Owner: Thomas Tatton
Ride: '93 Toyota HiLux Extra Cab
Hometown: Queensland, Australia
Club: Severed Ties
When it comes to Australian minitrucks, it's hard for many of the veteran U.S. guys to imagine that the custom-truck scene down under only began about seven or eight years ago. While we were already body-dropping trucks, in the United States, they were still rollin' static-drops. But, when a few brave guys began to break all the rules and cut up their trucks-despite strict laws and restrictions-the minitruck bug quickly consumed the entire country. Looking to us for inspiration, Australian minitruckers have now gained international exposure for their full custom builds-like in Oct. '06, when Lincoln Doring'sToyota became the first Aussie truck to make the cover of Mini Truckin'
Once the Australian minitruckers began to build show trucks, it gave room to the daily drivers to also go a little crazier on their build ups to include interior work, paint, and more detail.
Thomas Tatton was one of the many guys who got hooked at a young age on custom trucks. When Tom was only 14, he was out in Hawaii and spotted some custom minitrucks. While doing a little research, he picked up a Mini Truckin' magazine, and the rest is history!
Before building this Toyota as a driver, Tom built a 'bagged and body-dropped '83 Isuzu single cab, a dual cab Nissan Navara, and a 720 Nissan. So, Tom's been around the block a few times, which led him to start his own shop called Krucial Kustoms. With the help of some friends at Komited Kustoms on the frame and suspension, and a few interior pieces done by North Coast Custom Trim, Tom managed to paint and build the rest of his truck by himself using only his past knowledge and learning from mistakes.
Tom tinkered with his Toyota on and off for six years, until he was happy enough to drive it in style. Now that he's gotten all the crazy draggin' out of his system, Tom has even bigger plans for his truck. It's already back in the garage for a complete rebuild from the ground up. He assures us that he has tons of tricks up his sleeve, so we're anxious to see what he can come up with next!