New Spoolmate 200 offers cost-effective aluminum MIG welding solution, remote adjustable wire feed speed settings and multiple barrel options for light fabrication.inline_mediumwraptextright25994504/hotnews/0912cct_spoolmate_200_mig_aluminum_welding_torch0912cct_01_z+spoolmate_200_mig_aluminum_welding_torch+performance_parts.jpgTrue

Skull and flame elements combine in aesthetically appealing designinline_mediumwraptextright31382082/hotnews/0912cct_blue_rage_arc_armor_welding_helmet0912cct_01_z+blue_rage_arc_armor_welding_helmets+safety_equipment.jpgTrue

Miller introduces the only workbench designed specifically for welders; customizable options make it the ideal welding workbench for both the fab shop and the home shop.inline_mediumwraptextright25993511/hotnews/0912cct_millers_arc_table_workstation_welding_metalworking0912cct_01_z+millers_arc_table_workstation_welding_metalworking+work_bench.jpgTrue

Alfred E. Neuman for President-Remember the good old days when we had quality candidates? Who could have ever imagined our quality of life in the 21st century would deteriorate to the point that living in a 1959 Twilight Zone episode would appear more attractive? I think it's high time we get our ageless friend Alfred E. Neuman behind the wheel of our nation. We need Alfred E. Neuman now more than ever. I'll bet the first thing Alfred would do is publish a series of handy guides for folks to live by. Not a bunch of crazy zealot-type tomes filled to the brim with faulty logic and idiotic conclusions, but honest-to-god manuals with good information. I'd like to see the usual gang at Mad release: A Guide To Cash For Clunkers. The only problem is, I personally find the epithet "clunker" offensive, so from here on out I will refer to clunkers as the C-word.inline_mediumwraptextright25508627/hotnews/0911cct_cash_for_clunkers_top_10_trade_in_vehicles0911cct_01_z+cash_for_clunkers_top_10_trade_in_vehicles+cash_ford_clunkers.jpgTrue

Noris Carsen, our friend that lives in New Mexico told us: "When we were visiting the small mountain town of Pinos Altos, near Silver City, New Mexico, we ran across a '57 Ford two-door wagon, which looked like it was still used since it was connected to a trailer. Out in the field near the '57 was this old Ford panel truck. New Mexico has a lot of old cars and trucks that are fairly rust free, but the owners usually don't want to sell them. They almost always say 'I am keeping it to fix it up,' or 'I am saving it for someone.' That's the excuse I use for not selling when someone wants to buy the '65 Chevy Nova two-door hardtop sitting next to my driveway."inline_mediumwraptextright31003716/hotnews/0911cct_1957_ford_panel_truck0911cct_01_z+0911cct_1957_ford_panel_truck+rare_find.jpgTrue

Big-Time Magic in a Small Town
The first day of August 2009 marked SEMA's inaugural Show N Shine, held in Old Town Pasadena, California. Besides being a good excuse to round up the best-of-the-best show vehicles and put them all under one roof, the spectacular benefited SEMA charities: Child Help Village in Beaumont, California-a home for abused and high-risk children and Victory Junction Gang-a camp for children with life-threatening diseases.inline_mediumwraptextright25605272/hotnews/0911cct_hot_rod_alley0911cct_01_z+hot_rod_alley+hot_rod_alley_crew.jpgTrue

Manual Labor Read Before You Leap An excellent analogy when it comes to explaining why it's always a good idea to thoroughly research a project before blindly jumping in is the Disneyland tourist's credo: "It is better to meet a nice mouse than it is to get killed by a giant rat." In essence what this means is you better buy a tourist map and go directly to the happy kingdom rather than wander aimlessly into a strange Orange County alley and get murdered. Without understanding which parts go where and the precautions and preparations that should be taken before installing them, your latest project can easily turn into a mechanical homicide of sorts. That's why before starting on any project whether large or small I always refer to a trusted primary source. This can be a factory shop manual, if one is available, or a good aftermarket publication.inline_mediumwraptextright25510298/hotnews/0911cct_haynes_manual_review0911cct_01_z+haynes_manual_review+chevy_s10_truck_guide.jpgTrue

When Dave and Sue Underwood of Rainham, Kent, Great Britain, emailed us a passel of photos depicting their dog Buster alongside of their '49 Chevy five-window pickup we thought the whole crew was comprised of transplants from the United States. A second read and it became clear that only the '49 Chevy was a former U.S. resident.inline_mediumwraptextright25507709/hotnews/0911cct_terrier_truck_dog0911cct_01_z+terrier_truck_dog+1949_chevy_pickup_truck.jpgTrue

In the same way it's been fashionable in recent years to add the word "choppers" to the end of a motorcycle shop's name there was a trend in the late 20th century to add "engineering" to the end of just about any kind of shop's name. Looking back one might think gee, there sure use to be a lot of engineers back then, but the truth of it was few shops had any real engineers in their employ.inline_mediumwraptextrightAlthough No-Limit Engineering offers a full line of off-the-shelf components for most classic trucks, they do an equally high number of one-off custom builds.25607669/hotnews/0911cct_no_limit_engineering0911cct_03_z+no_limit_engineering+custom_builds.jpgTrue

The "A" didn't fall far from the tree. While on one of his M-60 road trips, Ken Lorek, CCT's Michigan connection, spotted this Model A pickup sitting in a well-cared-for apple orchard. "Rusty but not falling apart, it must have been the apple of the owner's eye at one time." Ken tried to talk to the guy about his old Ford pickup, but he wasn't home.inline_mediumwraptextright26266801/hotnews/0910cct_ford_model_a_pickup_truck0910cct_01_o+ford_model_a_pickup_truck+broken_down_classic.jpgTrue

People in the world today must have a lot of free time on their hands, or else there wouldn't be things to do like Twitter. I've never done Twittering but I imagine it's kind of like texting only it has a trendier name hip urbanites prefer. Come to think about it, I've never texted either. People have tried to text me, but I could never figure out how to answer them, so I'd just punch the red button and they'd go away. Now Blackberrys on the other hand are pretty neat. I enjoy being able to use a phone, or read an email, but it was a year before I used the Blackberry they gave me here at work. I think I was worried I was going to turn into one of those mindless zombies that can't walk three feet without fiddling with the damn thing. Of course, as stylish objects go, a Blackberry is pretty out of it these days. To be cool in late 2009, one has to have one of those communicating devices that doesn't have any knobs or buttons on it. I have some friends who own those things and they are always cussing them out. I already catch myself swearing in public too much when I'm on the phone, so I don't think one of those knobless jobs would be a very good idea for me.inline_mediumwraptextright30500931/hotnews/0910cct_twitter_blackberrys_the_ultimate_shop0910cct_01_z+ford_f100+infront_of_a_shop.jpgTrue

Since man first walked the earth, he has felt the need to customize his surroundings with the use of vibrant colors. The history of custom paint can be traced to prehistoric times when French cavemen (they didn't know they were French yet, because France didn't exist) invented the spray gun and spat the translucent juices of plants and berries onto the walls of the Lascaux caves from a straw producing Stone Age candies and pearls exemplified in over 2,000 paintings. Although the candies were actually quite good, the attempts to replicate a pearlescent luster left a lot to be desired. After the Stone Age and Paleolithic times came the Dark Ages and as one can imagine not a lot of custom paint innovation evolved during this era. As mankind emerged from the Dark Ages into different periods of art history that we don't have room to discuss here came the renaissance, and the quest for the perfect media to accurately reproduce the vivacious colors custom painters sought to ply their trade resumed with a vengeance. Tempera paint in use since ancient Egypt was vastly improved by renaissance painters with the addition of egg yolk to serve as a binding agent to promote adhesion, suspend pigments, and add depth to the color. Oil paints were invented in the 12th century by Northern European renaissance painters in search of a more resilient media that could be stored and then blended into an area at a later date. The oil added a depth and gloss to the paint that wasn't maximized until Flemish masters in the 15th to 17th century perfected the paint manufacturing process, and the methods for how it was applied.inline_mediumwraptextright26342617/hotnews/0910cct_house_of_kolor0910cct_01_o+custom_paint_house_of_kolor+exotic_paint_job.jpgTrue

Two new lightweight plasma cutters from Hobart Welding Products offer fabricators increased portability and flexible power options coupled with the largest cutting ability in Hobart's line. The AirForce 500i can plug into 115- or 130-VAC power receptacles for a 3/8-in. rated cut on mild steel. For heavy-duty applications, The AirForce 700i, powered by 230-VAC, delivers a rated 7/8-in. cut on mild steel at 50-percent duty cycle.

Edelbrock is excited to announce the launch of its all-new foundries services website: http://www.edelbrockfoundry.com. Edelbrock has created this website to showcase their foundry capabilities, specializing in sand-cast and permanent mold aluminum castings for automotive and industrial markets.

The Holy Grail of classic trucks: Gilroy, California-resident and '56 Ford F-100 owner Phill Laursen spotted this '56 Ford while on vacation in South Africa. "Namibia is about 10,000 miles from California as the crow flies. Not able to fly like a crow we took a plane from San Francisco through London into South Africa, with layovers it was about a 32-hour trip."

Stockton, CA, August 24, 2009. Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) pioneer Electric Vehicles International (EVI) today announced its upcoming move to the city of Stockton in California's San Joaquin Valley, as EVI's worldwide headquarters and primary US manufacturing facility. Founded in 1989, the company had since been headquartered in Toluca, Mexico, with a sales and marketing office in Austin, TX. To date EVI, a veteran in the alternative fuel vehicle sector, has sold more than 1000 electric vehicles.

As far back as I can remember I've always loved working on mechanical things and having the right tools to do it with. At a little over 4 years old, one of the presents I really wanted for Christmas in 1956 was a Handy Andy toolset. The toy toolset soon gave way to owning the real thing as soon I got my first bicycle, a 24-inch Rollfast that was made in England. The first thing I did to the Rollfast was to pull the fenders off, and throw on a set of ape-hangers with a stretched gooseneck that put the handgrips way above my head. My dad told me at the time it probably was a mistake, but he didn't stop me, he always seemed to let me find things out for myself. When it came to tools the old man was real picky to the point we always washed everything in mineral spirits (paint thinner) before we could put them back in the toolbox. He taught me to buy the best tools I could afford, and to always take care of them. In 1969 when I decided to pull my '47 Chevy panel down to the bare frame there were a lot of new tools that I needed to go out and buy. With my budget the Snap-on name wasn't even in the hat, I took a trip to Sears in El Monte, California, and bought as many Craftsman handtools as I could afford. To my disappointment I discovered to be able to purchase a new Craftsman bench grinder or drill press even Sears' prices were out of my league. Shortly afterwards I spotted an advertisement for a new Harbor Freight store that had just opened in my neighborhood with ridiculously low prices offered for some of the equipment I needed. Some of the Harbor Freight tools I bought in '69 never lived to see 1970, and then some I still have today. At the time I bought Harbor Freight tools my hopes were they would last long enough to earn enough money to save up and buy a better known brand. In my wildest dreams I never thought I would still be using some of them in the 21st century.

Nation's automotive buffs encouraged to flaunt their favorite Motors Master projects and win a trip to Las Vegas

Public Animals Number 1
I think it would be hard to find two dogs who love to ride in a truck more than Bongo or Bear. The breed listed on their licenses is Lab-mix, and they were among seven puppies born on September 9, 1999 to a couple of old truck dogs named Bernie and Moose. That was the day I found myself with nine dogs, and glad I had a '56 Chevy panel truck to haul them all around in. The sad thing about a canine is they don't live nearly as long as humans. As of 2009, Bongo and Bear are the only survivors. When Bear was a puppy, I gave him to my dad, but got him back in 2003 when my dad passed away. Since he was 6 weeks old Bongo has been riding in the cab of my truck. I haven't kept track how many miles he's traveled in a classic truck (broken speedometers), but I know between my 2000 S-10, and '05 GMC he's done over a 100,000 miles helping me work for a truck magazine.

Small-Block Chevy Performance 1955-1996
By John Baechtel
ISBN: 1-932494-15-4
With 144 pages and over 500 black and white photographs this 81/2x11-inch softbound book provides a wealth of information if a person wants to take the time to read it. We took only a quick glance and learned the 283-inch small-block engine introduced in 1957 was produced with leftover 265-inch blocks. Former Car Craft magazine editor and author John Baechtel went on to inform that the 283 blocks got a new casting with thicker walls in '58, but the '59 blocks were even better because they featured an improved rear main seal. If you're a small-block Chevy lover, or just like to learn leg-wetting facts this $18.95 book is a must have.

Wow, I'm writing my 36th editorial, which means I've been editing Custom Classic Trucks since June of 2006. There sure has been a lot of change in the world since then, but I don't think I want to talk about any of it right now. Let's take a quick trip back to 1969 when I was just about ready to graduate from high school. Through the ranks I was scheduled to get my diploma in 1970, but in the spring of '69, I heard if I had enough credits I could graduate a year early, and get the hell out of Dodge. I went up to the Principal's office and had a little chat with my counselor, and asked her how many credits I needed to graduate. It was my lucky day, through no forethought on my part whatsoever all I needed was 10 credits, and I could kiss West Covina High good-bye forever. It meant I had to spend the summer of '69 in summer school, but I figured it would be worth it. My decision to take Algebra was a big mistake, and I knew it at the time. My instincts told me to take a pottery class with the rest of the retards like me and just hang loose. Ultimately I flunked Algebra, which meant I'd have to stick around until mid-term '70 and then graduate with a surplus of credits. I think it was February of '70 when they set me free.

The announcement that Valence Technology customer Tanfield Group has handed over six Smith Newton trucks to six leading US brands underlines Valence's position as a leader in the supply of lithium phosphate energy storage solutions.

There are collector knives like the Remington, Case, and Buck 100th anniversary shown on this page, and then there are your basic working stiffs like the vintage Japanese-made Heavy Royal kitchen knife pictured here with a whacked tomato (after it was sharpened with the Work Sharp 2000). The Work Sharp 2000 is the perfect tool for the guy who has a bunch of dull chisels and garden variety knives around and doesn't have the time to sharpen them all, or maybe doesn't trust his skills enough to try it. In my case I enjoy hand sharpening my collector knives, but view kitchen knives in the same light as a lawnmower, or a toilet plunger. Now that I have a Work Sharp 2000 and all of my kitchen knives are sharp enough to be used for shavers, I like kitchen knives.

Wow, it just doesn't seem possible, but the August 2009 issue you are holding in your hands almost marks my third year as the editor of Custom Classic Trucks. This means to date I have written 35 editorials, which computes into almost 35,000 words of well, maybe not wisdom but at least what I hope has been decent entertainment for CCT's valued readers. On the serious side, I have shared some important issues with you folks when it comes to matters that affect the future of classic trucking. It's no secret that with the collapse of America's automobile industry there's businessmen and politicians alike scrambling to come up with effective schemes to boost new automobile sales. The business of sustainability as they like to package it, a friendly green face with automobile scrappage programs modeled after "Cash for Clunkers" at the forefront.

Duster and Frannie
Larry and Julia Ann Mason of South Lake, California, have a big old Ford F-6 chopped down into a "rig-rod" and two pups that love to ride in it. Duster is an 8-year-old Pomeranian and Frannie the Chihuahua just turned 7. The F-6 spent its life as boom truck down the hill in Bakersfield, California, before Larry got a hold of it.