Since there's so little good news coming out of Detroit (or anywhere else on the planet for that matter), this month we are going to turn the microscope inward and give you a dose of what's happening in our little world. The Sport Truck staff has a lot going on at the office, which is reflected in the magazine often, but what about at home? What do the guys do when they aren't chained to a desk looking for just the right synonym for the word "airbag" to use in a story about your trucks? Here's what they have going on.
Calin-
Well the '68 is still sitting in the garage with a busted rearend. I'm waiting until my dad finishes his '50 Chevy project so I can use the lift in the shop to get the '68 roadworthy again. Actually, now I will also need a distributor because the one in the '50 took a crap, so I gave Dad my HEI. The S-10 is just the way it was in the cover shoot except its friggin' dirty. It's been sitting outside my shop for a month getting covered in all kinds of crud. There is a foundry right next door to my shop and it produces all kinds of airborne particles that sit on the paint and leave little rusty dots. I will need to clay and use some cleaner wax before I can take it out. Right now, all I have been doing is helping my dad as much as I can to finish his truck.
Talk about a chipped toot...
Talk about a chipped tooth!
Kevin-
My S-10 is also just the same as it was from the photo shoot. I still drive it everyday except on the rainy days when I drive my '62 GMC. The S-10 has stayed pretty clean except for the two wheels that a stray cat decided to piss on. I've always wondered why cats like to pee on polished wheels. Anyways, the GMC is still the same, but I think I want to swap a 350 in it. The original V-6 still purrs, but it eats gas and is very obsolete. Also, the two front bias-ply tires are scary to ride on when cold. They like to bounce a lot at exactly 35 mph.
Mike-
I made some serious progress on my '73 C10 right after I bought it. Less than a week after taking possession of the truck, I found a donor '84 Suburban and bought the front clip and front doors off of it, which are in decent shape. The driver's door panel looks a little weird because it's got a power window switch with four buttons instead of the standard two-button arrangement that originally came with the standard cab truck. I've got more buttons than I need, but I'll use them for something slick like a nitrous system arming button or something like that. The grille needs replacing because somebody tried to remove it without unbolting it, so that'll have to go soon. Lately, I've been working on the engine swap. I should be able to wrap that up in the next few weeks so I can start driving it again.
As for my '67, it's been quietly moving along toward being whole again. I blew the front end apart and removed the drivetrain so that Scott's Hot Rods in Oxnard, California, could fab up a new firewall, which gave me some much-needed legroom. Next, we'll focus on making the hood open and close safely again.
Andy-
Based on the rest of the guys' answers I guess I should probably have something truck related to write out in this space, but I don't. Yep, my old '54 Pontiac is still sitting in the driveway begging for some much needed attention, and my Dakota is kind of where it wants to be right now so no further work done on that. I guess the only real work being done around the house is by my wife. She's been busy making a set of lungs and a skeleton the past few months. Check out the pictures:
10 Mostly Worthless Facts
1. We found a typo on the April 19th, 2008, page in Ford's "Bold Moves" desk calendar that was distributed to media personnel. Just thought you should know.
2. Some Asian brand-specific brake pads are manufactured with audible wear indicators called "screech clips". These screech clips are U-shaped pieces of spring steel that are riveted to the pad backing and are designed to contact the rotor when the pads become excessively worn.
3. The "Built Ford Tough" slogan was introduced way back in 1978.
4. Bonspeed Wheels sent the best holiday greeting card of the year. Too bad we don't give out awards for stuff like that.
5. Al Gore did not invent the Internet. However, the High Performance Computer and Communications Act of 1991 was originated by then-Senator Gore, which provided funding and resources for the growth of the Internet.
6. You have a 1 in 649,739 chance of being dealt a Royal Straight Flush when you play poker. You're more likely to get struck by lightning.
7. The first neon sign was made in 1923 for a Packard automobile dealership. See, gearheads are at the forefront of cool advertising.
8. This month in 1826, Samuel Morey patented the internal combustion engine. 104 years later, Hostess invented the Twinkie, making April the birth month of two of our favorite things.
9. Worldwide, 20,000 brands of beer are brewed in 180 styles, from ales, lagers, pilsner, and stouts to bitters, cream ales, and iced beers. Our fridge is full of the best beer ever, mainly because it's within our reach.
10. The fear of thinking is called phronemophobia. Luckily, we don't use our brains for that.
Say What?
The staff speaks and you listen. It's that simple. This month's question is:
Would you cut up a brand new '09 truck and lay it on the ground?
Kevin: I don't have any problem with it. Shortly after my S-10 was purchased at the dealership, I had cut it up for airbags. I don't really worry about voiding the warranty because all new trucks are built so well that rarely does anything major go wrong with them. I think I used my warranty twice for minor stuff like a broken seat lever. Though I speak of a truck that was purchased for $10k, the larger and higher-end trucks are made with the same quality as mine. For example Chris Caldwell has put nearly 30k miles on his '07 Chevy Silverado cover truck since it was cut to lay large wheels. In that time he has not incurred any problems that would make me think that customizing a new truck is a stupid idea.
Calin: No, I would not cut up a brand new truck. I would first style it with some cool bolt-on stuff and drive it that way until the warranty expired. As soon as that warranty ran out, I would break out the masking tape and paint the sucker and cut the frame for a deeper drop. I would drive it that way for a while until I got bored with it. As they say boredom = modification.
Mike: Hell yes I would! I'd go the extra mile and not cover up the holes in the bed either, just so that the truck would be utterly useless. This would prevent my friends from ever asking me to help them move furniture with my new, warranty-voidin', makin'-payments-'til-I-die, sport truck!
Andy: I think I'm with Calin on this one. The idea of making a full-blown custom truck out of a brand spankin' new one kind of scares me. I'm just a little timid when it comes to voiding a warranty I guess. I'd start off slow with the usual wheels and tires, custom intake, and exhaust. Maybe then I'd toss in a few interior mods. Although on the other hand, if I had the extra cash and a pair of brand-new trucks to drive I might take the plunge and cut the hell out of one to make it slam to the ground.
Sport Truck Slang Term O' The Month
#157: cancer (kan'ser) n. Cancer is not just an astrological sign for a person who likes to stay at home and be excessively emotional. For us gearheads, cancer is another term for rust-that red menace that eats away our sheetmetal. Rust is a general term for iron oxide, formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the presence of water or air moisture. Rusting is the common term for corrosion of iron and its alloys, such as steel. Given sufficient time, oxygen, and water, any iron mass eventually converts entirely to rust and disintegrates. So don't neglect your truck, or one day it will just be a pile of red dust.