Street Trucks May 2018

ALL THINGS CHANGE WITH TIME, INCLUDING WHAT’S HOT IN THE TRUCK SCENE. In the past few decades, late-models and mini-trucks were getting most of the attention. Though these trends haven’t gone away completely, classic American trucks have been more popular than ever, especially C-10s. Whether you’re a fan or not there’s no denying that classics have overtaken the spotlight. Out of the three generations, the 1967-72 body style was the first to become popular, followed by 1960-66 C-10s. Finally, the last generation of 1973-87 square-body C-10s has gotten hot. Though interest in square-bodies has increased, some people didn’t consider them classic vehicles. Generally, vehicles that are at least three decades old are considered classics, yet third gen C-10s didn’t get the respect they deserved. However, attitudes are changing, and more…

THE VOTES ARE FINALLY IN, AND WE HAVE A WINNER. The truck was started by Clint Petree and Bob Grant of Grant Kustoms when Clint owned it many years ago, but after sitting for years it was eventually scooped up and completed by Clint’s good friend, Nick Germano, owner of Outkast Kustoms. Nick kept many of Clint and Bob’s original ideas intact (such as the scratch-built ’69 Camaro body lines) but added his own along the way. The result is one of the wildest C-10s on the planet, and most of you agreed, voting it Street Trucks 2017 Truck of the Year. Congrats to Nick and all involved with this amazing build. It was a long road, but the results were obviously worth the journey. This…

SPEAKING OF BOB GRANT, CHECK OUT WHAT ELSE THE METAL MASTER HAS BEEN UP TO LATELY. This ’58 Chevy Suburban is owned by Dan Little, who dropped the truck off at Grant Kustoms when other shops said it couldn’t be saved after a bad wreck. This was heart-breaking for Dan because the Suburban had been his dad’s until it was eventually handed down to him. Fortunately, Bob was convinced, and now the old SUV is well on its way to being one of the most unique custom trucks we’ve seen. Cool mods such as ’58 Impala front and rear bumpers, ’54 Bel Air taillights, a chopped roof crown, shortened rear doors, hand-built quarter panels and a trick custom chassis are only a few of the items on the long list…

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN LEAD AND EVERCOAT LIES BONDO, LIKELY STILL THE MOST POPULAR BODY FILLER ON THE PLANET, ESPECIALLY FOR DO-IT-YOURSELFERS. As happens with many popular brands, their names become the universal, generic term for all products of similar function. Sometimes that can be a good thing, but sometimes not so much. In the earlier days of polyester-based body fillers, the stuff had a tendency to crack and flake if the ratios weren’t just right (and often even when they were), and the bad habit of just loading a body panel up with filler instead of properly repairing the metal led to a lot of subpar bodywork in garages across the world. Being the most popular brand out there, the Bondo name got hit with the bad rep, and the term…

DASHING DISPLAY Dakota Digital has unveiled its new Universal HDX series, which includes several universal applications. Expanding upon the company’s popular VHX series, each HDX system is available in a choice of black or silver alloy gauge-face styling and allows the user to select their favorite illumination color for gauge readings and needles, as well as TFT message center displays. Built to help you further personalize your ride, calibration and personal settings are kept simple with built-in, capacitive-touch buttons, or the available Bluetooth app for Apple and Android devices. Dakota Digital 605.332.6513 Dakotadigital.com BOOST OR BUST The AVS2 carburetor from Edelbrock features annual flow primary boosters with a new calibration for improved off-idle and cruising performance. The annular flow booster design delivers improved fuel atomization to eliminate flat…

OWNING THE SAME TRUCK FOR 44 YEARS IS QUITE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT. Not many custom truck enthusiasts can walk out into the garage and climb into the same cab they have been enjoying seat time in for more than four decades. In all seriousness, 44 years is a long time, and for a man to hold onto a truck through the ups and downs of business and family life is remarkable. Randy Whiteside’s journey with the ’55 Chevy pickup radiating off of these pages started in 1974 when his brother Ron brought the truck home, retiring it from daily service as the shop truck for Dana Radiator. Randy and Ron disassembled the truck on Labor Day weekend that year and had everything sandblasted, only to find significant amounts of rust. A…