This month's Ridin' Around winner will receive cleaning products from Armor All. Show season is here-there's no excuse to be riding dirty! Spit shine your ride today! For your chance to win, be sure to submit your truck's info and photos to mini.truckin@sorc.com.

Excuse me while I wipe the dust off of my keyboard *cough, cough*. There is an old saying that goes something like "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." I suppose Mr. Nietzsche has had his moments of brilliance and I would never want to step on his toes, but I would like to have his famous quote amended to read more like this "That which you know will kill you, you should not try."

Anyone who frequents any type of social media has more than likely seen the abundance of '80s and '90s styled minis popping up from shows in Japan. Upon seeing the first few photos, I assumed that these guys were banging out new builds of retro styles. Some of these trucks are, in fact, current builds but others are artifacts from what was a mass importation into Japan from the States. In the mid-to-late-'90s there were companies that strictly dealt with exporting custom vehicles. Stories are told that guys from Japan would show up at the large shows on the west coast and purchase 10-20 high-end vehicles at a time. The purchase price was often two or three times the actual worth of the vehicle. A bit of research revealed a bit of info that I had either forgotten or had blown right by me. I guess a bit of history will best explain why we see so many cool rides in Japan including minis, muscle cars, hot rods, and lowriders.

Renderings
Comer Design

With our LUV's frame back to official rolling chassis status, and with the bed bolted on to boot, we couldn't wait to get slicing on the cab. One of the things a lot of these old minis have in common is how the rockers on the cab hang way down compared to the rockers on the bed-simply unacceptable. To correct this wrong, we cut the offending rockers off the cab so that their profile matched that of the bed, and sit both rockers in question on the ground. In this case, we cut off something to the tune of just over 2 inches. We referenced the bodylines on the bed and cab to ensure that the two remained square to each other once the cutting was done. With the rockers out of the way, we traced out the framerails onto the bottom of the floor, and in an effort to retain as much interior space as possible, we opted not to raise the whole floor, rather just cut "channels" for the framerails to come through ever wonder where the term "channeling" came from? And with that, we sat the cab over the framerails for the very first time, and of course we did what all of you would-rolled it outside and hung a fender to have our first true peek at how this thing was going to sit.

Mark Cassidy was quick to tell us that he is not fully responsible for the outcome of this truck. Even though he finished it off to meet his personal taste, a bulk of the build had already been well taken care of. "I've always enjoyed having something different from the norm, and I can't leave any vehicle alone. When I got the Toyota in exchange for a trade for a bodydropped '90 Mazda project, I quickly finished where it was left off," says Mark.

This show has been slowly rebounding from its ups and downs over the years. For the last three years, the new owners and operators of Southeast Mini Truckin' Nats have been slaving away trying to bring the show's numbers and popularity back to where they were in the '90s. So far, they've been increasingly successful with each passing year.

Here's a physics lesson-stuff falls. And when you're in riding in your truck, your carpet is there to catch everything. From loose change (not that messy) to coffee and other unknown stain-happy liquids (very messy) to used cotton ear swabs (downright disgusting), you'll find it all lurking under and between the seats. Oh, and the large dirty deformities that are in plain view are the worst!

For the twelfth year, Dropjaw presented and hosted Freak Show 12 located at the Lenoir County Fairgrounds in Kinston, North Carolina. Unfortunately, Hurricane Sandy had other plans for that weekend. As rain and winds up to 50 mph whipped through the campground area, the loyal minitruckers held their ground and set out to enjoy every minute of the hurricane-dampened event. Billed as an 18 and over event, I quickly learned why. The party starts on Friday night with rock bands and rap bands battling it out with the crowd, and once the music was packed away, the real party began.

Some of you may recognize this Mazda, as it was featured here exactly one year ago. If you have last year's May issue, flip through it and check out the improvements that have been made since then. Fresh paint, new wheels, a killer dash swap, reworked suspension-long story short, the truck was taken back to the bare frame just after it was shot the first time. Why? For a spot on our cover, of course.

A trip to the Northwest will do lots of good for ya. The air is cleaner, mountain ranges and lush forests provide for a scenic landscape, and the minitrucks running around are some of the finest around.

Buying a "completed" truck is never a sure bet, especially if you don't know much about the quality of craftsmanship that is lurking beneath the sheetmetal. Many people can vouch for the work, but the final judgment always belongs to a vehicle's new owner. Rickey Bellotti found himself in such a situation after he purchased what he believed to be a finished '91 Isuzu pickup. The get-in-and-drive truck he thought he took ownership of turned out to need a fair amount of attention in order to rightfully claim its title as a reliable daily driver.

When was the last time you bought a project vehicle? Was it a year ago? Last week? Maybe five years ago? Well Chris Clark of Bristol, Tennessee has built a few vehicles in his day, but in 1995, when he was just 17 years old, he picked up this Chevy S-10 and decided to build it. Here we are, almost 20 years later, and not only does Chris still own the truck, but he drives it all the time. That's impressive.

The MAPS Air Museum in North Canton, Ohio, is ground zero for one of the Midwest's premier show. Being a little later in the year, Dropt gives car and truck fiends a great opportunity to hit another show before the slap of winter's hand comes down.

The Lowdown
1986 Ford Ranger
Trevor Bradfield Port Burwell, Ontario, Canada Prize Possessions

FEBRUARY

This months winners will receive some cool head gear from KIK. For your chance to win, be sure to submit your truck's info and photos to mini.truckin@sorc.com

Renderings - On Deck

The '79-'95 Toyota pickup rear axle is probably the most common found under import minitrucks out there. Whether it's on an actual Toyota pickup, a mini with a five-lug swap, or in our case, a Tacoma that needed a narrower axle to tuck wider wheels in combination with a bodydrop, they can be found all over the show grounds. With the popularity of these axles, it's a surprise there aren't an abundance of disc brake conversion kits made to fit them. Do a web search for a disc brake conversion kit for a Toyota axle—you won't find many low budget options. The problem with all the kits that are available is that they are all made for the 4WD six-lug versions. Well, now there is a low budget option for 2WD applications.

You know the feeling—the one that drains the very drive and determination directly from your soul. It definitely brings on a knock-you-on-the-ass, hopeless kind of mood, and sometimes, the cure isn't always so crystal clear. This sh*tty sensation stems from many different sources; a bad breakup, getting fired, getting robbed on the craps table, or not finding a copy of Mini Truckin' at the local liquor store. But for Kane and Ginnifer Farris, their dark cloud came in the form of a slowly evolving Isuzu.

In 2006, Perfect Poise began hosting their annual Cruise to the Pines. The cruise consists of an open invitation to caravan from the deserts of Phoenix to the beautiful northern pines of Prescott, Arizona. The route takes place on the rural highways of Arizona allowing many people a new opportunity to see landscapes they might not have realized were in their own backyard. The club had made arrangements with the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to host the car show for the day and some of the most detailed and creatively built rides around covered the university landscape while their owners spent the day relaxing and sharing stories with one another.

The custom car and truck scene in Southern California is rich with history and variety. On any given day, sightings of low rides of all kinds are not rare. One shop in particular that has been doing their fair share of crafting road-worthy beauties of all makes and models is Hoppo's Custom Suspension Works in Ontario, California. For nearly two decades, this small but lethal group has been staying on the full-time grind, and is picking up speed with each flip of the calendar page.