In Northern Idaho, it's good to be pissed. As we travel around the country doing our job, we catch lingo from all over the U.S. and bring it back to the L.A. offices to confuse each other. Ben Spinney, who owns this totally custom Toyota, taught us this one. Example: If you told Ben his truck was pissed, he'd say, "Cool! Thanks, man."
This exoskeleton creation started as an '85 Toyota that Ben started to work on five years ago. But with a Holley fuel-injected 383 Chevy stroker and a TH350 tranny attached to a Klune-V and NP205 spinning 1-ton axles, there's not much Toyota left. We caught up with Ben last year at Krejci's Mud Bog, where he was chargin' through the deep mud. Ben designed his Toy at his shop, Spinney-Built Fabrications, in Sandpoint, Idaho, for any type of situation that a crazy Idahoan could get himself into, whether it be trails, mud, snow, or running over cars. As you can see, Ben is no stranger to going big, launching his exoskeleton warwagon into an awesome end with a Dana 60 knuckle exploding at the tie rod.
 Ben spent a lot of time making...  Ben spent a lot of time making this truck a ton of fun. Two seats nestled in the back of the exoskeleton allow room to take more friends, while dual snowboard racks outside the exo keep his boards in place on the way to his winter job on the snowboard park at Schweitzer Mountain. Ben did the snow camo paint job himself. The cab, doors, and hood are the only pieces of original Toyota body left. The front fenders are Downey fiberglass units, and the bed...well, you can see for yourself. |  Under the Toyota hood lies...  Under the Toyota hood lies a balanced and blueprinted 383 stroker engine with a Holley digital fuel-injection system built by M&S Engine Works in Sandpoint, Idaho. Inside the engine, M&S used Manley I-beam 5.7-inch connecting rods, forged flat-top pistons, 2.02 stainless valves, and a 383 Scat crank. The nose of this exoskeletoy holds a well-protected Warn 8274 winch controlled by dash-mounted switches. |  The rear of Ben's exoskeletoy...  The rear of Ben's exoskeletoy is held up by 18-inch Sway-A-Way coilovers with 500-pound-over-500-pound coils. The coilovers mount into his exocage at the top, while the bottoms are attached to a 14-bolt axle loaded with a Detroit Locker and 4.56 gears. Stock Chevy drums were kept in the rear for ease of parts replacement, and they definitely receive ample cooling sticking so far out of his Bart 15x10 steel wheels with only a 2 1/2-inch offset. Ben runs his 38-inch Swamper SXs on such a widely offset Bart wheel to prevent clearance dilemmas with the suspension when turning. It's hard to see in this picture, but in the front of that axle is a 4130 chromoly radius-arm design suspension with a track bar controlling lateral movement. |
The front of Ben Spinney's rig has a very similar setup to the rear, except it uses a Dana 60 front axle; 18-inch Sway-A-Way coilovers were used with 500-pound dual-rate coils, 4130 chromoly radius arms, and a track bar control the axle's movement, and the 60 is stuffed with a Detroit Locker and 4.56 gears. Ben built the entire suspension at his shop, Spinney Bent Fabrications, and topped it off with spherical bearing rod ends at the pivot points. The crossover steering is controlled via an insufficient stock steering box that Ben plans to enhance with a Rock Ram. The brakes are stock Chevy 1-ton discs fed by a hydroboost steering system also yanked from a 1-ton.