The John Deer Styling Award
Who: Ryan Ouellette
Where: Old Orchard Beach, ME
What: '92 Dodge Dakota
Suspension: (Front) 2-inch lowering springs / anti-sway bar / (Rear) de-arched leaf springs / notched frame / anti-sway bar
Engine: K&N high-flow air filter assembly / Flowmaster muffler
Wheels/tires: Stock Mopars with essence of green / smaller-than-stock BFGoodrich tires but not low-pros
INTERIOR: Old-school tweed bucket seats / Innovative stone textured paint on all plastic panels / Street-Glow green lighting
Audio/video: Mini disc and CD player / 12-inch Eclipse subwoofer / Kenwood separates and two-way 6x9s / two Kenwood amps
Body Mods: APC mesh grille / Stillen front valance / clear corners / shaved antenna and tailgate handle / welded-on rear roll pan / painted jalapeno green with chameleon up front
We Say: It's mean green and like a John Deer farming machine. Ryan used a lot of green paint to color-coordinate this truck. It kinda reminded us of a tractor, thus the award we gave.
The Best Use of an Editor's Photos Award
Who: Dave & Teri Lorge
Where: Pleasant Prairie, WI
What: '92 Chevrolet C1500 Extended Cab
Suspension: (Front) Belltech 2-inch drop spindles / Air Ride Technologies Shockwaves / (Rear) Air Ride Technologies Air Bar / Belltech C-notch / Air Ride Technologies Shockwaves
Engine: Exhaust Tech after-cat muffler system
Wheels/tires: 17x8- and 17x9-1/2-inch old-school Boyd Coddingtons / 255/40R17 and 275/40R17 BFG Comp TA
INTERIOR: That good ol' stock equipment / a Boyd billet steering wheel
Audio/video: OEM stuff and a 10-disc CD changer
Body Mods: Stylin' Concepts phantom grille and smoothie bumper / Gaylords X2000 tonneau cover / Custom Cruiser bed rug kit / painted GM factory Brilliant Blue, Black Rose, Magenta, and Sherwin-Williams Pearl White
We Say: We had this feature lying around in our files for five years now. Somehow it was forgotten, and it landed in our Readers' Rides file. Ex-Editor Dan Sanchez shot the photos, and he didn't take enough for a full feature. To ensure that the film shot was not a complete waste, we are running them here.
The Wish I Was a Semi Award
Who: David "Big Daddy" Tomlinson
Where: Hawthorne, FL
What: '79 Dodge Centurion hauler
Suspension: Bunch of helper springs out in the rear for heavy loads
Engine: Rebuilt 360-cid V-8 / twin 4-foot stacks
Wheels/tires: Dualie wheels
INTERIOR: Who knows? It may have a CB radio, though
Audio/video: Stock equipment and possibly a HiFi eight-track player
Body Mods: It's a dualie conversion fifth-wheel with a Reese hitch / Turbo Wing / toolboxes / a butt-load of extra lights
We Say: David must have had this truck and his needs grew beyond the capabilities of a pickup truck. It was then upgraded with a conversion to make it a fifth-wheel trailer. He must have a lot of hauling to do because this truck is now the biggest thing he can get that is not a fullsize eighteen-wheeler.
The Cleanest Black Harley Award
Who: Jimmy Hooper
Where: Arlington, TX
What: '02 Harley-Davidson Edition Ford F-150
Suspension: Lowered 2 inches in rear
Engine: Triton V-8 with supercharger / K&N air filter / Tinman Products underhood billet dress-up kit
Wheels/tires: Stockers, but hey, they have that Harley-Davidson logo on them
INTERIOR: Billet steering wheel / stock leather upholstery
Audio/video: All Blue Oval audio equipment
Body Mods: Billet antenna / billet grille and bumper inserts / smooth tailgate handle / airbrushed flames on tailgate
We Say: Jimmy is lucky enough to afford a Harley-Davidson Ford. These are some of the nicest trucks to roll off the Ford assembly line. By the looks of it, Jimmy detailed the funk out of this truck before he shot the photos on it-and even the tires are shiny.
The "I Get Sea Sick in My SUV" Award
Who: Toby Robinson
Where: Lawton, OK
What: '03 Chevy Tahoe
Suspension: It's not lifted or lowered-we say it's stock
Engine: Packaged motor / Flowmaster and dual exhaust system with 18-inch chrome extentions
Wheels/tires: 20-inch L-05 Lorenzo, complete with SpinTek Stunner Spinners / Goodyear Eagle GTIIs
INTERIOR: Baby-blue vinyl dash and seats / navy-blue carpet and headliner / blue carbon-fiber dash kit / eight blue neon tubes
Audio/video: DVD flip-out player head unit / PS2 / two 7-inch headrest monitors / two 12-inch Blaupunkt transparent speakers / Blaupunkt 600-watt amp / Blaupunkt six-disc CD changer
Body Mods: Custom baby-blue painted items / custom baby-blue vinyl graphics / Eurolite Xenon crystal-blue headlights
We Say: Wow, Toby actually liked our Readers' Ride section enough to inspire the build of his Tahoe. From reading our mag, he got his ideas on what to do with the Chevy. It took him nine months to do all this stuff to his ride. The numbers on the back are the area codes from which he grew up in. The T. Sea Sick sticker is derived from his first name Toby, and sea sick describes how he feels after bouncing around in this thing when he hits a bump.
The Very Worthy of a Readers' Ride Award
Who: Rusty Lowe
Where: Sevierville, TN
What: Chevy S-10
Suspension: Airbag system done by Rusty himself
Engine: When the truck started, it had nothing, and Rusty put one in with his own two hands
Wheels/tires: Chrome wheels look to be 17- or 18-inch in size / low-pro tires
INTERIOR: Your guess is as good as ours
Audio/video: Same as above
Body Mods: Euro taillights / new front bumper / multi-cross mirrors / shaved tailgate and door handles
We Say: Rusty is one of those guys who has the talent to build his truck on his very own. It's a cool-looking 'bagged S-10 that looks like it will be awesome when finished. Rusty insisted that the truck was very worthy and that we run the photos of it. We agreed that it was, well, good enough, and hopefully he will send pictures of it when he is done with it.