Re: Mike Phillips`red 4X4 Chevy truck on "CAR FIX".
I was watching my DVR'd copy last night and thought "that truck looks familiar".
The fact that the paint, wheels and tires looked just perfect under the studio lights confirmed it. You certainly couldn't ask for a better pair of guys to work on it. I certainly would like to say
"I had some body issues straightened out by a guy who worked on Ridler winners".
Bill
Right before I drove it from Stuart to Tampa I machine waxed it using McKee's 37 Jeweling Wax and then coated the tires with McKee's 37 Tire Coating. And you're right! On TV the paint and the truck looked awesome!
As for the paint issue, I bought the truck after it had been modified and painted. For those that might not remember or have been a member of the forum at the time, shortly after purchasing the truck I brought it down for an
EXTREME MAKEOVER because the paint was completely filled with holograms.
Here's the link to that write-up.
1987 Chevy 4x4 Monster Truck "Before & After" Pictures
She polished out perfect. That said, after one year went by rust bubbles in the paint started showing up in the rear cab corners which is common with classic Chevy trucks but as Jared pointed out, the rust issue should have been addressed when the previous owner had the truck painted. The fact that it wasn't just goes to show the shoddy work performed at the body shop he chose to have the truck painted at.
As for the transmission and transfercase, they were supposedly rebuilt as a part of the truck rebuild by the previous owner. Once it started making noises I gave up on the factory running gear and purchased some rock solid components to go into the truck.
To replace the wimpy 700R4 transmission I had my good friend in Irvine, California Dana Sniff build me a
Turbo 400 Short Shaft which is old school but also known to be dependable and able to take a beating and keep on going.
To replace the wimpy chain drive, aluminum case NP208 transfercase I purchased a
Dodge NP205 Transfercase which is cast iron and gear driven. These are grenade proof. I actually bought the transfercase off a member of TrucksGoneWild.com which is Matt Steel's discussion forum for monster trucks.
Custom mounts had to be fabricated for the transfercase and then custom drive lines had to be fabricated for the truck since I went from a mated system to a divorced system.
The guys really did a great job and I must say it was pretty coll having my truck on a TV show. It's even more fun to drive as this is my daily driver.
Here's some pictures I took using my phone when it was on
That's Lou Santiago on the left and Jared Zimmerman on the right. They are explaining that while the Dodge NP203 transfercase and the Chevy Turbo 400 are "old school" they are also BULLET PROOF. Unlike the running gear that comes in modern 4x4 trucks. And this is why I converted my truck from the wimpy running gear to the real-deal.
