My column last month probably left some of you wondering what was up with the Toyota "DRGD DLY," so hopefully this will help bring you up to speed.
Unfortunately, it happened again. I find myself breaking a promise that I made a while back to try to keep my sanity. It's not a promise that has all the negative connotations associated with most broken barriers of trust, and it's definitely not a terrible thing, but it is a broken promise nonetheless. I went and did what I told myself and countless others that I wouldn't do again for a very long time (or at the very least, until my S-10 was finished). But yes, it happened again, and as I type this, I'm sitting here laughing at my own retardation.
At first, I had every intention of building my '93 Toyota into a respectable daily dragger. I wanted something that I could be proud to drag to MT headquarters everyday, but it would have to be reliable enough to take on a cross-country trip or cruise. The main reason why I didn't want to go nuts this time around was because it's my only source of transportation (that actually runs), so downtime would have to be kept to a minimum.
This little idea started out as a simple stock-floor body drop on a set of 19-inch one-off Boyd Coddingtons. Add in a clean stereo, a little motor work, and a fresh coat of paint, and voil ! Well, it turns out that it's impossible for me to do anything "simple." There has to be some sort of chemical imbalance in my brain that just won't let me build a simple daily driver, no matter how hard I try. The situation got even more out of hand once I teamed up with Aaron Iha over at Chassis Tech. This dude has crazier and more off-the-wall ideas than I do, and best of all, he has the talent to actually make them work.
I don't want to give away too much of the project here, since you'll be seeing the full buildup in numerous tech articles, but from the teaser pictures, I'm sure you get the hint of just how crazy this thing is going to be when it's done. We've been working on it all month to get the rolling chassis to the Forbidden show (as I said last month). And needless to say, it hasn't helped with my sleep/work ratio. But after all, that's what this lifestyle is all about: building the craziest stuff possible and cramming a 49-hour day into 24 - damn, I'm getting especially good at that last part.
These pics show what a couple dudes with some crazy ideas accomplished once they really set their minds to it. By looking at the pics, you're probably thinking, "Well, that bastard is probably just building another trailer queen." You'd be dead wrong, because I've vowed to keep the "DRGD DLY" license plates even when this project is done, and it will be my daily driver! No matter how crazy we go on this thing, mark my words: I will be driving this one. Until next month, don't be as stupid as I was. What am I saying? We're all mini-truckers, so go cut up your daily driver - just don't blame the bus pass on me! L8888888888.