Some of the most popular mini-trucks in the custom truck scene can be found in large quantities at most shows. Possibly the most popular import mini-truck has been the 1989-1995 Toyota pickup. They were built with a reliable motor, an easy-to-modify suspension, and there is an abundance of aftermarket parts available. This pickup model can be seen at most shows in several different factory model styles and there are almost never two at the same show that have the same overall look. Steven Hill from Victorville, California owns this 1993 Toyota Extra Cab Pickup that he still has big plans for. Our feature name, "Needs 20's" refers to Steven's personalized license plate and his plans to further personalize his truck in the future with 20-inch wheels.

   Steven brought his Toyota to a lower stance by removing the front torsion bars and throwing them out. Instead, he would have two Slam Specialties air bags installed for adjustability. The stock rear suspension was also removed to make way for two more Slam Specialties 'bags and a reversed 4-link. The 'bags fill quickly at the click of a button on the Slam Specialties DSV controller with help from the 1/2-inch DSV Stealth valves which have two positioning settings. The fast mode of the valve is 1/2-inch and Stealth mode of the valve is .060 which can bring the truck up and down at a good rate of speed. The Nitrogen bottle located near the tailgate provides enough to the valves to let Steven adjust his height often but just in case, he has installed two ViAir 380c compressors in the bed and a backup air tank under the bed. For now, Steven has a set of 18-inch Kaizer Phoenix II wheels wrapped in 225/35/R18 Hankook K104 Tires.

   The personality of Steven's truck changed when he removed the front end and replaced it with an updated  Toyota 4-Runner front end. The grille and bumper centers were cut and cleaned to make room for the upper and lower billet grilles. The door handles, gas door, rock guards, hood squirters, and taillights were all removed from the body. The panels they resided on were welded and smoothed out. The roof of this extra cab pickup was cut carefully and a 30-inch by 36-inch electric rag top was installed. The bed needed a lot of attention to make it as clean as the rest of the truck was shaping up to be. The bed floor was already cut out for the suspension so the bottom was smoothed and wheel tubs were made out of trailer fenders. The gas cap found a new resting place in the passenger side wheel tub. The suspension and speaker box were also covered with removable panels and everything was coated with Rhino Liner spray-on bedliner. The rear bumper was removed and a roll pan with two 10-inch LED taillights was installed. The rear window also got pulled out in order to install the Lexan rear window with a LED brake light to match the ones in the roll pan. The truck was then sprayed with a good coat of DuPont Metallic Blue by Louie's Auto Body and Paint.

   The interior of Steven's truck is just getting started but he has already switched out the stock steering wheel for a Billet Specialties Pyscho Steering wheel and the stocks seats have been replaced by a pair of 1995 Acura Integra GSR buckets seats wrapped in dark grey tweed. The head unit is a Panasonic in-dash DVD player with 7-inch wide screen and it runs the sound to Rockford Fosgate 5.5-inch door speakers and tweeters. A portion of the back wall was cut out and the three 10-inch Memphis Audio subwoofers face into the cab powered by a Rockford Fosgate amplifier.

   Under the hood, Steven added a polished intake with K&N filter that pulls air in before it goes out of the Gibson exhaust that has been routed back to the driver side rear fender well near the tire. He also upgraded the stock battery to a Optima Yellow Top battery so he knows it will always start anytime he needs it.

Steven would like to thank his sponsors including ViAir, Slam Specialties, Gibson Performance Exhaust, Rhino Linings, Hankook Tires, Kronk Skateboards, and Louie's Auto Body and Paint.