A hot rod truck can be both cool and low-budget.....

Whether your a GM, Ford or Mopar guy you can build a really fast truck pretty easily. Think about it-a 454 V8 in a 3900 lb machine is a hot ride regardless of sheetmetal- does it really matter whether it's a '71 Chevelle or a '78 C10?  No it doesn't. Anyway-up until the early '60's trucks were strictly utilitarian-they were used for hauling heavy loads and towing trailers. In the late '60's the manufacturers started offering luxury items like air conditioning and upgraded interiors and they became more car-like and thus had performance potential. Here's the ones to look for. # 1. 1967-79 Chevy / GMC 1/2 ton. 1967-72 models are highly sought after-and for good reason. The bodystyle is great looking and they offered V8's from a 283 to a 396 depending on model year. '71-72 models even had front disc brakes as standard equipment. Obviously a small or big-block Chevy will be the first choice for power-but I know guys who have put 472 / 500 Cadillac V8s in these trucks as well as 455 Olds and Pontiac engines that made them awfully quick for very low-bucks. In 1973 they were completely re-designed and this style soldiered on with minor changes until 1987. I listed the '73-79 models as the most desirable because they had 350 or 454 V8s available. The engine bay will swallow any GM engine-including the 720 hp 572 crate motor.  The largest engine you could get in later 1/2 ton models was a 305. Yuck. There is a ton of aftermarket parts available for these trucks including front and rear sway bars, traction bars-you could build a drag racer or a corner-carver if you wanted to.  # 2. 1967-79 Ford F100 / F150. Just like GM, Ford drastically improved their pickups with a major re-design in 1967. In fact-a '68 Ford pickup was used in the big chase scene in the Charles Bronson action flick "Mr Majestyk" and the "Built Ford Tough" TV ads for years. '67-72 models will have V8s from 302 to 390 cubes. The 390s are the ones to look for-there's a ton of speed equipment for "FE" engines including Edelbrock aluminum heads. Like GM-another big re-design hit in 1973. The interiors got upgraded and V8s up to 460 inches were available. The 390 soldiered on until 1976. A lot of '75 and later models will have 351 / 400M motivation. What made them dogs was 2bbl carburation, single exhaust and a lazy cam. Edelbrock makes heads and intakes and cams for these engines that make them really rock. Anything 400 cubes will run pretty damn good with the right parts. And the "M" engines share the same bellhousing bolt-pattern as the 429 / 460-so swapping in a bigger motor is not too much trouble. Avoid the 360 V8 like the plague. They are an "FE" engine-but they have the triple attributes of no power, not much torque and crappy gas mileage. And their not worth hopping up-you get way more bang for the buck from a 351 / 400 or swapping in a 390.  # 3. 1972-78 Dodge D100 / D150. This bodystyle soldiered on until 1993. However after '78-with the exception of the '79 "Li'l Red Express" the largest engine you could get was a 318 or 360 with 2bbl. From '72-78 you could get anything from a 318 to a 440. 360s can be made to really run and there's stroker kits to turn them into a 408. A 400 is just a bored-out 383-so there's tons of speed equipment for them including stroker kits to make a 451, and of course the mighty 440. If you wanted to build a totally badass truck and had the bucks-they start at about 15 grand-you could put in a 426 or 472 or 528 inch Mopar Performance Hemi crate engine!!  Now that would give new meaning to the term "Monster Truck".... Mastermind