My other trucks, past and present;

[foolonthehill]

an incomplete list...4748495051
My daily driver in the '80's, a LUV p/up with a 350/350 SBC combo, 2 X 4bbls, manual shift valve body. Then a Dodge I did for a friend to haul a Jr. Dragster in. A crew cab chassis with a standard cab, and two long beds welded together. Different. Then is my '86 shortbed w/ a leaning tower of power. I bought for $800.00; threw a fresh coat of paint on it, some vinyl graphics, and powder coated the wheels to match my ZRX1200 Kawasaki; then found some factory Dodge wheel caps to finish it off. I love it; but don't care too much for short beds. Lastly my '86 Longbed, with a 360, Cope Racing trans, and custom suspension for road handling. It will get a supercharged 408 stroker when I'm done with the Arrow p/up and my Dart race car, then I'll be out hunting Corvettes with it!
O.K., so I can post pix on this site! Mission accomplished!

[4doorciv]

Congratulations on a succesful picture thread. It took me a while to figure oithow to post pictures too when I first started jumping on forums to seek help. That's a great looking pup/luv. Light and quick truck. I'm guessing since you said in the 80's it's gone to a better place. Are you going to make a build thread on here for when you plan on supercharging the 86?

[foolonthehill]

I might do one for the '86 when I start going back to work on it. I'm going to chop the top 3", get rid of the vent windows. I've already got fairly good suspension mods done, but it's butt-ugly and I've got a little bump steer going on. I'm not sure how I'm going to fix it yet, but am thinking of throwing in the towel on my backyard effort on the front suspension and just dropping it off at Fat Man's when I take my Dart race car to N.C. for it's paint job.I could have him do one of his front ends while the Dart's being painted, and pick them back up at the same time.
The LUV was my second and last Chevy vehicle, and it was a hoot. I've got a great story about it, a red light at an intersection, and a car load of high school driver's ed students!
The LUV's have a very stout frame and suspension. More so than the Mitsu's. I traded it and some $$$ for a motorhome to tow my trailer for my turbo funny bike that I ran in the early '90's.
Thanks for the kind words. I build my stuff for me, no one else, and I do the engineering part right. They might not always have fancy paint or custom wheels, but they drive, handle, stop, and mostly GO very well.

[pennyman1]

There is a guy I know from Ohio who built an 86 Ram 50 pro street truck that used an Isuzu frame because of the front steer setup and the torsion bars. If you have been to the Mopar Nats in Columbus, it has been there. You can't miss it: front end extended 12", chekered flag graphics, and a blown 392 old school Hemi sticking out of the engine bay. The last show him and I were at at the Albion PA fairgrounds (Erie County Mopar show), he beat me because of the Hemi motor. He kept telling me that he was building the truck, but he never showed me any pics, so I didn't know what to expect. If I can find my copy of the video from the mopar nats, I will post a clip of it driving down Brice road.

[4doorciv]

There is nothing wrong with a truck if it's got dents and massive color fade. My trucks got lots of cosmetic flaws and might not care to repaint it. I had a car I baby'd around after pair and about the second week it got it's first door ding. Was pretty big and right at the left rear fender around the wheel well. A place really moticable. After that I didn't care what any of my cars looked like on the outsides. Plus to me it gives it that thieves repelant look to it. Lol. I more care about what's under the hood. ;)

[l.k.]

sweet trucks..im loving the luv.. my uncle had one when i was very young.. nothing quite like yours..just a stock 305 in it...lowered..

[foolonthehill]

I agree about not caring much about the faded paint. I was going to leave my white truck just the way it is, (super sleeper!) but think I'll just redo it white, with a nice matte black side stripe of some kind that will resemble, oh, I don't know, maybe the early '70's 'Cuda hockey stripe. Something that makes you know it's Mopar.
Which brings me to the other issue, thieves. Fortunately, most crimminals are stupid. It's a prerequisite. So they typically steel Chevies and Harley's. I wouldn't worry too much about them steeling my '86 Dodge D-150's, for instance, and doubt the first gen Mitsu's are much or a target, either.
Now if it was bagged, fuzzed, and uglied up with nekked girls or skeleton's, then they'd want the ugly thing....

[foolonthehill]

Here's my current first gen Plymouth Arrow.110111112113
Like I said, I got the truck for $300.00 from a salvage year. I did clean it and buff it a little. It took us about three evenings working part time to do the swap, not including getting the driveshaft modified and balanced.
It's at the chassis shop this week getting a roll bar installed, and some Corbeau harnesses, and a new Lokar Midnight series floor mounted gas pedal. I'm without a shop to work right now, so I had to vend the work out.

[foolonthehill]

This is one of my other projects, a '1966 Dodge Dart Exhibition Match Racer (funny car)
This is being built exactly how they were in '65-'66, a very short period in drag racing history. I was there, I loved it. So I decided to build one of my own to enjoy.
I made the front fenders, and am in the process of setting shop up again to do the doors, hood, deck, and other car stuff, in carbon fiber, which is what I do for a living.
I spent 30 years with Rockwell Int'l and Boeing in advanced aerospace composites. Anyway, here's my Dart as it was when we started, how we chopped it apart, and then notice it with the stock fenders back on it to show how much we stretched the nose, just like in the old days...114115116117
well, somehow I missed the pic with my carbon fender. BRB...

[foolonthehill]

Try this..118119
So here's my not only stretched, but also altered wheelbase fender. Also a pic of Charlie Allen's '66 Dart funny. One of my all time fav's! Charlie's engine is set back quite a bit more than mine, but you just don't need that today with tire technology, and the way they over prep the tracks till they're like glue (to compensate for people who can't drive!).

[l.k.]

oh my jesus..... you are the man. i love your projects...

arrow is amazing and the car is well i cant even find words....

some of my favorite cars and trucks and you got them..:mad::p

great work man....for a lack of words....

[foolonthehill]

Thank you, you're too kind. It's been a rough few years being a business owner. Lost most of my life's savings trying to do things to keep my people working through '08-'09. Ended up having to take a job for the first time in a very long time (difficult learning to say "my boss" again!)
But now I'm back hacking it all together. Should be some fun stuff in another 12-18 months as they all come together.
If you liked my current stuff, let me show you what I've done in the past...121122120

I'm going to have to move some pix around and do another post, but the Blue and White bike is mine, me and my awesome wife in the pix, It's a turbo/nitrous Kawasaki funny bike, and I ran 7 flat at 192MPH on that; about 20 years ago! The all carbon bodied thing is one of our customer's bikes that I build the bodies for, a Pro Mod Suzuki for Timblin Chassis

[foolonthehill]

Well, lets see, we'll stay with bikes for a bit...123124125126127
So, my funny bike and I on a typicall burnout. (550 RWHP boys and girls!) Then my current daily ride, a '01 ZRX1200, not fast, just fun. Then more bodies we build for teams. The "Drag Bagger" is a Harley Pro Mod we do for Star Racing in Americus, Ga. The Drag Bagger was designed for the Al-Anabi Racing Team out of the UAE. In the pix of the two bikes racing, I built both bike's bodies. Lastly is an NHRA Buell Pro Stock body. We built all of Kosman Racing's bodies for several years..That picture was taken at my booth at PRI. ("Performance Racing Industry" trade show in Orlando)

[foolonthehill]

O.K., last bit for tonight. 128129
For the "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away" file, The two cars are our early race cars (I'm really old!). That's me with the max wedge on the ground, and my older brother's Hilborn injected altered wheelbase Plymouth on the trailer. Our Dad didn't want us hot rodding on the street when we were teenagers, so he took us to the track, tuned our cars, etc. My brother and I never did street race, ever.
Lastly: the last days of the glory years, before the rules were changed so only Chevies could win. My brother doing a burnout in his Pro Stock Hemi Duster. (sigh) I do miss the good 'ol days! ('course, my bike was a lot faster than that hemi!)
I'm just a guy, no advanced education or anything, but I believed I could do the things I always wanted to do. Sometimes, I didn't set good enough goals, or high enough standards. The only thing youhave to remember is 1) never stop working hard, and 2) never, ever, never ever: give up....
Good night!

[l.k.]

all the bikes are nice..the drag bagger is very cool. And i must say old is not bad. it is experience, wisdom, knowledge, courage, and so many other important things necessary to be successful and happy and many other things involved in a great life with fun along the way..

this coming from a 26 year old....who never gives up and works hard at everything
very interesting life.

[l.k.]

oh and what type of business do you have....work do you do....

im gonna start a new thread on this for everyone soon..

thanks.

[4doorciv]

Very impressive collection you have aquired over the years. No person is really old when their still young at heart. Also I can see how well you work with carbon fibre. It's one of thoughs things that's the rage in the import world. If you continue to mold hoods and maybe other misc body parts as well as minor interior parts I'm sure you will always have business.

[crvtec90]

I love those early A body mopars! Ive been working on a 66 dart convertible. You gotta check out forabodiesonly.com.

[foolonthehill]

Yes, I go to that site occasionally. It's pretty good. Lotsa good info.
I just gave up my Dart's slot at the chassis shop so my brother could move his Scamp project up a bit, and I'll take my Dart in when his is done.

[Rickdees]

I like your taste in vehicles and you are a very talented man, no doubt about it. I enjoyed the read and the words of wisdom.


The only thing you have to remember is 1) never stop working hard, and 2) never, ever, never ever: give up....