I’m an unapologetic mini trucker. There was a time, not so long ago actually, where lots of folks in the hot rod and custom world didn’t think much of mini truckers and so many people who got their start in mini trucks didn’t claim that in public. And while mini truck culture has remained strong, in the past five years their popularity has made a strong comeback and people are bringing out old trucks that have been sitting and are building new trucks as well. I can tell you that when a killer deal came my way for a Mitsubishi Mighty Max like used to own, I grabbed it and put in the fleet of projects waiting their turn.
And while my truck never was the bagged and body dropped version I would have LOVED to have built back then, it was still cool and was an absolute riot to drag. I loved it and I want to build the version I couldn’t afford, and didn’t have the fabrication skill to create, back in the 1990s. Because, like most mini truckers, my project started out with a truck that was clean and stock and that I cut coils on up front and put block in out back. It got more and more, and lower and lower, but it never was fancy.
In this episode of Influence and Impact, our friends Marcel and Jason are talking about the start of the mini trucking craze and where it all began. This is the first of two episodes on Mini Trucks and we are sure you’ll dig it.
Video Description:
Auto Revolution’s Influence & Impact traces the automotive history of custom car and truck builders.
Once the younger, imported brother of custom vans in the 1970s; mini trucks have long seen teens customizing and cruising the minis. The mini truck scene can be thanked for many of the automotive industry’s top builders.
1980s European sports car influences replaced van murals, fender flares, camper shells and side pipes which dropped out of style.
The next generation embraced the mini-truck as their own. Blending lowrider, Euro, and VW styling paving the way for car audio, tilt beds, cruising low and eventually air suspension, and bodydropped minis.
