Turning scrap steel into a custom touch fit for the working class.

By Bruce W. Smith

How many times have you walked past that pile of rusted steel pipe and remnants of plate sitting by the back door of your shop and wondered if it’s about time to take it to the scrap yard? Here’s a tip: Forget the cash. Take a few hours and turn that steel scrap into a cool custom rear bumper.

We watched a couple of Triple R Diesel’s fabricators do exactly that as they turned a piece of scrap steel plate and a rusty section of heavy wall steel pipe into a clean, cool rear bumper.

What they put together is perfect for any customized rig working oil fields, construction sites, rock quarries, or any other job site where a rear bumper is going to take a few hard knocks along the way. Steel is far easier to work than aluminum or stainless; it stands up well to abuse; and it can be easily repaired and repainted.

The best part is the materials are cheap and the only tools required are those you already have sitting in your shop: a plasma cutter, cutting torch, mig welder and disc grinder.

All you have to supply is a little creativeness and the time it takes to cut, weld, and finish the scrappy little bumper. It’s a simple DIY project that can be done all at once in a few hours or spread out over a couple weeks as work schedules allow.

To help you get those creative juices flowing we took a few photos of the basic steps Triple R Diesel’s guys use to transform rusty scrap into bumper art.

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Talladega Fiberglass kit makes it easy to convert Ultracabs into ultra-cool flat-tops; add function to form

by Bruce W. Smith

Scott Brown watches closely as Jesus Cedillo and a three helpers lift the sleeper cap off a 2000 Peterbilt inside the Texas Chrome Shop.

In a couple hours the TCS truck customizers will have transformed the 63-inch Ultracab standup sleeper he’s looking at into an old-school flattop using a Talladega County Fiberglass Unlimited conversion kit.

It’s exactly what the owner of Scott Brown & Daughters, LLC has in mind for his ’98 Peterbilt, which is next on the shop’s waiting list. The conversion can’t come fast enough for the Devine, Texas owner-operator. And it’s not just about having the custom look, either.

“Having the upper bunk and a little extra headroom isn’t nearly as important to me these days as it is being able to load overhead at grain silos and rock hoppers,” says Brown who stands 6’4”. “That difference in height between the Ultracab sleeper roof and the flattop is the difference between being able to take on a job or not.

“What makes this conversion nice is the Ultracab opening into the sleeper is large enough so a big guy like me can get back there easily. So you have the added functionality of the low roof with old-school looks.”

Brown, who hauls everything from aggregates and grain to oil field drill rigs and equipment, says his pending flattop conversion will also include the addition of a rear window so he can see out the back of the cab while winching or making sharp turns in tight places.

He’s not the only owner-operator out there who has a case of Flattop fever.

Roland Mendez, one of the owners of San Antonio, TX-based Triple R Diesel and Texas Chrome Shop, says “We do at least one Talladega flattop conversion a week for customers and we’ve done at least 20 of our own trucks before we re-sold them this year. We have guys waiting in line to get this done.”

The cost of the conversion varies from shop to shop. Texas Chrome Shop sells the basic Talladega kit for $1,650. If they do the conversion and paint the sleeper to match the cab, the cost is about $3,800 for the basic package. Adding a rear window and more elaborate paint and body work ups the ante.

The good news, according to Mendez, is “An owner-operator can easily double what we charge for the conversion on re-sale value because factory flattops are getting hard to find.”

Doing the conversion isn’t that difficult; it’s more time consuming than technically challenging. In short you remove the standup sleeper top, shorten the roof support and drop on the Talladega flattop roof. The typical do-it-yourselfer can do the work over a weekend.

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SOURCES

Talladega County Fiberglass Unlimited

talladegafiberglass.com; (205) 405-6436

Texas Chrome Shop

Texaschrome.com; (800) 332-9999

By Cesar Alvarez

The ability to open and lock doors without touching them is part of the satisfaction many custom truck owners get from their rigs. With a electronic pop-lock installed, you simply press a couple buttons on a fob and the door latch springs open or the locks do their thing. The operation is almost as simple as the installation of the basic pop-lock system itself.

If you have never installed single-button pop-locks, don’t be shy about making the upgrade to your own truck. As the photos below show, it’s very straightforward and doesn’t require any fancy tools or custom fabrication skills.

The biggest time investment on a working truck is removing the door panels and running the wiring between the solenoid that actuates the pop-lock and the override switch, which can be mounted anywhere.

We installed a basic single-latch pop-lock kit (#RRR PL010, $79.95) purchased from Triple R Diesel in the sleeper door of an older Peterbilt cab prepped for an interior re-do. The door had already been shaved of its handle and re-skinned, which left the latch mechanism exposed, cutting our installation time down to less than 20 minutes. Pop!

The images below are listed in chronological order, and step-by-step instructions are included with each photo.

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Donne Cornellison’s instructions to the guys at the Chrome Shop Mafia were pretty self-explanatory when he dropped off his just-purchased, burgundy ’07 “big bunk” 379: He wanted it all “jazzed up” when he returned in a couple weeks to put it on the road. Part of the “jazz” included a big, in-your-face exhaust to make his rig look cool and give the pre-DPF-era, twin-turbo C15 ACERT Cat a little nicer growl.

Cornellison is typical of truckers coast-to-coast who take a lot of pride in their ride and want their truck to be more distinctive than the run-of-the-mill factory model.

Upgrading the exhaust system is part of the basic holy trinity of customizing (wheels, bumpers and stacks), which has its roots in the earliest days of hot-rodding, when the “Go big, go loud, be proud!” mantra prevailed.

The cost of a “jumbo” exhaust upgrade isn’t cheap. The going rate for an 8-inch full upgrade kit runs $2,500-$3,500 depending on the brand and accessories. Installation, if you choose not to do it yourself, can add another $600 for the all-day job.

But the cost is worth it for more than just cosmetic appeal; a bigger, more free-flowing exhaust system improves both power and fuel economy.

“Bigger stacks alone don’t do much to boost power. But when combined with performance mufflers it’s a different story,” says Bruce Mallinson, president of Pittsburgh Power. “Performance mufflers reduce exhaust backpressure, which in turn takes the pressure off of the piston during the exhaust stroke and allows more of the horsepower to be used by the crankshaft.”

A freer-running engine making more power usually results in an increase in fuel economy, something Pittsburgh Power says it’s documented as high as 0.5 mpg on some installations.

Speaking of installations, check out these shots of 4 State Trucks’ Michael Forst as he slipped a set of Lincoln Chrome 8-inch “jumbo” pipes and a shorty under-cab muffler on Cornellison’s ’07 Pete. Maybe seeing how easy it is will get you headed in a similar direction.

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Shop Notes

Time required: 6-8 hours

Tools: floor jacks; cutting torch; miscellaneous air tools; basic hand tools; anti-seize; tape measure

Parts needed:

• Lincoln Chrome Jumbo 8-in. Exhaust Kit w/ “Y”-pipe (#01-089114100 / $3,200)
• 36-in. length standard 5-in flexible exhaust pipe
• (4) 5-in. saddle clamps
• 30-in. “Shorty” muffler (#87Q500674 / $85)

A simple solution to adding a mirror shine to dingy aluminum

by Bruce W. Smith

Nothing speaks more about a truck owner’s pride in his ride more than the way it shines. But getting everything to shine doesn’t necessarily mean dismantling every part to get them painted, plated, or polished. All you have to do on some parts to get the custom-polished look is to wrap them in stainless.

That’s right: wrap ’em up.

Aluminum air tanks are a great example of where a little stainless steel goes a long way in enhancing a truck’s looks while saving a load of time in the polishing/cleaning department.

The Chrome Shop Mafia at 4 States Trucks discovered this several years ago and now offers stainless “wraps” for both air and fuel tanks. The air tank wraps are pre-cut and cover the outside half of the air tank, giving the appearance and ease of cleaning of a stainless tank without the cost.

Installation is straightforward, taking less than three hours to wrap the tanks on both sides. Cost per tank is less than $125.

Before you dive in, said Michael Forst, one of the Chrome Shop Mafia’s lead installers, as he took us through the process on a customer’s ’07 379 Pete, a “Pro Tip” is to make sure the stainless is separated from the aluminum by an anti-corrosion backing. Otherwise the stainless, over time, will start deteriorating as the two dissimilar metals touch each other and create the perfect combination for galvanic corrosion.

The easiest solution to prevent such corrosion is to place 2-mil high-performance vinyl film between the stainless steel wrap and the aluminum air tank. The CSM gets their film from Thunder Grafix Inc. just up the street from 4 State Trucks in Joplin, Mo. It’s a tip worth remembering.

Time required: 1.5 hr (per tank)

Parts needed:

SS air-tank wrap, 9.75” (#CSM108552/$65)

SS air-tank straps (#21341/$32.50 pr)

2-mil Anti-corrosion Film (CSM-Thunder Grafix/$20)

The images below are listed in chronological order, and step-by-step instructions are included with each photo.

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Editor’s note: This story originally ran in the September issue of the Custom Rigs INSIDER.

12GA TWINS

Double your pleasure, double your custom rigs’ “old-school” appeal with this twin-stick upgrade

 By Bruce W. Smith

No other singular custom upgrade speaks “Old School” louder than a pair of ape-arm-long shifter sticks rising from the floor.

Twin shifters bring back memories of a bygone era when wrestling two sticks connected to an auxiliary box and main transmission was the norm for getting heavy loads rolling using gears instead of horsepower.

Driving twin-sticks took a level of skill and finesse that’s been softened – if not all but forgotten – by the advent of efficient transmissions controlled by shift knobs with built-in splitters and range selectors. 

But that doesn’t mean the look and feel of twins is lost on today’s custom rig owners; twin-stick “conversions” are high on a lot of Custom Rigs’ readers’ to-do list.

So much so that we followed 12ga Custom’s Jeff Battler as he took us through the steps of doing a conversion on Vinnie DiOrio’s 2005 Peterbilt 379, Picture Me Rollin’, while it was at T/A Painting & Graphics’ (ta-truckpainting.com) shop in Pewaukee, Wisc.

Battler, the owner and creative mind behind a lot of the Canadian parts manufacturer’s custom big-rig products, says, “The job shouldn’t be that difficult for those who are familiar with their rigs.”

For those who are a little intimidated by the thought of tackling such an upgrade on their own, Battler’s tips and our step-by-step photos on these pages should ease a lot of those mechanical fears. The installation of the kit, which costs $499, takes about four hours.

Going twins is a good interior upgrade project to tackle during the winter so your rig will roll into spring with a new shift in its style.  (See the full story in the Winter 2010 issue of Custom Rigs magazine.)  

STRAPPED ON

Outlaw Customs shows how to build your own custom fuel-tank straps while saving upwards of $400 per pair

By Bruce W. Smith

Fuel tanks stand out on any truck. So when it comes to customizing, truckers spend a good bit of time and money on making them compliment their rig be it through polishing, painting, powder-coating, or some combination thereof.

One part of the fuel tank owners of custom rigs can have some fun with—while saving a bunch of money—is customizing the straps themselves.

An added benefit of making your own fuel tank straps, as Outlaw Customs’ Nic Gillan showed us recently, is the job is neither difficult nor expensive. The latter is great news for those who need to replace the straps for one reason or another.

OEM Peterbilt straps cost more than $500 per pair with aftermarket versions setting you back at least four bills. These “backyard-build” straps will cost you less than $400 for a set of four and you can add your own custom finishing touches to really make them stand out. – CR

All you need is a good workbench, basic layout skills and basic hand tools, access to a TIG or MIG welder, and some aluminum sheet stock (or stainless if you’re into the higher-end look.) The job should take about six hours to do two sets of straps; less if you have made them before.– CR

Custom Rigs Quick Tip Videos

Nic Gillan explains the reason for drilling a small hole anywhere a cut intersects an area of the fuel tank strap where a bend is going to occur:

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Nick Gillan shows a trick to make the oval slot in the straps for the T-bolt:

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Step-by-step photo gallery

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by Bruce W. Smith

Maximizing forward lighting capability with retro-style clear headlights fitted with high-output bulbs is a win-win situation; the brighter beams enhance safety, allowing you more time to react to what lie ahead, while the retro-style crystal headlights enhance the overall look of your truck.

What most truckers are doing is replacing their rig’s H6014/H6024 halogen headlights with United Pacific’s 7-inch round crystal headlights.

In the process they swap-out the 55/60W halogen bulbs with Xenon White 80/100W bulbs. The extra wattage provides additional road lighting distance and brightness.

The drawback, as many custom rig owners of ’07-newer 389 Petes have discovered, is the electronic control module controlling the truck’s turn signals and headlights doesn’t like the extra amp draw created by higher-output bulbs.

The result: The high-beams suddenly go out within a minute os os of being activated.

“The additional three to four watts of amp-draw is enough to overheat and trip the overload protection built into the control module,” explains 4 State Truck’s Michael Forst.

“So we resolved the issue by running the high-beam side of the headlights through a relay to keep the electrical load the same as it was with the stock bulbs.” (Forst recommends the use of a headlight relay any time stock headlight bulbs are replaced with high-output halogens.)

Giving your rig the retro-style headlight look with high-performance light output is an easy install, costs less than $150, and applies to both old and new trucks using the single sevens. The boyz at 4 State Trucks have all the parts in stock.

Do- It-Yourself

WOOFER POWER

Fabricating a ported subwoofer  enclosure for maximum bass with minimum cost

By Cesar Alvarez

(Photos by Bruce W. Smith)

One of the attributes of a pro-level sound system is its ability to produce crisp, clean notes with the power to seemingly shake the earth.

Such acoustic energy is a product not of the speakers or the amps powering them, but rather the speaker enclosures and how they are tuned for the vehicle in which they are mounted.

This is especially true of a subwoofer, which needs to be mounted in a box designed specifically for the air space the sound system is operating inside be it in a compact car, SUV, motorhome or big-rig.

A subwoofer also needs to be mounted in a speaker enclosure that maximizes the speaker’s ability to move a lot of air, and the most efficient way to move air is with a vented, or ported enclosure. (Think of utilizing ported woofer enclosures as turbocharging your audio system.)

In fact when it comes to a custom rig with a sleeper, one well-designed 12-inch subwoofer box will outperform multiple subs mounted in sealed boxes. It’s one of those audio anomalies where less is more.

Think of a speaker port not as a vent in terms of a path for air to move in and out of the box, but rather as an extra cone area propagating acoustic energy from the enclosure to the cabin.

The air within the cavity of the port is fixed; it’s trapped within the confines of the speaker box walls.

When the subwoofer cone moves there is a corresponding change to the pressure in the box, which causes the trapped air in the port to move either forward or backward. This air mass moves as one solid unit exactly like the speaker cone.[kaltura-widget wid="afuba7eer4" width="260" height="211" addpermission="" editpermission="" align="right" /]

So when you build a properly vented enclosure, it’s like a two-for-one special because the port is essentially another woofer. The port not only provides added output, it also provides more low-frequency extension. Your audio system gets louder and lower at the same time.

To help shortcut the sub-box building process of measuring the air volume of the cab and so forth, here’s a ported, 12-inch woofer enclosure designed specifically for use in custom rigs with flat-top sleepers and 200-500 Watts (RMS) power.

This enclosure is simple to build and delivers exceptional sound performance in a big rig sleeper. We also have two cool videos in our “how-to” videos section showing this build. Enjoy!

Special Thanks:Tripe R Diesel (www.triplerdiesel.com);Airbrush & Design (210.710.2629); and Sun-Masters (210.520.1551)

(About the author: Cesar Alvarez is a professional car audio designer/installer in San Antonio who also competes at the highest levels of audio competitions across the country. He designed and installed the 6,000-watt sound system in the Texas Chrome Shop’s Project One limited-mileage 379 Peterbilt.)

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Custom KW Door Window Trim

Give your Kenworth’s cab the chopped look by adding upper window trim panels

A popular customizing trend  among KW owners is adding a painted trim piece to the top of the door window frame to give  the cab a chopped look.

The trim fits along the door lip at the top of window without interrupting the window operation and there are a number of aftermarket stainless offerings available. (Prices range from $90-$120 pair.)

But if you are the do-it-yourself type, you might like to give a shot at making them yourself. The painted version makes the top look chopped, whereas the polished stainless variety provides more shine than slam.

The way customizers at Car Craft Truck Works, Elizabeth Truck Center’s customizing arm, build ‘em is to make a cardboard template of the side window trim. The template extends from the top of the inner door frame lip at the top of the window opening down to an imaginary line even with the front visor and rear roof split.

That template is then transferred to 3/32″ aluminum. The aluminum is cut and a 1/2″ lip is rolled along the bottom edge to 1) give the side visor rigidity and 2) a smooth, almost invisible custom edge.

The aluminum is then sanded, primered and painted to match the color of the truck. The window visor is installed using automotive/industrial double-sided sticky tape along the upper door lip to hold it in place. — Bruce W. Smith

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