Welcome to yet another primered appearance of the Construction Zone. We hope that by seeing more unfinished rides in the raw you'll come up with some new ideas of your own to complete the ride that's collecting cobwebs in your garage. If you have a ride that's not quite done but makes you want to shave, suicide, or chop something every month, then snap some photos of your own. Send them to us here at Mini Truckin' c/o Construction Zone, 2400 E. Katella Ave., 7th Floor, Anaheim, CA 92806.
In case you guys weren't aware by now, Under Construction is absolutely my favorite thing in the whole world. Yeah, it might be the fact that I can never seem to finish one crazy-ass project before I start another, or it might just be that I'm allergic to paint. (You'll notice that I'm mentioned in a lot of the owners' stories, because people have taken it as fun to pick on my disorder.) But either way, mini-truckers are notorious for building some of the craziest "almost finished" rides. That is why Mini Truckin' magazine is the only truck magazine dedicated to its readers in their time of need. Yes, we have primered rides on the cover; and yes, we also put together a special section just for you! It's our big Construction Zone Special, sporting 14 of some of the coolest not-quite-ready-for-paint minis out there. Check out what we came up with!
NR Dime
Wheels/Tires: 20x8.5-inch KMC Venoms with 255/35 rubber
Suspension/Chassis: 2,600-pound Slam 'bags, Monroe shocks, 2x3-inch tubing for frame from the firewall back for a 3.5-inch stock floor body drop, custom four-link, ART upper and lower control arms, Blazer gas tank in between the rear framerails, 1/2-inch Hellbent Customs valves
Body Modifications: Full-face billet grille, clear park lights, Bravada front bumper, stock hood with the 4.3L, Street Scene mirrors, 35x40-inch sliding ragtop, shaved about 30 holes where the ex-Xtreme kit was, shaved all three handles, frenched in rear license plate, roll pan
Interior: Seats wrapped in tweed, red vinyl, and black elephant leather; everything else is covered in tweed, top of door panels are glassed, dash bezel smoothed and painted, seat risers are painted and have raised flames, half-wrap Billet Specialties Revolver steering wheel
Miscellaneous: Nifty little six-switch box
Special Thanks: God, Mom, Sad, his girl for dealing with it, Katfish, Cole, Barefoot at Christ First Customs in Fayetteville, North Carolina; and Rodney and Rob at Hellbent Customs in Concord, North Carolina
Future Plans: Paint, redo interior yet again, some audio
Project Completion Date: Who knows?
Cut Up
Wheels/Tires: Cadillac Escalade 17-inch wheels and old rubbers
Suspension/Chassis: 'Bagged with 1/2-inch hard line, four SMC valves, Airlift 'bags, 5-gallon air tank , two Thomas 337 compressors, four-linked, fully smoothed and painted frame, moved wheel base back 9 inches for standard-cab bed on king-cab truck
Body Modifications: Shaved everything (including the king cab), suicide doors, cut roof off and windshield post down 3.5 inches, body-dropped 3 inches, inside of bed is all sheetmetal, trailer fenders front and rear, Mazda logo from tailgate is molded in the top of the firewall, firewall shaved and tubbed for 20-inch wheels
Interior: Full metal dash, ididit tilt steering column, Billet Specialties steering wheel, 4x4 sheetmetal, Checkmate bedcover
Miscellaneous: All work done by owner, Weber carb, header, 10-gallon aluminum fuel cell
Special Thanks: My wife, members of Visual Concepts; and my ex-boss, Harry, for laying me off so I had time to work on my truck, even though I had no money
Future Plans: Chevy small-block, full sheetmetal interior, and 20-inch billet wheels
Project Completion Date: Maybe spring of '07