500 car straight out of the box, which says something about the quality of components and the team’s build skills. Now they’re looking forward to getting some seat time and dialing in the suspension setup properly.

The MischiefMakerTV team is back to daily videos now that they’ve recovered from their Ultra4 build marathon. You can follow their adventures and see more of Nessie in action on their YouTube channel or check out their Insta at mischiefmakerjku.

Building a race car like this doesn’t make financial sense for most people, but watching the passion and dedication that goes into a build like Nessie reminds you why we love this sport. Sometimes you’ve got to follow your dreams, even when they come with a six-figure price tag.