For the past few years in the world of minitruckin', there has been an ongoing battle between two (or possibly three, however you look at it) different groups: those who believe in building a truck yourself, and others who have no problem with paying for someone else to build their truck, or those who buy a completed truck. Each side slams the other side with insults and opinions, yet nobody's going anywhere.
Not being partial to either side, it is very easy to see the argument from all points of view, but there has never been a statement that indicates the demise of minitruckin' more than this. This one statement has divided this sport to the point that neither group respects each other. This is not progression, this is digression, and it needs to be avoided at all costs.
The Scenarios
We at Mini Truckin' have considered a few different scenarios in "built not bought."
Radar's truck graced the November '00 cover with 18-inch wheels and full tweed interior.
One is a guy who buys a finished truck, doesn't change it, and rolls it to the shows. The person could be new to the scene and doesn't have enough knowledge, or doesn't know where to take it to change it up. Another reason could be he bought the truck because he or she likes it just the way it is, and doesn't feel that it anything needs to change.
Is either one of these people wrong for what they did? Of course not. This may cause you to ask, what about the owner who is taking credit for the build? Isn't it wrong to take the credit for somebody else's work? Yes, it is. However, not every guy who buys a truck does that. In addition, most of the time, the guys who buy built trucks are making them their own by changing things up. What concern is it of yours if they don't change anything on the truck? Is it really worth having a headache over? After all, it wasn't your money that paid for it. This scenario is also the biggest risk taken among the three. The reason being, underneath all the paint, powdercoating, and chrome could lay a disaster. If you don't know what you need to look for when purchasing a custom truck, the chances are high you might end up with a polished turd. Just because people take pride in what they have done to a truck, it doesn't mean that the job was good. On the other hand, if you have done your research and find out that reputable shops did the work, you are probably making a good decision about buying the truck.
The alternative to this is a young and dumb kid, who knows little about the minitruck scene, buys a truck, and tries to play it off as his or her own build. It happens, but if you think about it, with today's technologies (i.e. cameras, computers, internet and Mini Truckin' magazine) someone who buys a truck from the West Coast and takes it to the East Coast-thinking the builder or previous owner won't find out-will eventually get outed. And when the person gets called out on it, the utter humiliation should be satisfaction enough for those who are offended.
In July '05, the truck resurfaced with a new owner, Brant. He liked the paint job and didn't want to repaint the truck. But to make it his own, he redid the suspension to lay on 20-inch wheels.
Another scenario is the guy who pays to build his ride because he can't, for whatever reason, to build it himself. Maybe he knows how he wants the truck built, but can't wrench to save his life. A lot of builders don't know how to turn wrenches, but they have a vision of what the vehicle should look like. Maybe the guy does know how to spin a wrench, but for some reason doesn't have the time to do so. Or how about this: what if someone, who installs stereo equipment for a living, pays other people to do what they know how to do until his part of the build?
Better yet, four professionals in our sport are building trucks: a fab shop, a body and paint shop, an upholstery shop, and a stereo shop. They all do trade work with each other to build their trucks. Does that mean that the professionals can't build their rides, either?