FAMILY TRADITION

An Old-School Truck with New-School Attributes

- ADAM JOHNSON

IN 1991, BENJAMIN SMITH’S DAD, JERRY, BOUGHT HIS VERY FIRST MITSUBISHI MIGHTY MAX RIGHT OFF THE CAR HAULER AT THE LOCAL MITSUBISHI DEALERSHIP. Just like most of us, he simply needed a reliable truck to drive back and forth to work each day. Originally, he started modifying his new truck, dubbed “Daddy’s Toy,” by adding a few customizations, which led to attending local car shows with Ben.

In 1998 Jerry was at a point in his life where he couldn’t get in or out of his truck due to health reasons, so he went to a local car lot and tried to trade it off. After not accepting the $1,500 offer, he took the truck back home and offered it to his son Ben for a great price. Without hesitation, Ben went down to the local bank and borrowed the money to buy the truck, which is now known as “Family Tradition.”

To change things up a bit, Ben added a chrome front bumper, chrome grille, a full Stillen Body Kit and a Mopar 6-pack hood scoop, all painted to match. The truck stayed in this shape for 27 years, but eventually it was time for a rebuild. Ben started by ’bagging the truck all the way around using 2,500-pound airbags up front, and 2,600-pound bags in the rear, along with two Viair 480 compressors and a 5-gallon air tank.