Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2018 i Street Trucks

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…

“I’VE ALWAYS LOVED C-10 TRUCKS, AND ALL CLASSIC TRUCKS, FOR THAT MATTER. WHEN MY DAD PRESENTED THE IDEA OF BUILDING A TRUCK AS A FORM OF APPRECIATION FOR MY WORK, WE TALKED ABOUT JUST WHAT WE COULD WORK ON, BUT I KNEW INSTANTLY THAT A SQUARE-BODY WOULD BE THE ULTIMATE FOR ME.” — BRADLEY MCFARLIN BESIDES THE SORE HANDS, BACKACHES AND THROBBING KNEES THERE ARE UPSIDES TO STAYING TRUE TO THE ALMIGHTY HUSTLE. There is a certain satisfaction that only comes from completing a job well done, even if it does require working way past the hour when most others have called it quits for the day. For the average guy, these long days may pop up every now and then, but for some, they are a…

JOE YEZZI HAS PROVEN HIMSELF TO BE A SQUARE-BODY MASTERTHEY’RE IN HIS BLOOD. He grew up always having one of some sort in the family, and after breaking the world’s collective neck with his Syndicate Series ’01 C-10, Joe knew that he’d really have to raise the bar on his next build, so that’s just what he did. Joe’s latest is a ’76 GMC Sierra Classic 15 shorty that is being built as a tribute to the last known surviving 1975 GMC Indy 500 Hauler, which Joe also owns. That truck is currently being restored because of its historical significance; there was no way Joe was going to cut that one up, and we don’t blame him one bit. At the time of this writing, most of the metal finish…

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…

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…

THERE’S AN INTERNET MEME THAT’S BEEN GOING AROUND CALLED DISTRACTED BOYFRIEND. In it an attractive girl is seen in the foreground, oblivious to the guy staring at her while his girlfriend looks at him, ticked off. The idea is that although the guy already has someone great, he’s always looking for something (potentially) better around the corner. Fabian Garcia of Bakersfield, California, had something great. He already had a few builds under his belt at just 26 years old, and he had an ’06 Silverado single cab that was about to go under the knife. Since he couldn’t drive the ’06 regularly, he picked up a ’14 Silverado to cruise, and if that were all that he did, he wouldn’t have needed to look any further. But since he’s the…

EVERY YEAR AS the show season winds down there’s one event that we look forward to because it always closes things out on a high note. Usually set during the second week of November (17-19 for 2017), the Goodguys Southwest Nationals in Scottsdale, Arizona, is one of our personal favorites. With dates set practically right after the annual SEMA Show, an abundance of high-quality vehicles is usually present. If you want to see a good classic car show and you can’t make it out to the Southwest Nationals, Goodguys has events scattered across the United States throughout the entire year. It should be noted that Goodguys’ shows cater to the classic automotive scene, however, there are quite a few events in the lineup that allow some modern vehicles as long…

AFTER 10 YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP, MIKE BISCHOFF AND BERNIE SCHWEIGMAN OF BALTIMORE ARE INSEPARABLE. After many years of checking out automotive shows together, as well as spending time with other friends who like cars and trucks as much as they do, the dynamic duo decided to make a joint purchase. Mike is a painter and Bernie is a great mechanic, so they knew they could tackle any challenges a truck build could throw their way. After a bit of hunting and consulting with friends about a team build, they were directed to a late’90s S-10 that was sitting in a front yard. The truck’s owner at the time had attempted to start a build himself, but he didn’t have a lot of know-how or experience. The body was pretty rough,…

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…

IT’S NO SECRET that LS engines have become the go-to choice for engine swaps. Because of their popularity, aftermarket companies of all sorts have developed many products that not only make the swaps easier, but they also enhance performance. In last month’s coverage of LS engine builds we walked you through what it takes to install a 6.0 LQ4 short-block into a drop-in-ready engine (ST May 2018, “New Age Power,” pg. 32). The only item we were missing to finish things up was a good front-drive setup. Front drive setups go by many names, like serpentine pulley setups and front accessory drives. Basically, they make up the essentials that you’d find bolted on the front part of the engine. For example, things like the water pump and alternator are necessities;…

WHEN YOU’VE BUILT YOUR OWN MODEL A AT AGE 13 AND OWN A TRUCKING COMPANY AS AN ADULT, YOU HAVE THE CREDENTIALS TO CREATE SOMETHING GENUINELY UNIQUE. Bob Bradley from Bozeman, Montana, has been involved with cool vehicles his whole life, and this chopped and suicided crew cab is his latest. Although he’s had eight custom cars in the past, this is his first custom truck. Smiling, he explained, “I always wanted a crew cab, so I thought to myself, why would I spend $50,000 on a new crew cab when I can build one for just three times more.” Even with his humorous approach to the project, the idea didn’t turn into reality until he met a young fellow named Kyle Fehrer, a body man from Snubnose Hot Rods.…

IF YOU DO a lot of driving or towing, you know how much of a pain it is making frequent stops to fuel up. This is especially true if you have a Toyota Tundra, like our test subject for this article. Our ’15 Toyota Tundra 4WD Crewmax TRD Pro came stock with a 26-gallon gas tank. Yep, you read that right, 26 gallons for a full-size truck. To give you a reference point, we drove this truck from North Carolina to Texas towing a rather large enclosed car trailer that was loaded. We stopped for gas about ever hour and a half. What was usually a 16-hour trip each way became especially aggravating with all of the extra stops. Granted the truck has a 7-inch lift and 37-inch tires, which…