Nine Years in the Making

CLINT VITO ISN’T THE TYPE OF GUY TO LET SOMEONE ELSE’S HANDS CREATE SOMETHING OF GREAT IMPORTANCE TO HIM. When it comes down to it, he’d rather bust his own back and wash off the grime that only comes from putting in a full day’s labor in the garage. Clint’s a workingman by nature, and OT hours are nothing new to him. To get the job done right, sometimes the wrenches need to keep turning long after the quitting whistle has blown. “The best part about doing a lot of the work on my own truck is the sense of pride in the finished product,” Clint says, “you just can’t get that when a shop does it all for you.”

Nine years is a long time—hell, it’s nearly a decade. That kind of time sees many fads come and go; it’s enough years to sit through a president’s full term in office, but that’s how long Clint has spent ironing out every last detail on his Toyota SR5. A lot has happened, some good and some not so much, but he’s rolled with all of the punches and swung at all of the curve balls life threw his way. Before he even started with this truck, he cut his teeth on a few other trucks that have surely stood as sources of inspiration. “I’ve owned two minis, an ’85 S-10 and a Ford Splash that were both static-dropped, and then there was my Ford Lightning that I threw a bunch of go-fast stuff at. The Toyota turned out to be a huge step further than any of those trucks.”

With Clint’s background in customization and his many years of studying the scene even before he picked up a sawzall, he dove into his latest project head first in 1996. “I have been into these kinds of trucks before I even had my driver’s license. I’d read all the truck magazines in the back of the classrooms and just daydreamed about being out on the road cruising around.” When he picked up the Toyota, he enjoyed the get-in-and-drive dependability of it for a whole week. It was at this point when the truck was introduced to a life of constant change. “I started it all by adjusting the torsion bars and adding lowering springs. I notched the frame too because I was bottoming out almost everywhere I went, but I drove the truck this way for a while. When the truck wasn’t low enough for me, I ’bagged it and skinned the tailgate. I showed it in this condition for a long time.”

I HIT POCKETS OF LOST TIME WITH THE TRUCK AND MAY HAVE LOST INTEREST IN IT AT TIMES. I STILL NEVER GAVE UP ON IT.”

Now it may sound like Clint had found a sweet spot with his truck, but it was anything but. “In 2002, I pulled the truck from the public’s eye and locked it up in the garage. This is when I did the ’01 front clip conversion, body drop and bodywork. Unfortunately, the truck then sat completed, minus the interior, for the next 11 years, collecting dust. I wish I had finished everything a lot sooner.”

As much as Clint regrets not buttoning the truck back together earlier, a few minor and major incidents got in his way. “In 2004, I was in a bad car accident, which nearly took my life. I was out of work and out of the garage for nine months.” Clint also got married, bought two houses and had two sons; the man had other pressing things going on, but he still made time to do what he could on his truck. “Even though I hit pockets of lost time with the truck and may have lost interest in it at times, I still never gave up on it.”

When it looked like Clint would be forever without his Toyota, he finally reached the finish line. Sure, there was no deadline set in stone for completion, but as a personal goal, it was something he had been aching to see reached. “I don’t go to shows for plastic trophies, and I really didn’t build this truck to compete for these things. I’m truly in it for the life-long friendships I’ve made along the way. One man who I still hold close to me was way more than just a friend to me. Courtney “Tito” Hallowell was more like a brother, and even though he’s gone, his memory will forever live within every Negative Camber brother.

“HE WOULD’VE LOVED THE WAY THE TRUCK CAME OUT, AND I KNOW FOR SURE HE WOULD HAVE WANTED
TO GO RIDE IN IT ANY CHANCE HE GOT.”

Clint and his Toyota have spent some very important years together. The truck has seen him through some very trying years and has been there for him through multiple life stages. Clint was just a 20-year-old kid when he bought the truck, and he’s evolved into a man who knows the true value of friendship but most importantly the incalculable worth of family. “Even though I am extremely happy with how the truck was finished, it is an accomplishment that is bittersweet. In 2013, I wrapped up this years- long build and lost my father. He wasn’t able to celebrate with me, and I know he would’ve loved to go with me to shows during the “victory lap” of having completed it. I think he would’ve loved the way the truck came out, and I know for sure he would have wanted to go ride in it any chance he got. This one’s for you, dad.”

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TECH SPECS

OWNER

Clint Vito
1994 Toyota SR5
Westminster, MD
Negative Camber

ENGINE:

• 22RE four-cylinder
• Flowmaster exhaust
• Chrome valve cover and EFI
• Lots of polished goods
• Rerouted wires, harnesses and vacuum lines
• Factory A/C

SUSPENSION:

• Drop spindles
• Slam Specialties ’bags
• Pete and Jake’s reverse triangular 4-link rear
• Tubular control arms by Rusty Nails
• Two Viair 480C compressors
• 3/8-inch AccuAir VU4 valves
• Lowered engine mounts
• Box notch smoothed and painted
• Handcrafted trans cross member
• All suspension parts painted

WHEELS & TIRES:

• B.A.D. Gunslinger wheels 19×7 (front)/19×8 (rear)
• Dunlop 215/35/19 (front)/225/35/19 (rear)

BODY & PAINT:

• Sikkens Nogaro Blue paint by Walt Ropka
• Shaved door handles, cowl, antenna squirters, third brake light, gas door rock guards, firewall cab wall, taillights, tailgate mirrors
• 3-inch traditional body drop
• 2001 Tacoma front clip, hood, hood hinges, core support, bumper, valance, 4×4 fenders with tops of Taco fender grafted on
• Sheet metal wheel wells
• Extended and wrapped lower bodyline
• Recessed battery box
• Sheet metal bed
• Pop-up gas filler
• 39×32-inch sunroof

INTERIOR:

• Honda Civic seats chopped and covered in leather with baby snake accents
• Billet B.A.D. Gunslinger steering wheel
• Billet handles and pedals
• Handmade kick panels, center console with cup holder
• Sony head unit
• Boston Acoustic 6.5-inch separates
• Rockford Fosgate 10-inch subwoofers
• Soundstream Class A 6.0 and 3.0 amps
• Stinger wire and fuse blocks

SPECIAL THANKS FROM THE OWNER: Thank you to my wife Jill and son Carter for understanding all the late nights and weekends. I would also like to thank Eric Foelber for kicking me in the ass to get this truck done. Also, Dennis Citrano and Chad Gill for the help with the conversion, Walt Ropka for the paint, Brad at Driven Fab for the interior, Steve Hansen for everything he’s done. I want to dedicate this build to my dad. I miss you and wish you were here to go for a cruise.

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