Online Customizing

Online truck buying is not what you might think. Bits and bytes travel at the speed of light as you bid on the truck of your dreams. You watch intently as the other players of the auction bid mercifully against you. Don't they realize what they're doing? A few more keystrokes have you in the running for the lead. You decide to get a frosty cold one from the kitchen, and when you get back to the computer, wouldn't you know it, you got bumped again. The game of cat and mouse is on. This is only for the truck; you still have to bid on the parts. Groan.

We recently had the opportunity to get with Ebay Motors for the Editors' Charity Challenge, a deal that would have us actually purchasing and customizing a truck from the web. Did you ever think you could get enough cool parts online to actually customize a truck? We were slightly skeptical at first, but a little bit of positive thinking and a quick rundown on parts available had us on our way. A couple clicks here and there had us surfing the online super highway in no time at all. Heading up the project for the Custom Truck Team is myself and I am tasked with the actual building, planning and buying of online products. Fun stuff.

Let me give you a little heads up with what we're doing. Ebay Motors tasked us with a couple limitations to make this a somewhat realistic project. We started with a workable budget of $25,000. Of that amount, 75 percent has to be spent on eBay Motors and the rest is available to spend offline for items you can't possibly buy online, such as paint and fabrication. We are allowed up to five "gifts." Basically, we are allowed to have five freebies worth no more than $500 retail value and we are not allowed to receive more than one per brand name. There is no limitation set on labor or services. What that means is we can buy parts online and if someone volunteers to install them for free, well no harm, no foul. The way the program is set up is really about what it would be like for you as a reader to have $25,000, a couple friends and a will to build a show winning custom.

Being the head of the truck team meant I had to log some time in cyberspace and be on the look out for the right truck to bid on. Ebay Motors hooked up a username and password so I could be on the road to bidding stardom. First truck I ran into was actually an ex-cover truck. Some of you might remember the Massey Chevrolet give away truck that graced the cover of Truckin' in Dec. 1996. We actually thought it would be cool to get that and do some updating work but the truck was located in the East Coast and we know how winters go there. Onward with the bidding. One of the obstacles associated with the truck purchase was the distance factor. Ebay did not allow for the money to be used for transportation costs to get the vehicle. Okay, so something close to home was now part of the equation. Eureka! Lots of trucks are located in the West. Keep in mind that I am allowed to buy a truck in any state of customizing I see fit. What would you do? Buy a truck that has some work done to it already and use the money to improve it or start out stock and build it your way but not make it overtly customized? I chose the customized route as my starting point. Enter a 1997 Chevrolet Standard Cab short bed I found in Phoenix, Ariz. The truck was already in a stage of customization with a 2000 Cadillac front clip, shaved door handles, tailgate skin with a flipped handle, welded roll pan, Cadillac taillights, 20-inch wheels with an airbag suspension and a tweed/vinyl interior. Okay. Click-click-click and I was the leading bidder.

Fast forward a bit and I was headed to Phoenix, Ariz., for the retrieval of my new $11,550 prize. I have to say thanks to Nissan Motor Corporation for the use of a brand spanking new Titan crew cab. Attached to the Titan was the official Truckin' flat bed trailer. I arrived in (hell) Phoenix to sweat-inducing summer temperatures in the neighborhood of 100-ish and talked with the owner of the truck to got some more background information. The owner popped out of the garage with the truck and I was in it, under it and through it. Inspection completed, Pay Pal payment made and the Nissan Titan and I turned west, headed for the cooler shores of south Orange County with the Chevy in tow on the trailer. Yes, you're right. I went there and back in one session. I was in a hurry to be back to my beautiful air-conditioned Truckin' office to write about these digital buying adventures.

Once we complete the build up process for the eBay Motors project it will be tested, shown and then sold. We'll be taking the truck through its paces at a test and tune day at the famous California Speedway in October before packing our things for a ride through the desert on our cruise to the Truckin' Nationals in—an you believe it?—Phoenix, Ariz. We'll be getting a little break for December just so we can be relaxed enough to roll the eBay project into the Los Angeles Convention Center for the L.A. International Show in January. Then, my friends, the party will be over. My baby will be re-listed on the eBay Motors web site for auctioning, with all proceeds from the sale going to a great charity. Sniffle.

On the list of fun changes in store for the Chevy are new wheels and tires, fresh paint, suspension work, performance enhancements, interior changes and stereo upgrading. At this point in time some of the work is already complete but I won't say what yet. Gotta save some for later upates. Look for additional changes coming soon in the pages of Truckin' magazine. If you are in the area for any of the above shows, stop in and check us out. There will be some online voting for the best eBay Motors project during the SEMA show so be sure to put in your vote for our Chevy. Voting starts November 1st.