Truckers can get the catalogs online at iowa80.com or by calling (866)-446-9280.

Micro Build

AJ Bohata’s custom-fabricated rolling grill mirrors that of custom truck builds

by JAMES JAILLET

This 12- by 10-ft. miniature rolling barbecue grill was designed and crafted by fabricator AJ Bohata, a New York native, for his friend Sean Winters, a former truck driver and fleet manager.

Bohata says Winters is “the biggest Jets fan in the world,” and, as a finalist in the Bing National Tailgating Championship, he wanted to give Winters something “that would really get the attention of the judges and the crowds.”

“He asked me if I could come up with something really wild, so I went to the drawing board and came up with this,” Bohata says.

Bohata built the grill as a small trailer for Winters to tow to Jets games, and he hand-formed every piece on the grill from materials in his shop. “The doors work; the hood works. All of the lights work – they shine on the grill so you can cook at night.”

Bohata says he had the trailer built and rolling in 20 days, and he stayed up until 3 a.m many nights working to get the trailer-grill combo done in time. Bohata says the grill is “built just like a real truck,” and the cab, fenders and other parts can come off and be changed.

For more information about the grill or to speak with AJ Bohata about his fabrication work, email him at aj61fab@yahoo.com.

[View with PicLens]

Music Driven 

Pioneer’s “Top 10″ road trip songs poll results; Willie Nelson’s “On The Road Again” tops all-time favorites

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc., today announced the results of their first-ever “Favorite Road Trips Songs” poll.  

Conducted in partnership with Harris Interactive, the survey asked nearly 3,000 Americans “what are your favorite road trip songs of all time?”

Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again” topped the list, nabbing 27 percent of the votes, followed by an array of classic rock titles including:

2.       “Born to be Wild,” Steppenwolf

3.       “Take it Easy,” The Eagles

4.       “I Get Around,” The Beach Boys

5.       “Highway to Hell,” AC/DC

6.       “Free Falling,” Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

7.       “Riders on the Storm,” The Doors

8.       “I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night,” Kiss

9.       “Wanted: Dead or Alive,” Bon Jovi

10.   “Free Bird,” Lynyrd Skynyrd

While “On the Road Again” took top billing overall, respondents from the Northeast as well as male respondents across the nation favored the second runner up of the poll, “Born to Be Wild.”

Those between the ages of 18 and 34 and those who identified themselves as single and never married listed “Highway to Hell” as their top pick.

Additionally, respondents in that demographic highly favored several songs made popular in the late ‘80s and ‘90s that didn’t make the overall top 10 list, including “Paradise City,” by Guns ‘N Roses and 2Pac’s “California Love.”

“It’s cool to hear that the classics are still king, although now instead of cassette tapes, the tunes are delivered seamlessly through iPods, iPhones and other digital devices as well as satellite and Internet radio like Pandora,” said Ted Cardenas, director of marketing for the car electronics department, sales and marketing division of Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. 

 “We spend countless hours demoing different music genres, showing how our automotive entertainment products can elevate the music experience – whether it’s the classics or jazz or electronic beats, the music comes alive making driving that much more enjoyable.” 

Related Custom Rigs sound system article: Sound Advice

Custom Chrome Plating Service

California company offers state-of-the-art chroming process with wide variety of color tint options to maximize the custom look

Custom Rig owners are always looking for ways to get an edge on their competitors using paint and chrome to bring a little more show to the shine factor.

Wheel Creations Plus Inc., in Fresno, Ca., is taking that concept a step further by offering custom chrome plating in colors.

“We have been in business for 25 years,” says Scott Oliver, son of the family-owned business’ founder. “We are traditional platers by trade, but have developed our own hybrid pure-chrome process over the last eight years to combat the introduction of magnesium-chloride on Americas roads.”

The process allows Wheel Creations to plate just about any metal that fits inside a three-foot-square space, which is the size of their application booth. The hybrid plating process can be traditional chrome, black chrome, or chrome in any of the primary colors.

“We spent two years on research and development taking the best from modern PVD applications,” says Oliver.

“This process utilizes a pure chrome that is a higher standard than can be used in traditional plating. We also utilize titanium and nickel for strength and adhesion, finished with a German basecoat and topped with clear developed for the space program and used by Mercedes-Benz.”

The result, according to Oliver, is show-quality, long-lasting plating with a deep clear coat to give the parts a color tint to match or compliment the vehicle. Oliver says, “Our plating process is ideal for plating mirror brackets, air cans, air-intake tubes, Radiator surrounds, headlight housings and other ‘common’ accessories found on big rigs.”

Wheel Creations also re-chromes and has both steel and aluminum chromed rims (22.5 and 24.5-inch) in stock ready for exchange.  For more information: contact Scott Oliver, chromewheel@earthlink.net or www.wheelcreations.net.

Irwindale, Calif., Hosts Truckin’ For Kids Pride & Polish Finale

The final Pride & Polish event of 2010 will take place at the Truckin’ for Kids show in Irwindale, Calif., Oct. 23-24, 2010 at the Toyota Speedway.

The show will feature truck drags and a Show & Shine event, along with the Custom Rigs’ Pride & Polish beauty show.

Truckin’ for Kids celebrates its 30^th anniversary this year. The show is held to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

To register for the Truckin’ for Kids Pride & Polish show, visit www.prideandpolish.com.

For more details on the show or to register for the Show & Shine, visit www.truckinforkids.org.

 

Larry Walton/Editorial Services West

Kelly Blue Book Poll Reveals Cell Phone Use

 

Drivers reluctant to put phones down while behind the wheel; distracted drivers admit to eating, texting and grooming while on the road

 

Kelley Blue Book, the leading provider of new car and used car information, today reports the results of a kbb.com home page quick poll revealing distracted driver behaviors.

The latest poll shows that despite continuing warnings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) about the potential dangers of in-vehicle cell phone use, the average driver still seems reluctant to stop using one while on the road.

The recently completed kbb.com quick poll(1) found that of nearly 7,700 online respondents, 22 percent admitted to having used a hand-held cell phone during the past 30 days, while 10 percent said they had used some form of hands-free/Bluetooth device.

Taking second spot on this distressing distinction list was eating while driving, which 21 percent of respondents pled guilty to, with texting while driving (13 percent), fiddling with the navigation system (12 percent), and using an iPod (seven percent) filling out the top five infractions.

Two other potential distraction creators — engaging in various forms of on-the-fly personal grooming and reading e-mail — accounted for less than five percent (each) of responses.

Six percent of those who answered the kbb.com poll said they had engaged in none of the above practices, while barely one percent claimed to have been guilty of all.

According to the latest NHTSA report, distracted driving is reaching epidemic proportions. It found that in 2009, 5,474 individuals died and 448,000 were injured in distracted-driving related accidents on U.S. highways. More critically, 18 percent of the fatalities and five percent of the injuries involved the use of a cell phone while driving.

“In today’s always-connected on-the-go lifestyle, with in-car infotainment systems becoming more and more prevalent, we understand that the urge to engage in distracted driving behaviors looms large for many drivers behind the wheel,” said James Bell, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com.

“It is going to take a joint effort by automakers in their new-product technology development, government agencies like NHTSA, and most importantly, drivers themselves, to enforce a balance between connectivity and responsible driving to ensure safety on the roads.”

Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com website frequently conducts one-question home page quick polls to gather consumer insight into a variety of topics.

Sun, fun, pride and polish in abundance at the z-Max Dragway

Friday has dawned bright and warm here at the z-Max Dragway in Concord, NC, as the inaugural Charlotte Diesel Super Show gets underway.

Some two dozen bobtails and combos arrived early to participate in Custom Rigs’ Pride & Polish truck beauty show that’s part of this two-day event held at one of the premier motorsports complexes in the world.

More competitors trucks are expected to fill the z-Max East-side parking area, which also plays host to nearly a hundred vendors and truck displays as part of the Diesel Super Show expo.

Mitch Broaderson is one of those competitors. He dead-headed 550 miles to bring his pride ride, a ’07 Western Star, to be part of Pride & Polish.

“I knew I couldn’t compete with the likes of the SRS and Roccapriorie [Widow Maker] trucks,” he said while polishing his diamond-plated 5^th wheel cover. “So I signed up to be a part of the Wash & Shine division. It’s just a kick being here.”

This afternoon at 1:00pm the diesel drags get underway, which the spectators should enjoy as the z-Max strip has four lanes and the best seating in the country. Those will be followed by a Corporal Norm concert at 4:30 and the truck light show.

Mitch Broaderson drove 550 miles to attend the Diesel Super Show and took his turn at bracket racing his pristine 1969 Western Star.

The drag trials have been moved from Friday at 1 p.m. to Saturday at 1 p.m., and registration for entry into the trials has been extended to 10 a.m. Saturday.

The entire day attendees have a lot of booths and displays to see, as well as opportunities to ride and drive some of the new Freightliners.

Saturday is more of the same with the show closing with a two-hour John Rich concert that begins at 7pm.

For more information:  www.dieselsupershow.com. See photos below by Bruce W. Smith.

[View with PicLens]

[View with PicLens]

12►

Story and Photos by Paul Garson

Ed Fujita is retired but still goes to work 9-5 like clockwork. He labors within a five acre La Puenta, CA, orange grove and has yet to pick a lemon, make that build a lemon.

The retired auto mechanic has single-handedly designed, engineered and fabricated a wide spectrum of custom vehicles in his barn/workshop including a slew of 1930 Model A Fords.

But then one day Ed decided to build a truck but something way beyond his hotrod 350 Chevy-powered ’37 1/2-ton.  He had another fraction in mind: 3/4. And in this case the number would refer to scale, and the truck a Peterbilt.

When one first sees his meticulously accurate ¾-scale Peterbilt that Ed built, you might think he’s fallen victim to the “Honey I Shrunk the Truck” syndrome.

The first question is usually…why?

“Why? I don’t know,” he responds honestly enough.

The story actually begins with a ’38 Ford pickup cab previously donated by a friend. “I had it dipped and ran around collecting parts to build it, but then didn’t like the way it looked,” says Ed. “Then I met this guy who had built a Kenworth with a ’34 cab and thought, hey, I could do that. I also wanted a Peterbilt I could drive everyday.”

He began with sketches on large sheets of white drawing paper. He even bought a plastic 1/25 scale model kit of a Peterbilt cab and modified it to match his plans keeping the model in a recycled carrot cake tin container. (Ed doesn’t waste anything.)

Because he wanted to match the diesel powerplant traditionally used by Peterbilt, it narrowed his search for a donor vehicle. “You gotta have the stacks and smoke rolling out of those stacks,” chuckles Ed.

BUILDING A 3/4-SCALE PETERBILT

As luck would have it, he came upon a salvaged Dodge pickup, its frame width matching the dimensions of the Ford cab.

Ed has a talent, nay a Midas Touch when it comes to massaging, recycling, and duplicating parts, a talent that saves him both time and especially money.

He also has an artist’s eye for proportion, perspective and scale. Asked how he developed that ability or learned to create such excellent sketches, he shrugs it off saying, “I don’t know. I just do it.”

He must have some music in him as well since he also had to orchestrate all the disparate components and procedures. And naturally everything had to fit to scale.

For example, while the big Peterbilt leviathans roll on 20- to 24-inch diameter wheels, he chose 16-inch Alcoa aluminum wheels made for one-ton trucks because of their similarity in appearance to the big boys. To cover those wheels, Ed went surfing.

Perusing the Internet he chanced upon a trailer company that offered 16 gauge cold-rolled steel fenders that exactly matched his needs. Cost? Less than twenty bucks a piece.  Merging the fenders with the cowling he had hand fabricated, it became part of the ’38 Ford pick-up cab’s  transformation into a late-model Pete with a flat-top sleeper.

Asked to name the most challenging aspect of the 1 -1/2-year project, Ed goes, “Hmm…I think the hardest part was forming the hood to get the shape right. I used my handmade leafbrake with a three-inch pipe clamped on it to get the radius I needed.”

Stripping the sheet metal off the donor Dodge he used its frame, chassis, engine, trans, rear end, suspension, gauges, steering, wiring, etc., virtually nothing left for the buzzards.

“The turbo diesel engine had 140,000 miles and didn’t even need a rebuild. I just plugged in a battery and cranked it up.”

Ed's 3/4-size Pete even has a tilt hood and functioning air cans just like the big trucks. Everything on his "Pete" is built-to-scale.

Ed did have to cut the drive shaft because he moved the engine back six inches in order to achieve the Peterbilt flat front end look he wanted. He also did some cutting on a pair of Ford Econoline drive shafts to create the Peterbilt’s distinctive smoke stacks.

“They were just the right diameter,” he says. “Three and a half inches, and the right length, four foot. I just cut the u-joints off and welded it to the elbows and there it was.”

“The 90-degree bends are from a boat exhaust where it goes over the transom,” Ed explains.

“I looked at them and they seemed the right size, and sure enough, there were the same diameter of the driveshafts. The top extensions are T-bucket exhaust turn-outs that I bought from Speedway Motors in Nebraska. Those stacks are eight feet tall from the ground, and I handmade the heat shields from aluminum that I rolled around an acetylene tank to form.”

Take a look at the distinctive side mounted air filters, the gleaming eye catchers set off against the Ford Performance red paint. Stainlesssteel no less. A princely sum to acquire, yes? Not. “Trash cans, the type you step on to open,” explains Ed, laughing. No doubt “Bed, Bath and Beyond” didn’t realize it was in the auto parts business.

Meanwhile the half-pint Pete’s grille was all-hand made, the shell fashioned from formed and welded four-inch metal channel. About the only thing Ed didn’t do was the chroming, which was handled by A&T Bumpers, guys Ed’s known for 25 years.

FORM WITH FUNCTION

Did we mention Ed also painted his Peterbilt? “Yeah, painted it right at here on the driveway. The worse thing is the bugs, not only that they land in the paint, but they keep crawling.”

As for the interior, most of which Ed upholstered himself, he says, “I used seats form a mid-80s Toyota pickup only because I had them lying around the shop and they fit.” The rear ABS brakes, front disc brakes, pedals, brake master cylinder and booster were all liberated in toto from the Dodge. Even the tires were recycled from the truck.

Ed's diesel truck sports a stake bed for now. But he has a 5th wheel and drop-deck trailer ready so he can haul his Model A's to shows with the pint-sized Pete.

Ed’s baby Pete is fully functional, too. He plans on sliding a a dropped-deck trailer into the fifth-wheel to pull his small herd of Model A’s.

In the meantime he’s got the open stake bed thing going. The bed frame is fabricated from two by four eight-inch wall rectangular tubing with five cross members capped off by a 40-inch-tall diamondplate headboard, the latter to hide the rounded Ford cab since Peterbilt’s are square.

Several of the final touches, like the air horns, were swap-meet finds that Ed conjured to fit.

But the Peterbilt emblems are the real McCoy bought from the company. “I went to their Web site in New Jersey and the emblems were $33… no tax, free shipping. And a pair of genuine Peterbilt mudflaps… $19.”

Ed’s ready to roll coast-to-coast when it comes to fuel capacity having fabricated two 40-gallon saddle tanks plus bolting up the original 30-gallon Dodge tank between the frame rails.

Asked if ever fills them all up, he laughs and says, “No, I wouldn’t want to see the bill.” Sounds like your typical owner-operator, doesn’t it? — CR

Editors have big plans for the old book’s birthday celebration

It’s special when any magazine can celebrate 50 years in print.

But that’s exactly what our parent publication, Overdrive, is doing next month when the editorial staff  begins a retrospective examining 50 years’ coverage of owner-operators.

“That month we’ll also launch a 50^th anniversary website, OverdriveRetro.com,” says editor Max Heine.

During the next 12 months, Overdrive’s editors and writers will undertake a massive effort to share what they have found scouring through nearly 600 issues, “from the best covers, advertisements, truck photos and more from 50 years’ of Overdrives,” says Heine who has been at the helm for more than a decade.

You’ll also find a list of the top milestones in owner-operator equipment since 1961. “In the meantime,” says  Heine, “watch our video that previews some of what’s coming.”

If you’d like e-mail notification of when the site launches, as well as updates to the site, visit OverdriveRetro.com. It’ll be a blast from the past for sure.

[kaltura-widget wid="oe2wgzcxfk" width="400" height="365" addpermission="" editpermission="" /]

Jeff Silberstorf has put his 1972 A-model Peterbilt to work hauling a Brenner X Ring SS 7,800-gallon tanker around Chicago and surrounding areas. Silberstorf said his boat building and repair business was hit fairly hard by the recession, forcing him to go back into trucking.

Silberstorf drives for PAR Trucking, out of Lombard, Ill. The company hauls bulk liquid commodities nationwide to plants and distribution centers.

The truck has about 20,000 miles on it, Silberstorf says. When winter comes, however, he says he’ll probably start driving a company truck to avoid risk of having an accident in ice and snow.

To see the feature on Jeff’s antique Pete published in the winter 2009 issue of Custom Rigs, click here.

Below is a video interview and walk around of Jeff and his truck.

[kaltura-widget wid="jrmguigmtc" width="400" height="365" addpermission="" editpermission="" /]