COVER FEATURE - SEPTEMBER 2008
DOIN’ IT T.J. STYLE!
THE SANCHEZ BOYS SET THE STANDARD DOWN SOUTH
By Daniel J. Linss - Editor
Jose “Yoki” Sanchez of Playas de Tijuana, Mexico does not like to buy accessories for his trucks – he likes to build them himself. And in Mexico, you use whatever parts you can find and modify them into what you want. The boys down south call this “Doin’ it T.J. Style” – and nobody does it better than Yoki. With a keen eye to detail, quality and craftsmanship, Yoki has made some extraordinary pieces for his truck from ordinary parts. And over the years, with help from his three bothers, the Sanchez boys have set the standard for cool south-of-the-border.
At 44 years old, Jose is the youngest of his three male siblings (they also have a sister). Daniel (56) of Tijuana, David (54) of San Diego and Robert (51) of San Diego are all involved in trucking, but only Jose and Daniel are part of SAMASA Hardware & Lumber, a building materials store the two brothers own in Tijuana, Mexico. When the business was first started, the Sanchez brothers had a partner named Joel Martinez. The name came from combining the first two letters from each man’s last name: SAnchez + MArtinez + SAnchez = SAMASA. Joel Martinez is no longer involved in the company, but the SAMASA name stuck.
The Sanchez brothers grew up in Chino, California. Their father was a milker on a dairy for 22 years, and then he decided to buy a few calves and start his own dairy in Mexico. This is when Jose got the nickname Yoki. His older brothers used to call him “Little Joey” but after moving to Mexico, the kids there had a hard time saying Joey – it came out more like Yoki – and the name stuck. Later, when their father sold the dairy in 1968, the family started trucking. Once the boys were old enough, their dad gave each of them a truck to start their own business – nothing fancy, just some small GMC and White dump trucks, but they made the best of it.
Today, not only do Yoki and Daniel run the hardware store together, but they also own two trucks. These trucks are primarily used to pickup and deliver the building materials for their store, but lately they have also started hauling loads for other people, too. Presently, Robert drives a dump truck for another company, but he does own a few trucks that are parked, waiting for the economy to improve and the price of fuel to come down. Daniel currently drives locally for a fish company based in San Diego. All of the brothers are married and have children, but, so far, Robert is the only grandfather.
The two big trucks that SAMASA own and operate are both Peterbilts – one is very clean but pretty much stock, while the other is the truck featured on our cover/centerfold this month and on these pages here. This truck looks simple, but much has been done to it by Yoki. The truck is a 1995 Peterbilt 379 with a 435 horsepower Series 60 Detroit, 13-speed transmission and rear-ends that are geared to run. The truck was purchased used about five years ago and has been a “work in progress” ever since. The rig is driven every day, hauling building materials like lumber and sheet rock on a flatbed trailer, between Los Angeles and Tijuana.
In the beginning, the truck was very short, so Yoki immediately stretched the frame three feet. From there the real modifications began. Wanting the truck to have an “old school” look, Yoki decided to give it a butterfly hood so he cut the original hood in half, right down the middle, and then again down each side. While the pieces were still apart, he cut two rows of louvers in each side panel. He then installed piano hinges at each cut location and then designed and installed an air-operated system to open and close each side, individually, at the push of a button in the cab. The hood can still be rolled over and opened normally, so when Yoki is not at a show (or showing off), he bolts the butterfly portion closed to keep it from vibrating.
To hide the piano hinges on the sides of his revamped hood, he found six full sets of chrome exterior trim pieces for a 1956 Chevy and then mounted them, from the front of the truck to the back, in a way that not only hid the hinges but created a nice sweeping design on the truck. The entire truck was already Plum Metallic (it was the original color) so he left it that way above the trim, but painted everything below the trim Black with Violet Purple Metallic – which is pretty darn close to Black unless the sun is shining on it.
Once the hood was complete, he continued to work up front. Purchasing a set of original headlights from a 1939 Chevy at an old car swap meet, Yoki mounted them on handmade Double JJ look-a-like brackets. He liked the look of the Double JJ brackets, but he wanted his to bend a little different, so he took the factory brackets and, using flat sheets of aluminum, fabricated new brackets around the original ones. The end result looks like a piece of cast or billet aluminum, but they are actually hollow. He then cut and modified his factory fender brackets and fitted them with blinkers (which are lights off a 1973 Volkswagen) and then added an 18” bumper, custom fiberglass fenders with an extra large lip around the edge, a couple extra grille bars and a custom visor. He also removed the horns from the roof and added two extra cab lights.
Looking down the sides of the truck, you’ll find a bevy of custom features there as well. Yoki removed the straps from his air cleaners and chopped the screens, installed custom stainless cab and sleeper extensions, stainless tank and step fairings, and custom tool box covers with old-style square Peterbilt emblems as step pads. He also switched the mirrors (right to left and vice versa) and then mounted them upside down to get them to sit lower. All of the handles were shaved and the doors were converted to suicide style, but Yoki did it a little differently than most. Since both of the doors are the same on the bottom, Yoki cut them in half just under the window sills, switched the bottoms (right to left and vice versa), and then welded them back together. He then cleaned up the door jambs and trimmed them with polished aluminum strips to hide all of the old latch holes. Yoki did most of this work himself, but he did get some help from his friend Alfonso Garcia and Ezekiel Sanchez of Chucky Cromos in Tijuana.
Moving to the back of the truck, you’ll find ghost flames painted on his frame rails, as well as a polished Merritt headache rack, rear-mounted train horns, bullet-style taillights from a 1959 Cadillac mounted to a modified rear light bar and engraved rims. Yoki carefully sandblasted “SAMASA” and “SANCHEZ” into each of his rear aluminum wheels, which are also fitted with wire wheel inserts. Under the hood, every aluminum piece has been polished, and many parts have been chrome plated or painted. Alfonso helped Yoki air bag the entire truck, and fabricated all of the brackets. These brackets, as well as all of the brake chambers and the driveshaft, have been chrome plated. Yoki also notched out the inside of the frame rails near the rear axles to allow the truck to drop a little lower when the air is released (that’s an old trick from the lowriders and the hot rodders). The interior features a custom floor console for his CB radio and stereo,
swivel seat bases and a cool custom steering column cover. Yoki also shortened the headrests on his seats before having the entire interior redone in plush suede.
This purple Pete is not Yoki’s first creation. Back in the 1990s, he built a Teal Blue 1983 Kenworth called “T.J. Flames” which dominated the show circuit for many years. Adorned with Yellow and Orange flames across the hood, a hydraulic system that opened the hood by sliding it forward before lifting it up, neon lights and special order 8” stacks, this truck was way ahead of its time. Yoki and his brothers also built a drag race truck a few years back. The “Golden Nugget” started out as a regular 1947 Kenworth, but by the time Yoki was finished, it was a lean, mean, racing machine. Powered by a juiced-up Detroit 8V92 with twin Holset turbochargers and a nitrous oxide system, the truck had over 800 horsepower and could reach speeds of 110 mph in the quarter mile. But the Sanchez brothers don’t just build trucks – they like old cars, too.
Yoki is the proud owner of a 1914 Dodge Bros. T-bucket hot rod. Like all of his creations, this Turquoise-colored car is heavily modified and unbelievable. Sporting a Big Block 302 V8, modified steel fenders, a stretched cab and hood, chrome suspension and air bags all around, this old classic can really get up and go – and turn a lot of heads in the process. Not to be outdone by their baby brother, Daniel has a 1928 Dodge Bros. 4-door sedan, David has a 1950 Mercury, and Robert has a 1947 Plymouth lowrider, as well as a big, black 1959 Cadillac convertible.
Yoki doesn’t get to drive his trucks much anymore – he spends most of his time at the hardware store and dispatching. Jose “Toro” Dueñas is the lucky driver that gets to run this cool rig every day. Yoki wanted to thank his polisher Nene for all his help (he is one of the best polishers around, and he does everything by hand), but he mostly wanted to thank his family for all their love, help and support. Yoki and his wife Myrna have been married for 18 years and have three boys – Juan Manuel (15), Juan Bernardo (10) and Juan Antonio (8). Yoki’s family makes all of the hard work worthwhile.
Coming off recent wins at two big truck shows in Mexico, SAMASA’s Peterbilt is destined to win many more trophies. But even more amazing, it is destined to haul many more loads and run many more miles, because this ain’t no show truck – it’s a work truck. “Doin’ it T.J. Style” may just be an amusing phrase to most people, but to these proud brothers, it means everything.