Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2024 i Street Trucks

WHEN IT COMES TO AUTOMOTIVE EVENTS, YOU’LL FIND NOTHING LARGER OR MORE RECOGNIZED THAN THE SEMA SHOW. While most people perceive this event to be a car-and-truck show, it isn’t. It’s an industry-only trade show designed for aftermarket manufacturers, distributors, and related companies to network and show off the latest and greatest parts. Are most of these parts installed on top-notch vehicles? Yes. Are there more high-end builds than any other automotive event? Yes. So, in a way, you can say it’s a “show” but on a totally different level. Each year people from all over the world travel to Las Vegas the first week of November to attend this event, and this was the 60th year they have done so. SEMA organizers recorded more than 130,000 attendees with 70,000-plus…

THANKS TO THE RISING POPULARITY OF GM OBS PICKUPS AND SUVS, A MUCH WIDER ASSORTMENT OF MODELS ARE NOW OFFICIALLY CLASSIFIED UNDERNEATH THE “CLASSIC TRUCK” UMBRELLA. While these don’t necessarily give a nod to the old trucks that our fathers or grandfathers drove, they do hit closer to home for a large majority of enthusiasts of a certain age who may have had one (or wanted one) back when they were new to the scene. That’s the nostalgic fuel that is keeping the fire under these trucks aflame, and it’s quite contagious. The ’88-’98 Chevy/GMC trucks that were customized back then can be identified by a very specific styling cues that defined the generation. Fresh builds that were popping up at shows and on the streets in the ’90s weren’t…

TECH W ELCOME TO ANOTHER CHAPTER IN OUR WORLD OF TRUCK AND SUV CUSTOMIZATIONS. In this issue, we’re diving into the fundamentals of upgrading your 2015 Chevy Tahoe with a new set of aftermarket wheels and tires. Our aim is not just to introduce some new DIY upgrades, but also to give you the knowledge and confidence to select, inspect, and install these upgrades yourself. Street Trucks typically showcases highly customized upgrades, but this article focuses on some basic upgrades anyone can undertake. By providing insights into choosing, inspecting, and installing aftermarket wheels and tires, we want to challenge enthusiasts to personalize their daily driven vehicles with confidence. When considering aftermarket wheels on a daily-driven family vehicle, it’s extremely important to maintain the original wheel/tire height and width. To achieve…

TIFFANY NEUMANN LOVES CUSTOM TRUCKS. Ever since she was a little girl, she has been fascinated by the idea of transforming the plain and ordinary into something extraordinary and unique. As she got older, those interests melded seamlessly with the custom truck scene, which she has been a part of for many years now. When Tiffany’s husband Tony decided to take over driving duties of her custom Mazda mini, she was met with a problem: what to build next? It didn’t take long for Tiffany to figure out that a full-size would leave a lot more room for activities, so she picked up a 2015 Chevy Silverado and went to work. Well, since Tony pretty much stole the Mazda, she made sure that he put in his fair share of…

2024 HONDA PICKUP GETS INCREASED OFF-ROAD PERFORMANCE AND UPGRADED TECH THE 2024 Honda Ridgeline is designed to work hard and play even harder with improved off-road performance, updated styling, and a more high-tech cabin. The first-ever Ridgeline TrailSport has been engineered to be more off-road capable and get weekend adventurers even farther off the beaten path with new features, including an off-road-tuned suspension, all-terrain tires, and steel underbody protection. All 2024 Ridgeline models will begin arriving in dealers this winter. Taking Ridgeline’s rugged styling even further, “RIDGELINE” is stamped across the tailgate while the grille gets a sporty new mesh design. Inside, more advanced tech has been smartly integrated to enhance Ridgeline’s cabin experience. A new 7-inch digital instrument panel is now standard, featuring an all-digital tachometer on the left…

HOP WITH US INTO MR. Peabody’s Wayback Machine as we set the dial to January 1993. While it might sound like a random date to revisit, a lot of notable things went down that year. Bill Clinton was sworn in as the 42nd US President, the Buffalo Bills became the first team to lose three consecutive Super Bowls (ouch) and, most interestingly for truck enthusiasts, a certain 1989 Toyota pickup graced a certain magazine, which burned its place into the memories of many of us. The pink-colored truck in question went by the name “Ballistic,” and it was absolutely slammed to nearly an inch or two off the ground—and the magazine, of course, was issue #23 of Mini Truckin’. This truck was far ahead of its time in the early…

ARE YOU LOOKING TO ADD SOME MUST-HAVE OPTIONS TO YOUR TRUCK THAT’LL SEE LOTS OF USE? Search no further than an onboard air system. I have added onboard air to every one of my SEMA builds since 2014 and used it in multiple ways over the last decade, whether it’s to keep the truck and trailer tires properly inflated, blow water out of wheels and crevices after a car show rain shower, or help a buddy’s unfinished truck air up so it can be pushed back on the trailer at the end of the weekend. Having access to compressed air has almost endless possibilities. If you’re into off-roading and like to semi-deflate your tires for better grip on rock and then air them back up to drive the truck home,…

HOW MANY GREAT PERSONALIZED LICENSE PLATE IDEAS HAVE YOU HAD THAT ARE SADLY UNAVAILABLE ONCE YOU CHECK WITH THE DMV? We’d bet the number is more than you can probably even remember. We recently met up with a gentleman named Mike McElroy from Heber Springs, Arkansas, who started shopping around for a unique plate for his beauty of a ’66 C10 while it was still blown apart. He tried his luck with one idea he thought for sure would be available, but it was already taken—by his own cousin, no less. “MCELROY” would have been cool to run on his truck, but Mike’s next plate idea was unclaimed and ended up being much more meaningful for his project. “MINT2B” was truly meant to be. Mike has always been into trucks…

IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN WHEN TRUCK ENTHUSIASTS, BUILDERS, AND THE ENTIRE AUTOMOTIVE COMMUNITY PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE WEEK-LONG SEMA EVENT IN LAS VEGAS. This show is a grand display of the latest and greatest wares from auto parts manufacturers from all over the globe as well as an introduction to a batch of freshly completed vehicles of all shapes, sizes, and types. While we will be featuring the best truck builds from the show throughout upcoming issues, we will take this opportunity to take a closer look at some of the new truck products showcased there—right here, right now! The great thing about the SEMA show, is that ALL vehicle types are represented there in one way or another. From mini-trucks to classics and late-model pickups and…

AIR SPRING CRADLE FOR LIFTED TRUCKS THE AIR LIFT UNIVERSAL AIR SPRING CRADLE ENABLES THE AIR SPRING TO BECOME DETACHED FROM THE LOWER BRACKET, ALLOWING FULL EXTENSION OF YOUR VEHICLE’S SUSPENSION WHILE HAVING A SEAT FOR THE AIR SPRING TO SIT INTO ON COMPRESSION OF THE SUSPENSION. The easy-to-install kit has two cradles made of durable resin and mounting hardware for a perfect fit when installed with a LoadLifter 5000 kit and draining holes to help clear water and debris. Whether adding an air spring kit or upgrading your current setup, the Air Lift Universal Air Spring Cradle kit is the best choice for your lifted truck. The cradle fits all Air Lift bellows-style air spring kits and most other brands. The cradle’s design allows for bolt-up or bolt-down installation…

THE GRAND NATIONAL TRUCK SHOW, WHICH TOOK PLACE THIS PAST SEPTEMBER, WAS TO MANY THE PREMIER TRUCK-ONLY EVENT OF THE YEAR. As with its sister event, the world-famous Grand National Roadster Show (known as GNRS), the show (can we go ahead and call it GNTS already?) was held at the Fairplex in Pomona, California, and was open to all customized trucks, vans, and SUVs regardless of make, model, or year. The event featured a wide range of vehicles and build styles, from traditional early rods and customs to late models, domestic and foreign, lifted and lowered. With sponsors such as O'Reilly Auto Parts, LMC Truck, Classic Truck Performance, and ARP Fasteners in full support, the show was destined for success. The show was divided into two parts: the indoor show…

SOMETIMES THE GEMS YOU FIND AREN’T IN THE DEALERSHIP OR ROTTING AWAY ON AN OLD FARM. No, sometimes they are your friends’ gems waiting to be discovered. Nicknamed “Choppa” as a child (he’s not even sure why), Dwane Breaux has been into trucks since a very early age. His mission has always been to find that one build that would fully inspire his creativity. Luckily, that gem of a find came when he was walking through his good friend Anthony Noto’s shop. “I remember like it was yesterday,” Choppa tells Street Trucks. “This bright yellow ’54 was just sitting there begging me to get it.” Purchasing vehicles from Anthony wasn’t anything new for Choppa as he had bought a ’54 Bel Air from him, also. Of course, the bright yellow…

JUST ABOUT EVERYONE IN THE SOUTHEAST US WHO’S INTO CUSTOM VEHICLES IN ANY CAPACITY IS FAMILIAR WITH PIGEON FORGE, TENNESSEE. It has been home to numerous car and truck events for decades. Pigeon Forge is in Sevier County, which is also home to the Sevier County Fairgrounds. Being just outside the main drag allows for cruising and hanging out after the show. It also provides a ton of hotels, Air BNB rentals, restaurants, and more things to do than you can make time for. Inside the gates of the venue itself, you’ll find plenty of parking and room for club games, truck limbo, and other events. Held the second weekend of August each year allows more than a few showgoers to spend some extra “vacation” time in the area before…