Perry Mack and Bryan Irons
SEMA 2019
Words and photos by Perry Mack and Bryan Irons
For us, there are two major components to SEMA – the new builds and the new parts. The parts allow us to see how we can modify our rigs to further enjoy the great outdoors – to get to places we haven’t been. Whether it’s because our rig needs a performance boost or the latest tents, trailers, and camp gear to make our adventures more enjoyable for friends and family.
The builds are cool because we can see how new (and old) accessories are deployed, and in some cases how creatively this can be done. Then there are the classics, both race and resto mods, a little history of where our passion originated and the dramatic restorations that can be achieved when people have the drive, ambition – and often the cash – to create a drivable work of art.
In no particular order here are some of the unique builds of 2019, which we hope will inspire some of you in 2020 the same way these builders and trucks have inspired us.
Chevy Denali from Truck Hero
At first glance, it’s the deep red metallic colour that catches your eye. Then the clean, custom bumper and custom fender flares over the Toyo Open Country RT 37 x 12.5 x 17. A peak under the skirts reveals the Long Travel Dirt King suspension, and Fox triple bypass remote reservoir coilover shocks. Now that you see this Chevy has some off-road cred, you notice the A.R.E. Ascend Roof Basket mounted to the A.R.E. Z2 Truck Cap. The cargo space tells the rest of the tale securing the spare, two-ton off-road floor jack and compressed CO2 air supply. In many ways, it’s a stealth overland and camp truck, all luxury on the street and all performance on the trail.
Builder: Dirt King Fabrication/FiberwerX/Brian Bush
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This Chevy Denali is all performance for the road or the trail.
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Hauk Pitbull Jeep JL
The motion graphic backlit ‘HAUK’ nameplate piqued our interest from a distant aisle at the show. As we approached from the back, the bright red external fuel tank suggested there was something serious under the hood. What kind of engine sucks so much fuel that it needs a tank instead of cargo space? As it turns out, a Mopar turbo-charged Hemi with 1125 hp in the holster. Designer Ken Hauk decided this kind of engine needs air more than it needs headlights so, lose the headlights. There’s a lot more to the truck, but one thing we were jonesing for was a look underneath – a Neapco carbon fibre driveshaft. Mm, tasty.
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The striking Huak Pitbull design.
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Flat Out Auto Tahoe
No, this is not a resto mod. It looks like a 1970 suburban but it’s actually a pre-production 2018 Tahoe, for sale for a paltry $144,000 USD, and still under warranty from Chevy. Old school styling comes courtesy of all-new sheet metal. From the grille to the tailgate, the skin is custom body lines with wheels that match the old school vibe. A great classic look with the drivability and reliability of a modern Tahoe. What’s the loan payment on $144,000?
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Looks are deceiving with this pre-production 2018 Tahoe.
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El Toro Verde – the Green Bull
The 1966 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 That Inspired the Baja 1000
This 1966 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 is an inspiring restoration originally driven by Ed Perlman. The original 6-cylinder was tossed shortly after leaving the dealer lot and replaced with a small block Chevy to race across Baja. It now has a 400 hp GM crate engine with a manual BTB three-speed and 4.11 gears to provide plenty of grunt to turn the 15” Method wheels. Although it is no longer raced, inside is a Lowrance GPS, PCI radio, push-to-talk satellite radio, Mastercraft adjustable seats and harnesses, Deist window nets, and a custom roll bar by Curt LeDuc.
Builder: Mike Pearlman, son of Ed Perlman, and founder of the current NORRA Mexican 1000
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This 1966 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 that inspired the Baja 1000.
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The Stroker Leduc Desert Racer
This was built in 1978 and rebuilt in 2019. Nonetheless, we’re not sure what you would call this truck, other than fun. Looking it over we think we see Corvette IFS, Dana 44, Buick V6 engine, CJ5 front grille, coilover shocks with no coilovers, and a transverse leaf spring. We’re only sure of two things; it has K&N filters and we’d be happy to strap on a helmet and rip across the desert.
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The Stroker Leduc Desert Racer.
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Jeepster Commando
We love it ‘cause it’s been wheeled; from the scraped beadlock wheels, to the oil leaks underneath high pinion Dana 60 front.
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The Jeepster in all its off-road glory.
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1946 Diamond T
Pre-runner, rat rod, & trophy truck
Tim Odell of Vice Unlimited has always loved the Diamond T including the aggressive grille, narrow long hood, chopped cab and split windscreen. The rest he could live without. He dropped the body onto a full tube chassis, added 8:1 Hummer portals , long travel IFS, 2.5 bypass coilover shocks, and 2.0 bump stops. Under the hood is… nothing. Tim has always loved mid-engine trucks so a 650 HP turbo LS 6.0L sits behind the cab. Since the engine is mounted in reverse, the axle is also reversed. The 14-bolt axle is not designed to be run as a high pinion gear, so a differential pump pulls oil from behind the cover and pumps it over the pinion bearing. There are many innovative and built from scratch parts including control arms and radius arm suspension. We gave Tim kudos for this build and begged him to take is on a shakedown run!
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The 1946 Diamond T with its aggressive grille, chopped cab and split windscreen.
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Lucifer – Demon Jeep
Just by looking at it you can tell it would be a great daily driver (…ahem). It’s called Lucifer, and if the graphic doesn’t give it away, carefully look into its eyes, where its name is stenciled. Getting groceries would be so much more fun in a Gladiator with a set of 40” tires and an 840 hp Dodge SRT Demon 6.2L V8 engine swap. Naturally, it only makes sense to have Tom Woods driveshafts linking to the Dana 60’s front and rear, a Katzkin interior, tube doors, Raceline beadlocks, and Power Tanks in the truck bed in case you need to air down on the way to the mall, taking the long way, of course – the very long way.
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The fully-loaded Demon Jeep.
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The Sugga
This is a 1957 Volvo TP21 – originally a Swedish Military Radio Command Vehicle built by Eddie’s Rod and Custom. This distinctive truck body was dropped onto a Dodge Ram frame and has a 572 Chevy big block cranking out 725 hp and 680 lb./ft of torque. It wasn’t simple as the frame had to be narrowed to accommodate the narrow Volvo body. This Sugga has now been repurposed - into a tailgaters dream with satellite powered televisions, speakers in the fuel cans and naturally, a remote control icebox.
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This is a 1957 Volvo TP21 built by Eddie’s Rod and Custom.
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The Gypsy
Oh my, Canada
Wow. Built by Team Maple Leaf, led by Lanny Martindale out of The Rats Nest Garage in Oxbow Saskatchewan, the 1937 Chevy cab and fenders have been mounted on a 1996 Dodge one-ton chassis. It’s powered by a 700 hp 12 valve turbo-charged Cummins diesel. The Canadian flag flies proudly over the Lincoln Electric 305G welder, with extra Canadiana front to back from the gold Maple Leaf hood ornament to the CAA emblem mounted to what looks like a Cadillac trunk. Style and power – all Canadian.
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This Canadian Gypsy is built on a 1996 Dodge one-ton chassis.
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