What Happens To Builds!

Hey, welcome to trucks. I have got a really cool show planned for you today

because

I'm gonna be answering two of the biggest questions that you guys ask. Number one,

what happens to all these cool trucks that I build here on the show? And number two,

will I work on your truck or build one for you?

Now, these are good questions today is the day that we're gonna answer them.

We're gonna call this show.

Where are they? Now?

Now, early on, some of the project trucks were actually donated by the manufacturers

who could forget the GMC for

Sierra that we lowered

and decked out with wheels, grill hood, et cetera

or this wild S 10 that we stuffed a Hot V8 into

or the Durango Charger. That was an all wheel drive street performance SUV.

And of course, there was big orange, the former BFG poster truck

that we decked out with everything from lockers to tracks.

Yep, they were all cool rigs and each and every one of them went to

the crusher.

Yeah,

that one

and that one

and that one

and even that

now I know you're not only sick right now. But you're also wondering

why.

Well, it's very simple. The manufacturers will not sell a modified vehicle to the public

because there are so many idiots out there waiting to sue them. So

they just crush him. No questions asked in the story.

Well, obviously I had a big problem with this. So I decided then and there that I would never again build a crusher vehicle. I would instead use vehicles that belong to individuals, you know, gearheads like you and I,

so this is a look at some of the smaller projects, you know, the ones that were on one or two shows. And then we're gone.

This 48 Chevy Hot Rod truck belonged to a guy named Josh

and was the perfect rig to put some flame throwers on

the last I heard Josh still had the truck

and was ripping it around on the street, blowing fire out the back and setting people's bushes on fire.

This s 10 belongs to a friend who works at Holly

and I put on a state of the art air ride system in a freeway.

Now, Ellis still has the truck and continues to upgrade it

and enter it in car shows as well as drive it every day.

Now, that's what I like to hear.

Now, this 2002 Ford Super Duty was one that I treated to eight inches of lift and 39 inch tall tires. And trust me, the owner loves it.

But I bet he's still wondering where those big chunks of ice came from that were

wedged in his engine compartment.

Of course, everybody loves El Caminos and I use this one to show how to upgrade the body for an SS. Look

now the owner of this truck let it sit for a few years, but

now the word has it, it's being painted. So who knows?

It might be back on the show for an engine upgrade or something else.

And who could forget this gun Slinger Ford Powers through.

Yeah,

the owner definitely ended up with a fast, fast board. Of course, the trade off with some very bald tires

and a bad reputation

building a two wheel drive pre

runner is red hot, especially out on the west coast

and that is exactly what I did with his 95 Ford Ranger.

Once all your spot welds are cut carefully, pop the fender loose and set it aside,

putting on fiberglass fenders.

Sure to continually check your gaps.

A five inch lift and 33 inch tall tires.

This thing was built to be jumped and jumped and jumped some more. And that's exactly what the owner has been doing with it ever since

when we come back. We take a look at some of the bigger projects and makeovers and what happened to them.

Hey, welcome back to a special episode of trucks where we are answering some of your biggest questions. Like what happens to some of these vehicles that I built here on the show, who's got them? Where'd they go?

Now, we've already looked at some of the smaller projects

and some that went to the crusher. Now we're gonna look at some of the bigger projects or what I call the makeovers.

I built the High Sierra for Scott Lyles who was the host of the show. Everything outdoors because he needed a tough off road truck.

The first thing I did was whack a huge hole in the top.

Well, Barry, the damage is done.

Go

ahead and push up on this. There you go, man

and put in a sliding sunroof so he could see the stars.

I then stuffed on six inches of lift and 35 inch tall tires

and finished it up with a rack and all the other goodies that an outdoors man's truck really needs.

Then I beat it within an inch of its life just to show Scott it could be done.

The last I heard Scott had moved to California and was still driving the truck

and still wondering just how all that mud got packed up underneath.

Yeah.

Now, one thing that I like to do is modify all kinds of vehicles to show you the diversity in the world of trucks

and it was time to do something for you, Jeep guys. So

I hatched the plan for the Tomb Raider project.

Now this was a fun makeover because I grabbed a stock PJ Jeep from the unsuspecting owner and his father. Obviously, you're fixing to redo this Jeep.

And uh,

but only because I trust you, am I gonna buy a brand new vehicle to go away?

And I proceeded to deck it out like the Jeep on the movie Tomb Raider Two.

Hello boys.

I said that g not Jolie,

I started by putting on four inches of lift and 35

slide right into the stock location.

Then I threw in seats,

a snorkel

bumpers in which you name it.

And then I took Galen on a test drive to show him how we all expect him to drive his new Jeep.

And you know what

he does,

he wheels it almost every weekend and hasn't had a lick of trouble out of it.

Oh,

I

tell

you.

Yeah.

However, he's still hoping to get a date with Angelina Jolie.

It's fun but not something you'd normally do.

Oh, man,

we can't help you with that, man. You are on your own. Now, when we come back, we're gonna take a look at some of the bigger projects.

Hey, welcome back to trucks. And the, where are they now? Show now we've showed you what happened to some of the smaller projects.

What about the bigger projects? Well, that's what we're gonna show you, but they don't all have a happy ending.

The Wicked Willies project started out as a bone stock 1955 Willie's wagon.

But it didn't stay stock for very long because the first thing I did was tear it all apart

and pull that body off.

Then a dodge 360 engine five speed Randy and Atlas two transfer case were mocked into place

and custom mounts fabricated to hold them in a frame where a flathead six once sat,

the frame was also completely boxed

and of course, new axles went front and rear

for the body. All the old rusty junk was cut out and replaced with brand new metal.

Then I finished it up with a custom interior

and paint

and then just to prove how tough and cool a rig like this can be.

I took it out

and drove the

wi out of it

and it was fantastic.

You might want to hold on to something

great.

Come

on

by the way, there's no seatbelts back there.

Oh,

yeah.

After all that work and the beating and the flogging. Where did it go? Did it ride off into the sunset or what? Well, kind of

my dad decided that he wanted the wicked Willies and one of those special father son deals to go with it.

Yeah. You know the type,

but that's ok because the Willies is now in dad's garage in Idaho. And as you can see by this picture, he is not afraid to take it out in the snow and use it

and that's good. That's what it's for.

Now, this next story does not have such a nice cheerful ending.

It was a K five blazer called Big Blaze. Now, the story began good enough.

We started with a well worn 88 Blazer

added new axles,

a six inch lift

and 37 inch tall tires.

We follow that with a fuel injected crate motor,

a new transmission transfer case and drive shafts

and finish it off with heavy duty bumpers, a winch interior and a super slick paint job.

After the build up was complete, the truck was subjected to a rigorous test

in every kind of situation you could imagine.

And even some, you can't imagine.

I,

and despite taking a swim,

this truck took everything I threw at it and just kept going,

proving once again, just how tough these big old blazers can be

and they clean up really nice too.

Now, this is where things get weird.

I sold big blaze to a guy that promptly pulled out that fantastic drive train

and put it in a rock crawler. He was building

and then put a junk yard drive train in the blazer

and then the truck chased hands a few times.

Ended up on a used car lot in Texas. Stripped of almost all of its good stuff.

Yeah, that's enough to really tick you off, which is why I still have Copperhead and Crazy Horse and trust me, they are not gonna go the route of Big Blade

which brings me up to the final question. Will I build a truck for you? Well, of course, I will, matter of fact, I'm getting ready to start a very special truck for one of you guys out there watching right now.

But if you wanna know what it is and how to get

it, you're gonna have to keep watching trucks

in the world of trucks. There's always been a degree of separation between domestic trucks and imports.

Domestics have always been known as big tough V8 powered haulers

and imports were smaller and flimsier in both size and power.

But those days are changing and Toyota is leading the way.

Let me show you what I mean.

Yeah.

Now Toyota has been involved in off road racing for a long time

with legendary drivers like Ivan Stewart bringing home the gold more times than most people can remember.

And then in 2004,

they went to the big oval and shocked the world by entering the NASCAR Craftsman truck series.

Now, with all that racing experience,

how does that translate into a truck you can actually buy and drive on the street?

Well, let's take a look

for 2005. The Toyota V8 gets a boot in the pants

to bring the horsepower up to 282.

And that's respectable,

but

unfortunately, they needed a bigger boot since GM Ford and Dodge all offer V8 S with over 300 horsepower

for cab options. They've done their homework

offering regular extended and four door cabs. And of course, you can get these on either a two wheel drive or a four wheel drive chassis.

The bed. Oh, that is where most people are skeptical since Toyota built its reputation on little trucks.

This is definitely a full size rig with its cargo area and payload comparable to any of the half ton trucks coming from Ford Chevy Dodge or Nissan.

The tundra

has a very comfortable car like interior, it handles, well,

it gets decent gas mileage and all these are good points.

One thing's for sure,

Toyota is just as serious about building a full size truck as they are about the racing

and that degree of separation between the domestic and import trucks

just got a lot smaller,

you know, a few years ago when A TV S first came out, it didn't take your hunters and fishermen and ranchers long to see the incredible potential in what was basically a tiny little utility truck.

Well, John Deere saw a need here and they have come out with what they call the Buck ex 500. Now, this is a four wheel drive quad got an electric winch built right in

skid plates for protection,

cargo racks, front and rear

and a very unique seating engine arrangement. So instead of stepping over it,

you can step through it, which is really nice if you got some big old muddy boots on.

Now, it's also got a 500 cc engine. So you got plenty of power. So if you have a need for a tiny little utility truck, you may wanna drop by John Deere and check out the buck.