1972 Toyota HiLux Video Review
When it comes time to begin working on the perfect body for your minitruck a slew of body mods comes to mind.
But when you want something built from scratch and you want it to be one-of-a-kind and done right the first time, that's when it gets tricky. Lucky for us, we have the metal magician Bob Grant from Grant Kustoms in our corner! Bob, Zach, and the Grant Kustoms crew (including Bob's sons) are the best at what they do, and can really turn out some amazing projects in record time. For Project Low Lux we knew we needed an exterior just as custom as our scratch-built frame. So after spending a couple of hours on the phone tossing ideas back and forth, a game plan was set. For this installment Grant Kustoms shows us there's nothing quite like hand-built! Follow along and check out the handmade bedsides, and be on the lookout for the one-off tailgate skin. For more information, contact the companies listed in the source box, and visit Minitruckinweb.com for more pics of the buildup.
1. Our factory bed has seen...
1. Our factory bed has seen better days with gaps more than a 1/4 inch in some spots. So, we decided to call in the cavalry and have Grant Kustoms do what they do best.
2. Bob's son, Nick, got to...
2. Bob's son, Nick, got to work following in his dad's footsteps. He quickly ground down all the seams to make for a clean cut.
3. That's right-they're building...
3. That's right-they're building completely new bedsides from the bodyline down! A subtle mod, but one that will set this Lux apart from the rest.
4. Nick got to work again...
4. Nick got to work again cutting along his cut lines, slowly but surely.
5. In a matter of minutes,...
5. In a matter of minutes, one side was cut off and Nick was ready to move to the other side.
6. With both sides cut off,...
6. With both sides cut off, the scrap pile was beginning to take shape.
7.
8. The tailgate section wasn't...
8. The tailgate section wasn't safe either! We actually have some pretty cool tricks up our sleeve for this.
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10. Then it was time for Bob...
10. Then it was time for Bob and the rest of the crew to step in and start building the bedsides. The purpose is to extend the bottoms to match the cab, but with a little more style than just extending them. The wheelwell is actually dropped a tad, and everything is matched so the bottoms flow up from front to rear.
11. Just like the bedsides,...
11. Just like the bedsides, the inner wheelwells are cut to length and hand-built.
12. The pieces are hand-bent...
12. The pieces are hand-bent and matched before getting worked back into shape on the shrinker/stretcher.
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14. After everything lines...
14. After everything lines up, the wells are tacked in place slowly so nothing gets warped. There's no point in going through all of the trouble of hand-built bedsides just to rush the finish work and warp them!
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16. Not bad-starting to look...
16. Not bad-starting to look like a truck again!
17. The fun part of doing...
17. The fun part of doing something one-off is the creativity. The not-so-fun part, but the most crucial part, is lining it all back up and ensuring everything looks like it came from the factory. A ton of work, but worth the end result.
18. Grant also hand-built...
18. Grant also hand-built taillight fillers to match the new bedsides.
19. Here's a sneak peek of...
19. Here's a sneak peek of the custom tailgate skin coming soon! We still have a few things to button up, so stay tuned as we bring you the rest of the custom build of Project Low Lux.