Hey - I saw Phil's editorial in January's issue and noticed Phil's leaving the magazine. What happened? I liked reading about his Jeep and Dodge projects. Is he going to take those with him to his new mag?
While I'm at it, who the hell's the new editor? It seems like Off-Road has had more editors than issues in the last few years. If you haven't found one, I'll take the job. I hear you don't pay very much, so I'm asking in advance for a company truck and a large expense account. It can't be that hard of a job judging by the number of pages that my skimpy copies are nowadays (What happened to all my magazine pages?)
Okay, I'm guess I'm done. Just wanted to find out what's going on, and if you guys needed me. I'm unemployed right now, but that's because no one realizes what a valuable asset I am. If you need to get ahold of me...
Lawson, Costa Mesa, California
via e-mail
Lawson, we very much appreciate the offer, but we have as full of a staff as the company will let us. We'd like to have one more, and you sound like such a fine, upstanding individual that I'm going to run upstairs right now and double-check if we can't hire another guy.
As for the job of editor, yes, it's been taken by myself, and I plan to be here longer than a few issues (if everything goes right). So make sure to buy OFF-ROAD and check out how we're changing up the magazine.
Oh, and I think Phil is taking his Jeep with him, but I don't believe his Dodge buildups are going to show up in 4 Wheel Drive & Sport Utility.
-Jerrod
I want to build my own Baja Trophy Truck, but I have no idea how to go about doing that. Could you please help? Like where can I find the specs, buy the parts I need, and where can I get the info I need to race next year's 1000? I would appreciate any help you can provide. I haven't had the best luck yet.
P.S. Love your magazine. Don't change a thing!
Eric Arneson, Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Eric, you're my first Letter of the Month. You're getting a new pair of wrenchin' gloves sent your way, courtesy of Ringers Gloves (www.ringersgloves.com). I love that you've decided to just start straight at the top. And Eric, I'm with you brother: I want to drive a Trophy Truck in a race so badly that I've thought of selling my house to invest all the money into a race truck. But then I realize how much I like running water and electricity. I think your aspirations might be a bit high to start with. Trophy Trucks cost upwards of $200,000 and $300,000 to build. And that's just for the truck. The actual racing support is expensive as well, and the longer the race, the more money you'll spend. I've heard of the big-name teams dropping more than three quarters of a million dollars on one Baja 1000 race! If you have the ching, then go for it. But if you're like the vast majority of us, then I might suggest trying your hand at Class 3 racing, where you can use an SUV with a 108-inch-or-smaller wheelbase. Go get yourself a Blazer or Bronco, check out the SCORE rule book, and we'll see you down there next year.
And whether you decide to build a Trophy Truck or a Class 3 truck, you can find what you need to know by going to SCORE's website at www.score-international.com. And for the components and parts you need to build your race truck, two of my favorite shops are Kartek Off-Road (www.kartek.com) and McKenzie's Performance Products (www.mckenzies.com).