Truck Building 101: Why Doing It Yourself Pays Off

STREET TRUCKS STAFF . February 17, 2026 . Department .

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Don’t Be Scared! Try It Yourself!

Since the beginning of time, man has always been a do it yourselfer. Thanks to advances in technology and an abundance of resources, we no longer have to hunt or go to great lengths to find shelter or clothe ourselves, which allows us time to spend on our hobbies. Back in the day, there weren’t huge shops and companies to serve hot rodders, so they did the customizing themselves and figured things out. This lead to the development of speed shops and mail-order parts companies. Today, the wide variety of parts available easily via the web makes working on your truck at home in your own garage easier than ever.

Recently, we’ve had a helper on some of our projects, a 17-year-old kid named Jordan. He grew up interested mostly in video games, until recently when he caught the car bug and decided to start building a Datsun 510. He wanted to learn all of the skills he’d need along the way, so he could eventually work on some other projects we have brewing. Starting on an inexpensive shell of a car or truck and building from the ground up may seem scary to some, but it can be the best place to start learning without too much risk. Picking up some scrap metal, a fender, or a spare door from the junkyard is an inexpensive way to practice your skills and gain the confidence you need to work on larger, more expensive projects. With just a simple door you can learn how to strip paint, repair rust, execute metalwork, weld, do bodywork, sand and paint. If you screw up, just strip it and redo it, or scrap it and start over. Once you’re done you’ll even have a nice piece of art you can hang in your garage and a good set of skills from which to build.

I remember spending well over an hour once replacing a hub and bearings in order to install new brakes on my old truck. I’d never done it before, so the first side took a long time while I tried to figure things out. Naturally, the opposite side was a breeze, and I could check that off the list of things completed and a new skill learned.

We hope you’ll dive in and try things out, using Street Trucks as a guide to get you started. We’ve been working toward expanding and continuing our “101” series of articles to help you learn the skills needed to install parts and customize your truck yourself. After all, it’s just paint and parts.

Don’t be afraid to try something out yourself. Anything you screw up can be repaired or replaced. The fun, sense of accomplishment and information you’ll learn will more than make up for any possible frustration. You also just might save some money, allowing you to buy more parts and do even more elaborate mods. ST

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