Dear Mini Truckin',
I'm a proud sheetmetal troop in the U.S. Air Force. The job does cross over into the truck scene very much, thank God! I love the magazine; it's very insightful and humorous with good photos. After my '68 VW bug was totaled, I needed something to drive. I bought my grandfather's '91 Nissan Hardbody and had no idea how much I would learn on this truck. I took paint classes at Yuba Community College in California and picked the brain of a guy who had a project Hardbody. The person who had painted the Nissan before I got it must have used a grinder to prep the body. Coat after coat of high-build primer and months of bodywork later, I gave the truck a coat of baby blue with white pearl. I have learned to weld, paint, do minor interior work, tint windows, install stereos, do brakes and suspension, and much more on my mini. I have had a lot of luck and friends' help along the way. Thank you for a great magazine. I only ask that you do more how-tos on basics in order to recruit the new generation of mini-truckers. Also, could you do some profiles on some of the major clubs that our sport has to offer?
Thank you,
A1C Michael S. Clifford
Tyndall AFB, Fl
Michael,
It's awesome to hear how you got started in the mini-truck scene. This is what our scene is all about. The majority of our readers work on a low budget and a lot has to be done without the help of others. Tech articles are crucial to our scene growing and becoming a force to be reckoned with. Anytime an interesting tech article is brought up to us it is definitely researched. We have been throwing some more hard-core articles in as of late due to the scene taking a huge leap forward in quality and innovation. But rest assured, we will run simple tech articles as they are presented to us as long as we think the readers will think it is interesting and can hopefully learn from it. As for club profiles, funny you asked: We will be doing club profiles, shop profiles, and profiles of anything that we feel the readers will connect with in the not-too-distant future.
Dear MT,
All right, I can't find it. All I want is a tool or dye set that makes louvers. The Internet isn't helping, so I'm turning to the pros. Please tell me how I can make my own louver hood.
Mike from Twisted Addictions,
The Sunshine State
Mike,
Looks like you're going old-school on us. First of all, for all of you out there who want louvers, keep in mind Sir Michaels used to be called Sir Michaels Louver Company. After a call down to the sheetmetal wizards we found out that the lack of interest in louvers hasn't diminished the company's hopes that one day they will be back in style. SM's presses are still in working order and the crew there louvers plenty of products on a regular basis for local customers. As for the tools to louver, from what we understand the dyes to accomplish such a feat have to be made to order by a tool and dye company. We are talking big bucks, and then you would need a press to do them, which is even more money. We suggest you contact Sir Michaels at (800) 900-4944, www.sirmichaels.com.
To whom it may concern,
I would just like to say that I recently started subscribing to your magazine and am very happy. Although I like your magazine, this isn't why I'm writing. While I was looking through your June '05 issue, one of the cash bikini winners caught my eye on pages 30 and 32. She's the one in the black bikini on the left-hand side of page 30. I ripped out the page of the magazine and indicated which girl it was so there is no mix-up. I want to ask if there's any way you guys could get a hold of her and let her know that there's someone interested in getting to know her. If possible we could even exchange addresses and/or phone numbers to get to know one another. I've sent my info to contact me. So if this is possible, thank you. If not, thanks for your time and sending me the best mini-truckin' magazine in stores.
Mr. There Aren't Enough Girls in Cali
Richmond, California
Mr. No Name,
Contrary to popular belief, this isn't what we usually do. Mike is already married but yours truly is a polygamist working on trying to find a fourth wife. I have trouble myself trying to find that fourth special someone. So you see if I help other people, then that's just less on the market for me. All kidding aside, we have no idea how to get a hold of her because unfortunately she gave us the rejection hotline number. We suggest using online dating services such as www.myspace.com or www.match.com. These Web sites seem to be quite effective, but if they don't send you a picture, beware. Don't let them know what kind of truck you have. When you go to meet up make sure she is standing in an open area next to the road and ask what she'll be wearing. When you drive by, case her out, and if there's an obvious reason that she didn't send a picture, then just press on that gas a little harder. Good luck!
Dear MT,
I was recently flicking through a truck magazine and came across a Nissan Hardbody laid out on 22-inch wheels all the way around. Turns out that D.I.B. Customs was debuting this truck at the '05 Gator Drag in Louisiana. Do you guys think minis layed-out on big-inch rollers are the next big thing? If and when they get that puppy finished, I sure would like to see a feature on it. One question before I go. I want to put buckets in my first-generation S-10. What are some cool seats that I could fit in my mini while retaining my factory seatbelts with shoulder restraints? Thanks.
Sam Burrell Jr.
Grafton, Ohio
What's up, Sam?
I'm sure the folks at D.I.B. are happy that people are taking notice of their Hardbody. As far as big wheels being the new thing, that is definitely the way things are going and have always gone. With the competitive nature of mini-truckers, bigger, lower, louder, or brighter will always be the norm. When 20-inch wheels came out, it went from putting them just on the back, then the front. After a while you had every kind of mini body-dropped on 20-inch wheels. As long as a mini can keep the wheels reasonably under the hood and can get enough lift to drive, we see no reason as to why the big-wheel craze would stop. As for cool seats to put in your truck, there are plenty; Ford Probe, Honda Prelude, and many others will work with modifications on mounting. What we suggest doing is go to a salvage yard and cruise around looking for the style you wish, then map out some simple mounting options.