The rig is completely custom from the chassis to the bodywork. It is approximately 9 feet wide and 20 feet long.
Swamp buggies are completely custom made. While they're designed to accomplish the same basic goal, each is one-of-a-kind. Most have been built by their owners, based on the theory that they know what works in this type of racing environment.
We hit the pits, surveyed a number of rigs, and talked with several drivers. What follows is a look at the interesting tech being applied to the "Barefoot Too" Six-Cylinder Class buggy driven by Scott Marcotte. This buggy is the prerunner of the swamp-buggy world.
The front suspension uses coilover shocks and the steering is fully hydraulic. Notice how the suspension is longer on the driver's left than it is on his right. Since most of the high-speed turns at the Florida Sports Park are righthand turns, this gives the vehicle greater stability at speed. Also note the skis on the front suspension. These give the buggy the ability to skim over deep water like a boat. When the buggy rides up on the skis, the front wheels act as rudders so the driver has total steering control. The front and rear axles on this rig are also cocked (in other words, the distance is greater from front to rear wheels on the driver's left than they are on the driver's right) to aid in fast cornering.
Power comes from a race-prepped 4.3L six-cylinder engine with 11.5:1 compression. Fuel comes from a 5-gallon fuel cell and spark comes from an MSD ignition. The engine is bolted to a two-speed transmission, and a driveline brake provides ample stopping power. | 
The rear end consists of a modified Ford axle and a coilover suspension. This team was trying skis on the rear axle, but they thought that it was lifting the rear of the buggy at speed, thereby hurting rear-wheel traction. Speaking of the rear wheels, they are completely custom like the front, only bigger and more aggressive. | 
The driver sits in a racing seat with a full safety harness. A tall rollcage keeps the driver out of the water in the event of a rollover. Since the axle-mounted skis tend to throw a lot of water in the turns, clear shields were mounted on the sides of the rollcage to help decrease the amount of water hitting the driver. |