Dear MT,
I had to tell you that even though I get three truck magazines every month, your magazine is my favorite. I no longer own a mini, but you guys have the best articles. Anyway, since I'm already writing this, help a girl out. I recently got this truck and it didn't roll right. I took it to see if it needed an alignment. That wasn't the problem; it turns out that the rear axle is bent. Not knowing that much about the underside of the truck, how serious is this? When the rotor was spun, the brake was wobbling. Is this going to cost a lot? The dealership won't fix it, as I don't have a warranty. Being a single mom trying to pay the note doesn't leave a lot of money left. Thanks for any help you can give me. By the way, you also have the best-looking staff. Keep putting your pictures in the magazine. If you could send me a staff photo . . . well, like I said, I'm single! Thanks.
Joy D. Burns
Robert, Louisiana
Joy,
Well, what can we say? We had to run this one. Anything that can make us feel cool and raise our self-esteem is going to print. What we suggest on your rearend would be to go to a local salvage yard and pick up a new one. It may be possible to be repaired, but for safety and functionality's sake, this would be the best bet. For free installation, bat your eyelashes at the loneliest-looking bastard in the vicinity. It isn't going to be that cheap, but it will be no-frills. Let me just say that it's awesome that you're still into the mini-truck scene despite hardships you may have at the present moment. As for your request, anytime we have the availability to shamelessly promote ourselves, we will take full advantage. Here's a taste of what the future holds in our illustrious modeling careers: Mike doing Blue Steel (he's still working on Magnum) and me doing my Vogue pose.
Dear MT,
I have a truck that I'm working on. It's been slammed, and I'm going to suicide the doors and cut the top off. What do you use to fill in the holes from the door post? Is there a kit for cutting off the top? Also, for underlighting, what do you recommend, neon or LED? Please help me out; this is my first extreme custom job on a truck. Thanks for your help!
Dennis Croxton
Huntsville, Texas
What's up, Dennis?
To fill the holes in the tops of the door post, you would use regular sheetmetal, 16- to 18-gauge. Just cut to shape and weld in. There is a kit made by AIM to make your truck go topless. This is a convertible top that uses ABS to cap off the ends, so it requires no bodywork. Go to AIM's Web site at www.chassistech.com to check out all of the company's convertible accessories. As for neon and LEDs, we would say that LED would be the way to go. For a 10 percent increase in cost, they offer way too many advantages to be overlooked. LEDs take less power and are harder to break; plus, super-bright LEDs are just as bright as neon. Another feature with LEDs that is cool is the fact that they can scroll and change colors, depending on the LEDs you get. Neon doesn't do this, as the color is dictated by the gas in the tube.