After the conclusion of another show season, we tend to go through a couple of months of withdrawal. Many of us become devoted to responsible, domestic chores or projects around the house. Somewhere between those all-important honey-do projects, we try to find some time to commit to our passion in the garage or shop. Some of us will begin building a new project vehicle for the new season; others will do minor improvements or repairs on last year's ride.
When the new show season arrives, enthusiasts anticipate change and growth. Just as spring brings new flowers and refills trees with leaves, custom truck enthusiasts blossom with interesting mutations of their own. Whether it's new body mods, paint, suspension, interior, or engine upgrades, it's all part of our hobby's evolution. Just look through a copy of Truckin' from 10 years ago and you will see a pattern of change. Each generation contributes its own effort of technology, style, fashion, and function
One thing about our hobby is it tends to be trend-driven. When the expansion of wheel diameters came on the custom truck scene a couple of years ago, some people were hesitant to bolt on anything bigger than a set of 15s. Today, people think nothing of gazing at a truck laying rockers and tucking 22s. Or five years ago, who would have thought wide whites would be cool on a lowered classic truck?
With pneumatic suspension being the look for the past couple of years, some still renege, relying on other means of lowering their rides. You must admit that body-dropping your ride to lay rockers and tucking 22s is pretty cool. It doesn't matter if it's an early or late model. The 'bagged society will gain more slammers during this offseason. Design improvements for pneumatic 'bags, valves, hard lines, fittings, and switches have made installation and drivability easier, and also the recent introduction of computerized ride height settings with memory is cool.
We have noticed that early model truck enthusiasts tend to draw the line when it comes to audio and video. For those of us who grew up with a Muntz 8-track, a reverb stuffed in the dash, and blown-out speakers, we are content with a nice head/CD unit, an amp, a few speakers and a subwoofer. We don't need a mountain of speakers and enough amperage to power a small city. Sure, early models have nice sound systems, but there's nothing overpowering or ground-shaking coming from the speakers. And most of the over-40 crowd has a limited interest in video games. The only thing we can relate to is Pong or Pac Man. Us old guys still like to hear the rumble of the thunder between the framerails. Old guys would rather spend their cash on other creature comforts like electric windows and A/C. We'll leave all that bling-bling and hip-hop stuff for younger late-model enthusiasts
Most of the early model body mods are kept simple. Look at their fairly tall cabs. That's due to the fact that when pickups were first built, they were used mostly by farmers and ranchers who wore cowboy hats and needed the headroom. When a truck is lowered, that tall cab is more noticeable. We do see some of the early model cabs chopped. There is a fine line when chopping a cab too low can interrupt the proportional balance of the truck's profile. To allow more creature comfort, some cabs are stretched. Some go even further by chopping, sectioning, and channeling the cab, fenders, bed, and tailgate to keep the whole truck proportional.
As the years pass, we see the trend odometer turning, and in doing so, the '70s trucks have cruised onto the custom scene. Years ago nobody would have turned a head to glance at anything of the '70s vintage. When you first see something out of the norm, it takes a while to grow on you. The classic truck market seems to be getting broader and broader due to the fact of evolution. The current late models will also flow downstream in time and become true classics.
That is the great thing about our hobby: whether it is cars, trucks, or motorcycles, every generation has its own identity - a sign of the passion and love it has for vehicles of its own era. The older we get, the more we tend to relive our youthful years and hold onto the memories. And that's cool.