The name has changed, but the game remains the same: Build the greatest truck you can and send us some pictures and info on it and maybe, just maybe, fortune and glory will be yours. For the last three years we've dug through mountains of snail mail and gigabytes of e-mails to find the most inspiring and hilarious trucks our readership could come up with. The submissions were so great this year that we had to wrestle just to figure out who should win. The result is the Homegrown Hauler Awards.
The Homegrown Hauler Awards is a celebration of the undeniable spirit of the custom truck owner. No matter how high the price of gas has risen, how long our country stays at war, or how oppressive the local p.d. might seem at times, you guys keep on supporting the custom truck community by crafting amazing rides. You've weathered quite a few storms in '08, and this is our way of saying thanks!
The rules are simple. Send us your best photos-and that means the ones in which we can see the whole truck, not just one half or three quarters of it. Make sure that thing is in focus too. And you'd better send us some accurate info about what parts of your ride are custom too, because if you don't we may take the opportunity to make stuff up and give you a bogus award, just because we're crazy like that.
We'll pick the needles from the proverbial haystack using our patent-pending scientific methods. Our methods are proprietary, so we can't precisely explain them to you now because we don't want other magazines ripping off our grand ideas. But, we will say this: Our method for picking winners involves atomic headbutts, crooked arm lariats, spinning heel kicks, two chickens, and a full moon. It sounds sketchy, but our track record speaks for itself. We've had "winners" every year. So if you didn't win an award this year, don't blame us. Just go big next year and get your submission in quickly, so we can have a tag-team death match to see who gets the hardware in '09.
The Sickest Dodge Award
Roy G. Monk'S '89 dodge dakota
Greeneville, Tennessee
Engine:
Mopar 360-cid crate V-8 / Holley 750-cfm carburetor / Hooker shorty headers / March pulley system / K&N air cleaner / 2.5-inch Flowmaster exhaust with 40-series mufflers / Keisler five-speed transmission / Hurst shifter / hydraulic clutch / 8-3/4-inch rear with 3.90:1 gears / fuel cell
Body Mods:
Shaved doors, tailgate, fenders / molded-in body kit / Cadillac taillights / billet grille / 3-inch fiberglass cowl-induction hood and bedcover / Viper Red paint
Audio/video:
Kenwood X879 CD head unit / Kenwood 1,000-watt amplifier / 12-inch Rockford Fosgate subwoofers / four Kenwood 6x9-inch speakers / 7-inch monitor in custom armrest
Suspension:
Belltech 2/4 drop
Interior:
'90 Camaro bucket seats / Auto Meter Arctic White gauges / Grant GT steering wheel / '90 Chrysler tilt steering column / billet rearview mirror
We Say: This thing deserves a feature story with better photos.