Sand Car Story and History of Orange County Sand Cars

Sean Smith, CEO and owner of Orange County SandCars, LLC, has been duning, off roading and racing for over 30 years. His love for the sports and racing as an avid enthusiast led to his dream of building Sand Cars. In the late 1980's, he built his first off-road truck based on a stock Toyota 4x4. The truck was heavily modified and was the topic and subject of much attention from friends, family and anyone who saw him driving it. The sound and performance of the truck continued to turn heads and begged the question, "How did you do that to that truck?"

He started doing custom off road work on the side out of his garage in Chino Hills. Sean went to work for Toyota in 1990 at their North American corporate headquarters in Torrance, CA. This is when he really learned the meaning, methodologies and application of quality engineering and manufacturing. He also continued his off road work on the side and as an enthusiast. Sean discovered that many of the same principles learned in a "Quality Factory" environment could be applied to custom built applications. Whether it is working on off road trucks, Sand Cars, quads, motorcycles and street trucks, he was truly at home getting more travel, more power, more everything!

In 2006, Sean partnered withe some of the most talented fabricators, builders and assemblers in the industry and built his first "Street Legal" Sand Car, the Mid-Travel Manx. His love for the industry had truly manifested itself in this endeavor. Orange County SandCars, LLC was formed in 2006.

Orange County SandCar added some key people to continue the pursuit of the best quality and absolute customer satisfaction. The addition of Lewis Woo in 2006 was key to this effort. Lewis brings more than 12 year's of certified Lexus experience to the manufacturing and assembly of the Sand Cars. Lewis is our Executive VP of Assembly and Manufacturing. Quality is built into every aspect, of every car, every time!

Orange County SandCar has partnered with many companies to deliver it's quality products. They are, to name a few, Minor Fab, FRP, Dan's Performance Parts, Balistic Motors and Mitsubishi Motors North America. Many of the contracts we have are in support of SCORE racing teams.

Today, the company offers several versions of the mid-travel Manx, including licensed for the street models. The basis of these cars are the VW pan and fiberglass Manx body. The company will be introducing another licensed for the street version of a traditional "Sand Car" style car, both with and without fiberglass bodies, in late 2007. Additionally, long travel sand cars are a main staple for the business. From the Dunes...to the Street is both our mission and our value statement. The days of owning a very expensive toy that is driven and used a few times a year is now a thing of the past. Whether you are getting groceries, heading out to the desert or going to the dunes, we have a single product that meets every need!