One of the highest profile rides in the Rollerz Only fleet, and one of the first vehicles that we thought of featuring when we were planning out this Club of the Year issue, is Sal Sierra III's '36 Ford, "Trokita Loca." Sal's "crazy little truck" was a fixture in the winner's circle at Lowrider Tour shows back in the early '90s, and veterano collectors of the magazine can dig out their December '91 issue to check out the truck in all of its original glory.
Sal remains the proud owner of Trokita Loca and he still houses his fine Ford up at his place in Porterville, California. But don't get the Trokita tale twisted; Sal hasn't just thrown a car cover on the vehicle and parked it in his garage "as is" for the past 15 years. Sal's continued to tweak his Trokita over time, and the current version sports new graphics, a new engine, undercarriage mods, neon, and a different set of tires and wheels from "back in the day."
The old Ford truck's glittering incarnation as a lowrider show vehicle began more than two decades ago. "I came across the truck about 25 years ago," Sal says of his most famous (but by no means only) show-quality lowrider. Sal tells us that he's just 37 years old, so he must've been quite a young chavalito (you do the math) when he first took possession of the truck (or it took possession of him), but then, as he says, "Lowriding's been in the blood since an early age."
Sal's journey with Trokita Loca wouldn't have been possible (or near as much fun) without the help and support of his friends and family. He specifically singles out Virginia Sierra, Sal Sierra IV, Nick and Rollerz Only C.C. for special thanks, as well as Frank at Moreno's Polishing in Fresno, California, and Rene at Showtime Polishing in nearby Kerman for the chrome plating, and "Tiger" of Delano, California, for the inspired engraving.
It's true that Trokita Loca is a legendary lowrider with an extended lifespan, but Sal informs us that the final chapter of the story may not have yet been written. He says of his truck and its transformation, "It's been through a lot but I'll never stop."
Trokita LocaOwner: Sal Sierra III
Vehicle: '36 Ford truck
City/State: Porterville, California
Club: Rollerz Only C.C.-Central California
Engine/Drivetrain: An '05 Chevy 350-c.i.d. engine (sorry, Ford guys) with aluminum, billet and chrome parts was put together and dropped in by the owner.
Body/Paint: Body mods performed by Jaime of Porterville include a chopped top, tilt hood, suicide doors, boxed and widened (3 inches) bed, Frenched license plate and '59 Cadillac taillights. Rene Centeno of Lindsay, California, put down the House of Kolor two-tone paint scheme. Ruben of Visalia, California, gets the pinstriping props, and Alberto Herrera of Quality Art in Visalia applied the murals featuring figures from the Mexican Revolution mingling with pretty ladies.
Interior: Lil' Rich of Porterville stitched up the red tweed button-tuck hand-built seats. Highlights of the cab include Dakota Digital gauges, banjo billet steering wheel with a chrome column, custom muraled center console and billet pedals.
Sound System: Frank Sierra at All About Tint in Porterville installed an Alpine head unit/DVD player with Rockford Fosgate Punch amps and speakers (including 10-inch subs). There are also three TVs, including two in custom-made sun visors.
Setup: An engraved four-pump Sinister hydro setup was engineered by Sal Saldivar at Saldivar More Bounce in Kerman, California. Old school Waterman dumps, aluminum blocks, 8-inch "skinny" cylinders with mini coil-overs, two Optima batteries, stainless steel tubing and three switches round out the setup's specifics.
Tires: 5.20 Coker
Wheels: Custom "one of a kind" engraved 13-inch Masterpiece wires with twisted spokes