Custom 1998 Ford Ranger - 9 Finger Wonder

While talking to Tim on the phone about his truck and reading his tech sheet, there were two things that we were certain about. One is Tim really wishes he would have planned out his build ahead of time and stuck with it. (We say that every month, and just about every feature has the same message.) The other thing is that safety is very important, especially when working around your vehicle. Unfortunately, Tim had to learn this firsthand.

But before we discuss the hand incident, we have to talk about the hard road Tim took to get to the pages of this magazine. Like most of us, Tim was so excited to build his truck, he didn't lay out a real plan. Tim just started cutting away. He began by body-dropping his truck himself, along with the help of his friends. While he was doing the suspension, though, he jumped over to some bodywork, then back to the suspension, then moved onto some interior. In the process, Tim also decided to blow the top on his daily driven Ranger, only to realize later that he would probably never drive it daily again. "Not having a plan was a costly venture, and I really learned my lesson," exclaimed Tim. So, what advice can Tim share with us? "It's always better to plan your work, and work your plan," he said.

Planning was only the first part of Tim's message to us. The second part Tim will never forget, especially when he looks down at his hand holding a beer. Here, Tim has the worst kind of reminder for safety.

You see, one night while Tim and his buddies were working on his truck, they decided to rush a bit. While painting his frame, Tim got a little ahead of himself and pulled the jackstands out from under his truck. What happened next was everybody's worst nightmare: The truck came down hard. Unfortunately for Tim, he didn't get out in time and two of his fingers were smashed severely. "It wasn't my proudest moment," said Tim. "But, it's something I tell people to hopefully help them realize the importance of safety around your truck." Tim ended up losing his pinky, but luckily had one finger saved. Being the trooper he is, Tim finished his truck, but he will always be more cautious while working on it from now on. Let's hope we can all learn from Tim's experience and think twice about safety around our trucks.