Minitruck resurgence

PseudoSport wrote:

sesto elemento wrote: My buddy bought this.

Can your buddy take some pictures of the front axle and suspension?

I'll try.

Still go fast and mini truck....

In reply to java230:

It's tough for me to consider a modern Tacoma, with 4 full doors, a minitruck.

In reply to STM317:

More better?

In reply to java230: Way mo' betta!

wheelsmithy wrote: Datsuns are much better.

This one is being built right now. It belongs to the 3D modeler at The Roadster Shop in Texas. Its a crazy little build!

https://www.instagram.com/3d_magic_mike/?hl=en

http://community.ratsun.net/topic/70329-the-engineered-1uz-v8-datsun-620-build/

MulletTruck wrote:

wheelsmithy wrote: Datsuns are much better.

This one is being built right now. It belongs to the 3D modeler at The Roadster Shop in Texas. Its a crazy little build! https://www.instagram.com/3d_magic_mike/?hl=en http://community.ratsun.net/topic/70329-the-engineered-1uz-v8-datsun-620-build/

It is an incredible build. Roadster Shop is in Illinois though

xflowgolf wrote: It is an incredible build. Roadster Shop is in Illinois though

My mistake, Had Texas on the Brain today.

Not going to lie, there are a couple of s10's I've got my eye on out west.

There are no more new mini trucks that you can buy in the US. The closest is what, a Ridgeline? My sister and B-I-L just bought a new one, and parked next to a new Tacoma, it looked a bit small. But its still not a mini truck.

Given that, would a new mini truck be a vintage only playground?

What they will be calling a Sub Compact truck.

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/2019-ford-ranger-25-cars-worth-waiting-for-feature

Worst part about the lack of any real current small truck is that hybrid and plug in EV powerplants are now solid enough to motivate a mini truck. It's funny that they haven't returned with the transit connect, NV, promaster successes.

captdownshift wrote: Worst part about the lack of any real current small truck is that hybrid and plug in EV powerplants are now solid enough to motivate a mini truck. It's funny that they haven't returned with the transit connect, NV, promaster successes.

There is a company converting fleet trucks to Electric. Its called VIA. and headed by Lutz from G.M.

http://www.viamotors.com/

If we put our money where our mouths are, speak up about what we want, then buy the berking things when they build them, we can change things.

Start by restoring, and modding the E36 M3 out of old ones. The manufacturers are watching more than you'd think.

Mini-trucks while small and kind of fun to drive, don't really work well as trucks though - a 4 cylinder 1st gen Tacoma is about as big a mini-truck as you can go but it is about as small/weak you can go for a truly useful truck. I like the coolness and concept of mini trucks, but would much rather a big enough truck with enough capacity to do truck stuff.

Loved my 98 Tacoma extended cab, modded it some for autocrossing and had it pulling 1G at stock ride height...took an Evolution Autocross Phase in it and was the fastest truck and faster than 1/2 all drivers in the Houston SCCA region when I ran it.

Fast forward to now and I just picked up a 2013 Nissan Frontier King Cab 2WD, 4.0L V6 with 6 spd manual that I was finally able to find... did a 1,400 mile trip this weekend to bring it home. The thing is a blast to drive, much more so than the smaller Tacoma was. It's as big of a truck as I'd ever want... but man does it feel so effortless in acceleration and the rear end rotates around very nicely, with traction control not being intrusive like it is in the FR-S.

Got it because I want to haul the FR-S to the track after I get it track ready and I'd like a fun 'off-road' capable vehicle, combination of a prerunner and overland expedition style roles. Now, I'd much rather go in an offroad direction in parts/upgrades than the mini-truck scene. This would be more the direction of modding a 'small truck' I would go these days:

In reply to Vracer111:

berkeley, someone should have told us Aussies that you can't get E36 M3 done with utes and mini trucks.... We've obviously been defying the laws of the universe for years.

You can get plenty done with a small truck, they're not perfect for everything, but then again neither are full sizes.

sesto elemento wrote: I'm seeing and hearing a lot about minitrucks lately. I hope this time around we substitute airbrushed graphics crome/polished wheels, and airbags for dialed in spring and damper combos, lsds, monochrome paint schemes, and forged race wheels. I think there are some really cool trucks getting built.

In reply to sesto elemento:

I think builds like your double-independent long travel suspension Toyota desert-style HiLux will go a long way towards relegitimizing the minitruck scene. We need more serious builds like yours and less chrome shock/airbrushed low rider mediocrity

daeman wrote: In reply to Vracer111: berkeley, someone should have told us Aussies that you can't get E36 M3 done with utes and mini trucks.... We've obviously been defying the laws of the universe for years. You can get plenty done with a small truck, they're not perfect for everything, but then again neither are full sizes.

Not saying mini's can't do things, but when you start putting near 1k lbm loads in the bed or towing 3k+ lbm you find most I4 models to start hitting the limit of their abilities really quickly. I loved my Tacoma, it's ideal for a commuter vehicle and very light duty towing tasks/Home Depot runs. However, it was marginal at towing broken down vehicles that were near 3k lbs. Not that it couldn't do it, but it let you absolutely know that it wasn't very happy doing it. And while hauling a palette of sod in the bed could be done, it was quite an experience and not really one ever recommended.

I understand the love and the likes of mini's and ute's (Maloo's are awesome). Now though, I'd rather have multiple vehicles that excel at their specific purposes over a single compromised multipurpose vehicle that does 'okay' at everything. I went the route of trying to turn the '98 Tacoma into more of a sportscar that was also 100% functional as a truck and daily driver, and it was definitely a compromised vehicle even if somewhat capable at autocrossing.

In reply to Vracer111:

No doubt they have their limits, I punish my little courier more than it deserves haha. That said, I'm not a landscaper, nor a builder, I don't have a racecar and trailer, a horse float or several dirt bikes that I need to transport all at once. And that's where small trucks Excell. I can dump 500kgs of whatever in the back and get it done. If I need to pick up some timber, it'll do it. If a mate asks me to haul his bike, job done. Trip to the dump, no worries. Hell, it'll even tow a car trailer in a pinch

The rest of the time, it's pretty damn good on fuel, nimble enough in traffic for be fun , and practical enough to be a decent daily driver. It'll never be a race car, or a full size, but that's what's good about it. It's Kinda like a Swiss army knife or leatherman, not exceptional at anything, but damn it's handy and can really get you out of a bind.

Im not anti full size, some of them are awesome. But you know as well as I do that for every guy like you and some of the others here that need and make the most of their truck, there's a bunch who really don't. It's Kinda like having a Ferrari and never reving past 2k or going over 40mph... What's the point.

Vracer111 wrote: Mini-trucks while small and kind of fun to drive, don't really work well as trucks though - a 4 cylinder 1st gen Tacoma is about as big a mini-truck as you can go but it is about as small/weak you can go for a truly useful truck. I like the coolness and concept of mini trucks, but would much rather a big enough truck with enough capacity to do truck stuff. Loved my 98 Tacoma extended cab, modded it some for autocrossing and had it pulling 1G at stock ride height...took an Evolution Autocross Phase in it and was the fastest truck and faster than 1/2 all drivers in the Houston SCCA region when I ran it. Fast forward to now and I just picked up a 2013 Nissan Frontier King Cab 2WD, 4.0L V6 with 6 spd manual that I was finally able to find... did a 1,400 mile trip this weekend to bring it home. The thing is a blast to drive, much more so than the smaller Tacoma was. It's as big of a truck as I'd ever want... but man does it feel so effortless in acceleration and the rear end rotates around very nicely, with traction control not being intrusive like it is in the FR-S. Got it because I want to haul the FR-S to the track after I get it track ready and I'd like a fun 'off-road' capable vehicle, combination of a prerunner and overland expedition style roles. Now, I'd much rather go in an offroad direction in parts/upgrades than the mini-truck scene. This would be more the direction of modding a 'small truck' I would go these days:

Drugs are bad MMM'kay...

M030 wrote:

sesto elemento wrote: I'm seeing and hearing a lot about minitrucks lately. I hope this time around we substitute airbrushed graphics crome/polished wheels, and airbags for dialed in spring and damper combos, lsds, monochrome paint schemes, and forged race wheels. I think there are some really cool trucks getting built.

In reply to sesto elemento: I think builds like your double-independent long travel suspension Toyota desert-style HiLux will go a long way towards relegitimizing the minitruck scene. We need more serious builds like yours and less chrome shock/airbrushed low rider mediocrity

Thanks man.

Here's a little about the build...

I'm neck deep in a 89 hilux standard cab build that has front AND rear independent suspension from total chaos fab featuring king motorsports remote resevoir coilovers and an lq4 swap, mkiii supra rear diff, full glass body aside from the main cab section. It's painted lexus graphite grey pearl. The original bed and rear half is a matching trailer. I'll do a full build thread very soon (I don't usually do one till they're about done, this one is 60%ish, will be finished in the next year or so, hopefully sooner). It's my big project car, it was my first car, I bought it from my parents in 95, they bought it new in 88. It's a pretty nice/extreme build, wire tucked and shaved firewall, recaros, momo, etc.

The body is a replica of this....

Amazing!
More details?

MulletTruck wrote:

In reply to JohnRW1621:

Totally agree ... that looks fantastic to my eye !!!

More on the Blue Colorado

http://www.performancetrucks.net/forums/gmt-800-older-gm-general-discussion-130/colorado-cruz-concept-219431/