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1994 Mitsubishi Mighty Max - Weekend Warrior: STK TRUK Edition Part 1: IntroProject STK TRUK Straight from the Garage of Macias From the March, 2007 issue of Mini Truckin' By Ernie Macias Photography by Ernie Macias
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I'd like to introduce you to project STK TRUK (Stock Truck). This is a project that many of you can relate to. It's being built in my garage, completely after-hours, and only with the help of friends. The premise is to show that it is possible to build and drive a project from the garage, using tools that are affordable and easy to use. We'll be making our own brackets, and making our own four-link and installing it. Like most minitruckers, I work late into the night, and the majority of this truck will be built in the dark, as you'll see in some of the pictures. Of course, we'll try and build as much as we can over the weekends when we're not at shows or covering assignments. The majority of the tools we'll be using are what most of you will find in your own garage. Granted, not everybody has air tools, but I think it's becoming more common to find these in most garages nowadays. However, if you don't have a welder, I would definitely recommend getting one, especially since you can't really 'bag a mini without a welder. Most of my tools are very affordable, about 80 percent of the tools are Craftsman I have purchased at Sears over the years. The body saw I'm using is from Matco and it still costs less than $200. Like a lot of guys do, I borrowed it from my buddy, Steve, at Bio Kustumz, who is taking part in the buildup. I know we can't have all the tools we want, so sometimes we need to borrow them from friends. Regardless of what brands of tools you have, this will give you a good idea of what we're working with for the project.  The idea is to build this...  The idea is to build this truck into a mild custom. We plan on leaving the exterior and interior appearance as stock as possible, but give it a slammed and aggressive stance.  1a.  1b. We have two boxes filled...  1b. We have two boxes filled with mostly Craftsman tools. This isn't the first project they're tearing into. I guess you could say, they've been around the block.  2. Brand-new Dewalt Sawzall....  2. Brand-new Dewalt Sawzall. I had an older one from Home Depot, but Aaron's dog chewed through the cord. Damage? Roughly $110, out of Aaron's pocket.  3. This is the bandsaw...  3. This is the bandsaw that we'll use to cut our tabs and whatever else we find around the shop-hopefully, no severed fingers. This model was on sale at Sears and set me back about $120.  4. Here's an assorted collection...  4. Here's an assorted collection of tools. The grinder came from my dad's house a while ago, when we were 'bagging a Cadillac. I never gave it back (sorry, dad). The die grinder on the right has seen many projects and costs about $80-$100. The impact gun is from Sears and is part of its Professional series; it costs less than $200. Steve was nice enough to let me borrow the Matco body saw. He bought it new from the Matco truck for about $160-$180.  5. The chop saw and grinder...  5. The chop saw and grinder set us back less than $200 and are brand-new for this buildup. They were on sale and will come in handy to make good straight cuts and clean up our work.  6. The welder and torch...  6. The welder and torch are the biggest investments in the garage-other than the '53 Cadillac behind them. At a cost of about $2,000, you really have to save your lunch money to purchase them, but they'll be worth it. The large bottles come in handy when you don't want to make a trip to the refill station after every small job. Now that we have given you a run- through of some of the tools for this job, we can begin setting up the truck. We say some, because we can't go through every tool, but you'll see most of the tools and their applications during the build. Today, we're going to set up the truck to prepare for 'bagging. After we 'bag the front and rear, we are going to body-drop it, tub the front and rear, and lay the truck out on 18-inch rims.  7. The first thing you must...  7. The first thing you must do before every job is make sure you disconnect your battery before you weld. It's always a good idea to disconnect it no matter what you're doing to ensure your drunken buddy (in our case, Jimmy) doesn't start it with your head or hand in the engine bay.  8. Here, you can see some...  8. Here, you can see some shims we cut to level the truck. This will ensure accuracy in our measurements. You can't always rely on the floor being completely level.  9. Now we've got the truck...  9. Now we've got the truck up in the air and our work area is ready to go. As you can see, it's late in the afternoon, but lights are set up and we're ready to rock 'n' roll. Before you put it up, make sure to loosen the lugs enough to make them easily removable once in the air.  10. Since we loosened our...  10. Since we loosened our lugs before, they should be easy to remove now, so we removed the tires to get them out of the way.  11. Next we measured the...  11. Next we measured the rear. If you're off by a bit, use some metal shims to get an accurate clearance. Obviously, if you have to use too many shims, it's going to be unsafe. Always click the jackstand up or down a notch before adding shims.  12. With the truck up in...  12. With the truck up in the air, we measured the front-ground clearance.  13. With the shim in place,...  13. With the shim in place, we remeasured and were right on the money. Working on an uneven floor can be a pain, but we deal with it to ensure perfection. And remember, it's always better to measure twice and cut once.  14. At this point, we need...  14. At this point, we need to remove the bed, and recommend you take your taillights off so you don't break them while moving the bed around. It's better to take them off and put them in a secure place.  15. Disconnect the fuel filler,...  15. Disconnect the fuel filler, and make sure you get all of the hoses that mount to the bed disconnected. It's sometimes easy to forget about the breather hose. Once disconnected, go underneath and pull it down and out of the way.  16. Undo the bed bolts, and...  16. Undo the bed bolts, and make sure to unplug the wiring harness from the bed to the frame. I've removed many Mitsu beds-a step I always forget.  17. Now, you're ready to...  17. Now, you're ready to remove the bed. Hopefully, you have some friends around to help, because this isn't an easy process. Four is ideal, although it can be done with fewer people. Later, we'll come back and body-drop this bed.  18. Can't TrustEm's crew,...  18. Can't TrustEm's crew, from left, Aaron, Steve, and Jimmy. Missing is yours truly, Ernie. Maybe we'll add to this funky bunch by draggin' Mike away from the Weekend Warrior long enough to lend a hand.  19. Here it is in all its...  19. Here it is in all its glory and almost naked-a '94 Mitsubishi Mighty Max ready to go under the knife. Stay tuned for project STK TRUK in upcoming issues to see how we take it from a static-dropped daily to a body-dragging monster.
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Maximized - May 2013
Excuse me while I wipe the dust off of my keyboard *cough, cough*. There is an old saying that goes...
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