LokJaw’s chassis was chosen around one hard requirement: it has to live with big torque. That means a stiff frame, strong crossmembers, and suspension pickup points that don’t move around when the engine tries to twist the truck. Out back, the full-floating Ford 9-inch from Strange Engineering matters for the same reason. On a conventional axle, wheel load puts bending force into the axle shaft. A full floater moves those wheel loads into the hub bearings, so the axle shafts are there to transmit torque instead of carrying bending load too. Add 35-spline axles, a 3.89 ring-and-pinion, and an Eaton Truetrac, and you get a rear end with real torque capacity and smooth power transfer side to side. The rest of the chassis shows the same thinking: boxed structure, a Watts link, adjustable Ridetech shocks, and details like a removable transmission mount that make the truck easier to tune and service once the power goes in.
The episode opens with an update on LockJaw, the truck build, as its Roadster Shop chassis arrives. Before uncrating it, Gale Banks answers several viewer questions that help frame the direction of the project.
He confirms that the truck is expected to appear at SEMA and notes that multiple booths have already offered display space. On the subject of exhaust, he rejects the idea of building it as a quiet sleeper with larger mufflers and electric cutouts, pointing out that the supercharger protruding through the hood makes the truck anything but subtle. His answer on mufflers is even more direct: he would rather run none.
Banks also addresses a suggestion about adding a sliding rear window. He explains that this truck is a desirable big-window model, a relatively rare factory configuration tied to certain option packages, and says there is no need for a sliding rear window because the build is not intended to support a camper. Asked about ATS and Clint's Allison 1000 expertise, he acknowledges Clint's reputation and says the team will simply report what happens as the project progresses. He also confirms that TMI is being considered for the interior, including seats, door panels, and the center console, and he declines to discuss the details of several new patents currently in progress.
One viewer asks about future projects, which prompts Banks to mention a separate goal: taking the Banks Duramax to Pikes Peak. He references Scott Birdsall's Cummins-powered record-holding effort and suggests that the Banks D-Max may be able to challenge it.
Another comment raises Banks' long-standing objection to visible diesel smoke. He reiterates that smoke is wasted horsepower, describing it as power you can see but cannot use. That principle will carry into LockJaw as well. The truck is not being built to haze the air; it is being built to convert power into motion. In Banks' words, he wants the horsepower to rotate the earth, not disappear out the tailpipe.
Once the crate is opened, Banks immediately notices that the chassis arrives with unusually thorough documentation. The package includes an owner's manual personalized for the build, along with chassis parts information, subassembly drawings, laser-cut tube details, horizontal and vertical dimensions, and a fully assembled chassis layout. He specifically points out the ride-height documentation, including the normal ride height relative to the ground plane and the information needed if someone intends to lay the frame low.
That level of documentation sets the tone for his inspection. Rather than treating the chassis as a collection of aftermarket parts welded together, he views it as a fully engineered system. The paperwork covers not only the major assemblies but also service information, hardware, lubrication, brakes, suspension components, steering rack, sway bar assembly, airbags, shock mounts, and chassis geometry. For Banks, that completeness is a sign that Roadster Shop approached the chassis as a designed product rather than a fabricated one-off.
As he studies the chassis itself, Banks notices reluctor wheels at the rear axle and wiring leads at the front hubs. He infers that the chassis is already configured for wheel-speed sensing at all four corners, likely with trigger wheels and sensors integrated into the hubs. That immediately suggests the possibility of anti-slip or traction-control functionality, since four-corner speed data is the foundation for those systems.
At the rear, he examines the shocks, airbags, and link arrangement. The airbags are tapered, and he wonders what the pinion rise characteristics will look like under load. He also points out the Watts link, noting with some irritation that younger enthusiasts sometimes misidentify it as a "Z-link." His point is not just historical; the linkage is there to control lateral axle movement precisely, and it is part of what makes the rear suspension look serious and capable. His overall impression is that the structure is exceptionally robust, with no obvious weak points that would be prone to tearing apart under heavy use.
Banks spends considerable time looking at how the frame rails are boxed and reinforced. He likes the way Roadster Shop transitions the rail shape as it rises, maintaining full section height in critical areas while using a radius on the outside and an angle change on the inside to package the structure efficiently. He also notices that the brake lines are already installed, and he calls the workmanship meticulous.
His deeper interest is torsional stiffness. He explains that engine torque is fed into the frame through the engine mounts, while the ground resists that rotation through the tires and suspension. The result is frame twist, typically discussed in foot-pounds per degree of twist. Because LockJaw is expected to make very large torque numbers, controlling chassis twist matters. He compares the design philosophy to older GM X-frame concepts from the 1950s and 1960s, where crossmembers were used to resist torsional loads. In this chassis, he sees a structure that should help significantly with that problem. His conclusion is straightforward: torque is what twists the chassis, and this frame appears stout enough to handle serious output.
The front suspension impresses him just as much. He highlights the caliper mount, which uses a keyed interface into the upright, knuckle, or spindle. That keying arrangement gives the mount excellent stability under braking loads, and he notes the thoughtful inclusion of a small pinch feature to help remove it later if needed. To Banks, it is a clean and elegant mechanical solution.
He also points out the substantial sway bar and notes that if the truck is pushed hard in corners, sway bar diameter, or roll-stabilizer diameter, will become an important tuning variable. The chassis uses Ridetech shocks, and he emphasizes that their adjustability will be valuable during setup. Looking at the upper and lower shock mounts and the surrounding structure, he praises the fact that the chassis was clearly developed in CAD rather than assembled by trial and error. In his view, that means the designers could evaluate stress distribution and reinforcement placement under load instead of simply welding parts where they seemed to fit.
One detail he especially likes is the transmission mount arrangement. From what he can see, the mount is designed so that after removing the relevant fasteners, it can slide forward and come out of the vehicle, simplifying transmission service. Even without fully confirming every attachment point during the inspection, he recognizes the intent: the mount is engineered not only for strength but also for maintainability.
At the rear axle, Banks walks through the power path in detail. Torque enters through a Strange chromoly yoke, then passes into a billet aluminum pinion carrier assembly, and from there into the axle housing itself, which he identifies as a nodular iron casting. He describes the assembly as brutally strong and notes the detailed perimeter machining on the exterior.
The housing is built to accept 35-spline axles, which require a larger bore because of their diameter. The axle tubes are 3-inch, quarter-wall drawn-over-mandrel tubing. Banks takes a moment to explain DOM tubing: it does not begin as seamless tubing, but after starting larger and being pointed and reduced in size, the weld becomes extremely dense and strong. The result is dimensionally accurate tubing with excellent metal density, especially at the weld, and very high strength.
Out at the ends, the axle uses full-floater hubs. Banks explains why that matters. In a conventional axle, the wheel flange is part of the axle shaft, so tire loads create a substantial bending moment on the shaft itself. In a full-floater design, wheel loads and torque moments are carried by the bearings in the hub assembly rather than by the axle shaft. That removes the bending load from the axle and greatly improves durability in a high-load application like this one.
Inside the axle is an Eaton Truetrac differential. Banks shows obvious admiration for it and identifies the unit as a five-pinion design. He emphasizes that it is an all-gear limited-slip device with no clutches, which means no friction modifiers need to be added to the gear oil. Looking through the openings in the case, he points out the five independent gears, commonly referred to as planetaries, and praises how smoothly the differential transfers torque side to side.
He notes that a Truetrac can operate so smoothly that in a front-drive car it does not create torque steer, which he considers remarkable. As an engine specialist, he admits that the internal gear logic of devices like this still seems almost magical.
The ring-and-pinion ratio is 3.89:1, using US Gear components. The 35-spline axles are made from Hy-Tuf material and are rated for 9,200 pound-feet of torque capacity. Banks then runs through the multiplication math: if 1,000 pound-feet is applied at the companion flange, the 3.89 ratio produces 3,890 pound-feet in the axle. That still leaves substantial overhead. Even if the truck reaches 1,500 or 2,000 pound-feet at the input, he says the axle shafts remain within their rated capacity, and the hubs and surrounding hardware appear to have even more margin. His assessment is that the entire rear assembly is heavily overdesigned for the intended use.
The crate also includes smaller finishing details that reinforce the same impression. Banks finds a LubeLocker gasket and sticker, a metal identification tag that he assumes will ultimately belong with the chassis, and a service manual specific to this build. The manual covers hardware, grease and lubrication points, brakes, upper and lower control arms, spindle details, airbags, shock mounts, steering rack, sway bar assembly, and chassis-specific geometry.
Among the geometry figures he reads out are a 0.65 motion ratio, 3 degrees of anti-dive, and a 16-inch track-width specification tied to a particular brake package. Those numbers matter because they show that the chassis is not just visually impressive; it has been engineered with measurable suspension geometry and documented setup parameters.
By the end of the inspection, Banks' verdict is unambiguous. He says this is the kind of work rarely seen in the aftermarket and describes the chassis as automotive jewelry. His praise is directed not only at the appearance but at the engineering depth, structural integrity, serviceability, and documentation. For LockJaw, the arrival of the Roadster Shop chassis marks the point where the build moves from concept to a serious, highly engineered foundation. The episode closes by teasing the next installment, which will shift from chassis analysis to camshaft science.