Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2021 i Street Trucks

THERE ARE MANY “FIRSTS” THAT POP UP IN LIFE THAT DON’T END UP GETTING THE ATTENTION AND CARE THEY TRULY DESERVE. When it comes to customized vehicles, the majority of us can admit to making multiple questionable decisions with our first rides, whether it was hacking up some kind of DIY project that we had no business DIYing in the first place to just rushing through things and choosing quantity over quality. Whatever the case may be, we’re all deserving of a little forgiveness with those first customized vehicles of ours. It’s a gradual learning process for most, but on the other hand, there are folks like Jose Corral of Alamo, Texas, who make a vow to build an absolute work of art their first time out. Yes, the…

REGARDLESS OF YOUR POLITICAL VIEWS, OR YOUR FEELINGS ON WHAT IS THE “RIGHT” WAY TO DO THINGS, I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE IT FEELS GREAT TO BE GETTING BACK TO NORMAL LIFE AND PUTTING THE PAST YEAR BEHIND ALL OF US. What is one of the best things about getting back to normal? Truck shows and seeing all of our friends old and new back together doing what they love again! Relaxin’ in the Park gave many exactly that. Obviously there have been a few good-sized shows in various parts of the country in the past few months, but around here this is one of the first in a while! The second annual Relaxin’ in the Park took place in St. Louis, Missouri, the weekend of May 21-23. Friday…

THIS ’56 F-100 WAS PUT TOGETHER AS A HOTROD TRUCK BACK IN THE EARLY ’90S. It has a 302 out of a late ’80s F-100 and a C-4 trans. We ran the existing motor on the dyno and then did a cam, head, and manifold swap to see if we could get some decent power over a weekend without breaking the bank. The upgrades were successful, with a 35% increase in horsepower and 25% in torque. With our previous A/C installation, an AOD trans and rear end gear swap, and the newfound power, the old F-100 was now really fun to drive and even started seeing some 65-mile daily commute duty. That got us to thinking about possible mileage increases. The switch from the old C-4 three-speed automatic and 2.75…

STAGE 2 : TEXAS, JULY 10 Street Trucks is calling out all the Texas truck owners to come Show Off on July 17 at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas! We are giving out $2,000 plus the COVER of Street Trucks magazine to First Place Best of Show! This is a single-day truck-only show-and-shine event that you do not want to miss. Including a Car Audio contest with a $250 cash prize, bikini contest for $250 cash, music, food trucks, vendors and more! AWARDS: First Place: $2,000 & Street Trucks COVER! Second Place: $250 Third Place: $250 Best Car Audio Install/Demo $250 Top 25 Truck Awards Best Lifted Truck Best Full-Sized Truck Best Mini-Truck Best Diesel Best Female Owned Best Display Best Engine Best Interior Best Under Construction Street…

NEXT-GENERATION TACOMA TRD PRO TAKES OFF-ROAD PERFORMANCE UP A NOTCH FOR the 2022 Tacoma TRD Pro, off-road performance goes up a notch—literally! The next-generation Tacoma TRD Pro will employ TRD-tuned Fox internal bypass shocks designed to deliver exceptional on- and off-road performance, but the crucial suspension change will be a taller suspension lift—1.5 inches up front and a half inch at the rear. The increased suspension lift will provide adventurers with even more off-road capability for exploring the great outdoors, as it equates to real-world improvements for trail and obstacle clearance thanks to its 36.4-degree approach angle, 24.7-degree departure angle, and its 26.6-degree breakover angle—all of which improve upon the previous-generation TRD Pro. Complementing the increased front lift is new TRD-engineered upper control arms. Featuring machine-forged aluminum construction for added…

HAVE PEOPLE EVER DOUBTED YOU AND TOLD YOU FROM EVERY DIRECTION THAT YOU CAN’T ACCOMPLISH SOMETHING YOUR MIND IS SET ON DOING? Call them haters, naysayers or whatever, but the best way to shut them up is to handle your business and prove them wrong. That’s exactly how Mark Schaefer of Longview, Texas, took care of everyone who said he could never build his 2012 Dodge Ram to the level he always talked about. Did his truck get finished overnight? No, but he made sure that he was constantly making progress on it—and turning down the volume from the peanut gallery as to not be distracted from doing what he had to do. It’s not every day you see a killer Dodge Ram laid out on big wheels with…

THE TIME HAS COME TO PICK UP OUR 1998 GMC SIERRA KNOWN AS PROJECT ARTEMIS FROM AMAZING MINDS AT GLARB DESIGNS AND ALCHEMY WRAPS. Not only is the “Ready Player One, Cyberpunk” mashup design eye-catching and hypnotizing, but it also incorporates LED panels underneath the wrap that light up at the push of a button. Now the name of the truck can be seen at night, which will definitely stand out in the crowd. All the printed panels from We Print Wraps are laying down perfectly over the manicured metal, and the luminescent panels are lighting up the shop like you wouldn’t believe. Alchemy Wraps out of North Carolina performed the majority of the work in this install, and we are so impressed by how easy they can make it…

AFTER FOUR OR FIVE YEARS OF COVERING ONE OF THE LARGEST ALL-TRUCK MEETUPS IN THE SOUTHEAST, WE HATE TO SUGGEST THAT THIS ONCE GREAT EVENT, MAY NEVER BE TRULY GREAT AGAIN. A combination of inflated egos and dangerous driving has black flagged the yearly get together for the Street Trucks team, even though we know the show will go on. Street Trucks represents and documents industry enthusiasts and true truck lovers around the country. So, when we see the family friendly truck community become a lawless landscape of hate and disrespect, our voice becomes ever more important. This year was especially different for most with the absence of any and all media passes. We thought it was odd at first to not want national exposure, but after a few days…

WHEN IT COMES TO LOWERED TRUCKS, THE STANCE IS EVERYTHING! Without the proper stance, the truck will not look good or handle correctly. One company has been getting it right since 1983—Belltech. Belltech was at the forefront of the sport truck craze in the early ’90s building parts for none other than the GMT400 trucks. The launch of the drop spindle allowed people to lower their trucks while maintaining front-end geometry. They also addressed the rest of the suspension with shackle kits, flip kits and lowering coil springs. All of these components resulted in a ride quality that hadn’t been realized before now. We recently picked up a 1996 GMC Sierra C1500 as a project truck. It was a bit rough around the edges but had great bones and potential.…

AUGUST SLAMBOREE Aug. 6-8 Grand Casino Hotel and Resort Shawnee, OK thebigshowok.com SLAMILY REUNION Aug. 13-15 Kay Rogers Park Fort Smith, AR TEXAS WAKE-N-SCRAPE Aug. 13-15 Walker County Fairgrounds Huntsville, TX THE SPARKS SHOW Aug. 13-15 Sevierville, TN thesparksshow.com ATTITUDE CHECK 9 Aug. 19-22 Mr. B’s Park Woodford, VA SEPTEMBER SHOWME SHAKEUP 8 Sept. 10-12 Branson Convention Center Branson, MO www.showmeshakeup.com SPARKZ AND RESTORATION SHOW Sept. 10-12 Lakeshore Park Brandon, MS F-100 SUPERNATIONALS Sept. 23-25 Sevierville Convention Center Sevierville, TN OCTOBER 1ST SOCAL NATIONALS Oct. 1-3 Del Mar Fairgrounds Del Mar, CA SPARKS IN THE OZARKS 16 Oct. 1-3 River Ranch Resort Noel, MO SLAMFEST Oct. 9-10 Tampa minimadness.com LAST RESORT SHOW Oct. 22-24 Jennings, LA November SEMA 2021 Nov. 2-5 Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas www.semashow.com DINO’S GIT…

LS ALIGNMENT IF THERE’S ONE ACHILLES HEEL OF THE GM LS ENGINE, IT’S THE LACK OF DOWEL PINS ON THE TIMING AND REAR COVERS. Without the pins, the seals don’t align properly and they leak. Summit Racing’s Pro LS Cover Alignment Tool centers the seal openings in the covers with the centerline of the crankshaft to guarantee that the seals stay aligned during installation to prevent leaks. The tool makes it easier to install the seals too! SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT 800-230-3030 www.summitracing.com FEATURES: ■ Shift throw reduced by 35% for quicker shifts without increasing reverse detent ■ CNC machined blue anodized T6061 aluminum base ■ Billet 303 stainless steel lower stick with a fully isolated upper stick ■ Includes a black 5-speed shift knob with B&M logo and shift pattern…

TRUCKS HAVE CERTAINLY EVOLVED OVER THE LAST CENTURY. At first, they were simply built to offer more cargo room than cars, since they were pretty much just built on passenger car chassis. Once truck-specific chassis were made, they were able to carry heavier loads at the expense of a rougher ride. Once consumers had had enough of that, manufacturers figured out a way to not only increase cargo capacity, but also offer a decent ride. Today, well—we simply want it all. We all have our own ideas of what makes the perfect truck, but for most of us, hauling stuff is no longer at the top of the list! Chris Chandler from Campbell, California, can certainly relate. His love of C10s runs deep, but the only thing Chris was interested…

WE CAN GET INTO THAT AGE-OLD ARGUMENT OF WHICH IS BETTER—A STATIC DROP OR AIR SUSPENSION—BUT YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT OPINIONS. In the mid-’80s, air suspension wasn’t available for mini-trucks, so custom truck owners had no choice but to cut springs to get their trucks as low as possible. Central Florida resident and Negative Camber member Tim Gilbert wanted to bring an era-correct build to the forefront of the mini-truck world but couldn’t seem to find a truck that would complete this mission for him. His friend and club member Randy Frederick, whom he named the “Parts Hoarder” due to his talent of locating hard-to-find parts and just, well, hoarding them all, had an ’86 Toyota pickup in his possession that Tim had his eye on. The…

BUILDING A SHOW-WINNING CUSTOM TRUCK IS ALWAYS A CHALLENGE. It demands a combination of art, science, sweat, determination and typically a boatload of  cash. It takes careful coordination, vision, more time than you ever expected and patience before your dream ride ever rolls into that first award ceremony. Jim Branch, from Mansfield, Ohio, understands the concept well, having devoted years to the creation of this beautiful 1938 Dodge pickup truck. A certified auto inspector and Chrysler master technician, Jim is a bona fide MOPAR fan. When he found this truck in Missouri back in 2000, it was running, driving and almost all original. The distinctive styling and the rarity of the Dodge made it the perfect canvas for a modern custom. Guided by a rendering from Jason Rushforth that provided…

SOME OF YOU MAY LAUGH AT THE TITLE OF THIS ARTICLE, BUT TO THE TRUCK GUYS AND GALS WHO WORK HARD TO PAY THE BILLS, FEED AND PUT SHOES ON THE 3.2 KIDS IN HIS OR HER FAMILY, IT CAN BE DIFFICULT. We don’t exactly know where the 3.2 kids come from, but we will leave that part alone. What we do know is that whether you have 3.2 kids or 9 kids, you still want to drive a badass truck, and we here at Street Trucks are going to show you how to do just that. A problem we ran into was this: What if you wanted to go out to the desert this weekend and take a toy hauler so you can play in the sand? You know,…

THIS OLD ’77 SQUARE BODY CHEVY IS BEING CONVERTED FROM FARM TRUCK TO CORNER CARVING, COILOVER CARRYING STREET TRUCK. In the last issue we installed the rear of this impressively engineered squarebody coilover conversion kit. We chose QA1 for our squarebody build for the simple reason that we wanted a painless, DIY installation with no wiring, running air hoses or dealing with leaky systems. Just a solid stance, a smooth ride and some really nice new parts for our truck! Dialing in the stance will be easy with the adjustable coilover system—4 to 7 inches of adjustment below stock can easily be achieved. The major benefit of the torque arm design is that each component is designed to perform one function. This provides superior control over suspension movement, resulting in…