When you buy a car straight from the showroom, it usually comes as a blank canvas inviting you to put your creativity on it in the form of modification. That applies to pickup trucks too. Classic trucks are even more blank than modern trucks. Looking at your classic truck, you can almost see that something is missing. But you can’t really point a finger what is actually missing.
We’ll tell you what it is; your truck needs some customization. Raising the suspension will improve the ground clearance of your vehicle. Proper tires will handle the dirt roads with aggression. Modified pickup trucks are more attractive and perform better than stock trucks. Yes, that's right, upgrades can make your classic truck perform better than the modern work-focused machines. That said, here are ten excellent modifications that your classic truck probably needs.
10 Rims And Tires
Wheels are as crucial as the heart of the truck. A set of high-performance tires will improve every aspect of your classic gem, from acceleration to braking and cornering.
Trucks have grown quite famous because they can serve almost every purpose of a car. Classic trucks can serve even better, but not with the factory rims and tires. Fitting your truck with a more aggressive tire tread pattern can take the performance of your vehicle to the next level.
9 Lift Kits
A good lift kit is an excellent addition to your classic truck. This is almost a must-have. Leveling kits that will add anything from 1 to 3 inches is good. It will fit perfectly on top of the truck’s coil strut assembly – an excellent remedy to the factory-designed rake that makes the rear appear higher than the front.
A good lift kit will make your truck a perfect work of art. It makes it easy for you in case you choose to swap the factory rims and tires for larger ones. Don't make the mistake of adding the extremely high lifts though. One mistake is enough to mess up your, otherwise, a badass truck.
8 Headlamps Conversion
Headlamp conversion does not mean a set of cheap LED bulbs. These cannot give you the same effect as that of high-quality HID bulbs. Aftermarket LED bulbs in a reflector housing will not create the same effect as plain halogen bulbs. They will appear brighter when you look at them, but the fact is that they will just create more glare to other drivers on the road. And especially if the bulbs are rated above 5000k.
How about spending a little more for high-quality true HID bulbs? The lighting shop, usually, will remove your factory head lambs and modify them into the best version projector HIDs and then reinstall them. The outcome is a beautiful truck front with more light, better cut off, and you will not be a bother to other road users.
7 Wrap It Up
There are many reasons for vinyl wrapping your truck, and blacking out the stock chrome is one of the main ones. Some classic vehicles still look good with the factory chrome, but they would look superior with some of that chrome blacked out. There are plenty of companies out there that can wrap your truck up and leave it looking as pretty as never before. You get to black-out the chrome and also customize your classic truck.
Wrapping is a good option mainly because of letterings and vehicle badges – you can cut out such areas and leave them looking original. There is no better way to modify your awesome classic truck to perfection than wrapping it up. It will keep it new and maintain its resale value.
6 Front Grilles
Headlamp conversion would not make your truck front perfect, if not combined with a beautiful transformation of the grilles. The front of a truck makes a lot of noise – its appearance matters as much as its powertrain.
For a grille transformation, you can buy one that belongs to a more superior model of your car, and install it yourself, or have a professional do it for you. You might not find Original Equipment Manufacturer grilles for classic trucks ready to buy, which is why you should have an expert custom-make one for you. A vintage truck with a customized grilled. How awesome?
5 A Stripped-Down Interior
Colin Chapman, the Lotus founder, once said that his idea about cars was to simplify and make it light. You make your driving experience quite enjoyable with this trick. You accelerate faster, brake shorter, and do everything with ease. It would be best if you had this, especially since your classic truck is your work machine.
If you decided to do it to perfection, you could remove a lot of unwanted weight. And since it is your truck, you will have no problem explaining to passengers why they should be freezing in your vehicle after you have removed the air conditioning.
4 Quality Seats And Harnesses
Many people do not think that it is essential to have good seats in a pickup truck. You’ve probably never noticed that you use a lot of energy trying to put your body in place every time you brake or turn, especially with classic trucks that have bench seats.
Try installing your beautiful truck with some high-quality seats with proper harnesses and see how much you enjoy your driving. Look for bucket seats, and you will realize the excellent support they provide makes your turning, braking, and even accelerating a lot easier and fun.
3 The Bed
Toolboxes, bed rails, name them. A truck bed is an impossible-to-exhaust modification playground for your classic truck.
There are dozens of toolboxes of different designs and materials that you can have installed at the back of your pickup truck. You can choose from a simple storage box to a fully decked drawer with locks. Then you can add a cover over your gear. There are many types of covers to choose from; there must be something that will match the vintage look of your classic pickup truck.
2 Upgraded Shocks
Shock absorbers are designed to keep your tires in place by absorbing the shocks that come when you are driving over bumpy pavements. There are natural driving ups and downs that the springs would not control, but good shock absorbers will do that.
Upgrading the shocks that came with your truck will probably make your classic pickup feel and work like new. Driving on the bumpy pavements will be as smooth as cruising the highway with a brand-new sports car.
1 Turbo Upgrade
New diesel trucks come standard with a turbo system that works perfectly. That one should not be touched. The good old classic pickup trucks do not come with good turbo systems as stock; others do not have it at all. If it doesn’t have it, you need to install one to improve the performance of your machine. And if it came standard with it, upgrading it will be in order.
However, there are things you need to think about before upgrading your turbo system. The most important of them is whether or not your truck can handle a turbo upgrade?