sloppy's chinagirl truck

My old friend Sloppy had an urgent issue with his truck.
After installing some massive lowering blocks in the back,
the front was way too high,
like a custom chinagirl minitruck traildragger.

chinagirl truck

After weeks of planning we finally found a good clear day,
and set out to work.

dropped suspension

These little trucks are amazingly simple.
There should be more of them around.
He's taken this thing farther than it's intended city use,
long trips to bonneville and san jose.
It drives very similar to an early VW bus,
with an even smaller (900cc!) engine.

spent coil over

After quickly removing the coil-over shocks,
it was obvious they were a little tired.
We figured out how to cut and torch a couple coils off,
and crossed our fingers when they went back in.

dumped chinagirl truck

Most of the day was spent doing my menial chores that happen
when stuck at the house.
Fortunately Sloppy was patient enough through it all.
Of course this meant finishing up the night to a shared 34 watt lightbulb.
Typical!
On the test drive,
there was a couple strange clunking noises.
What could they be?
Oh yeah,
tighten lug nuts!

sloppy's bosozuka truck

The little truck made it back to its home in Long Beach,
and from the looks of this picture settled down even more.
Next up is a front bumper guard, tool box racks
and some bosozuka exhaust stacks!
Well maybe not the crazy exhaust...

TP