GIVING AWAY FREE SPORT TRUCKS is fast becoming a tradition around here, and once again, we've partnered up with Stylin' Concepts and DJM Suspension to hook up another freebie for you. Stylin' is one of the largest aftermarket truck and SUV accessory suppliers in the world, and DJM builds some of the best lowering components around. Recently, the companies completed building a fully customized '07 Chevrolet Tahoe. Winning this slick SUV is as easy as visiting a website and filling out an entry form. You don't have to buy a thing. Just click your way to a hot new ride. Entries for the sweepstakes will be accepted between March 13, 2006, and June 12, 2006.
Starting with a bone-stock '07 Chevy Tahoe, the build team added a slew of aftermarket accessories for both hot styling and great performance. Performance accessories include a re-tuned ECU by way of an SLP Performance Tuner, along with an SLP high-performance rocker arm kit and high-flowing intake system, which is fed by a Keystone Ram-Air hood. Exhaust gases are then routed through a stainless steel MagnaFlow exhaust system. A set of 22-inch KMC 820-SS wheels was added to provide a cozy home for the custom Baer six-piston, large rotor brake kit and DJM's newest lowering kit, which includes a set of tubular front control arms and a pair of rear lowering springs.
The interior of the custom Chevy Tahoe not only got the Stylin' treatment, it also received lots of love from the fine folks at Crutchfield, who installed a slammin' stereo system. Navigation, DVD, and chest-thumping subs-this system has it all. And while you're cruising down the street, engine vitals and other unnecessary information, such as your speed, are displayed through a U.S. Speedo Aqua Marine gauge kit. A Lloyd custom floor mat kit provides a soft, plush resting place for your feet.
Corner-cutting performance and a booming stereo aren't the only things listed on this applicant's resume; the DJM/Stylin' Concepts Tahoe has some of the hottest exterior accessories available. First, the whole SUV was covered with a custom graphics job that was designed and installed in-house at the Stylin' Concepts facility in Independence, Ohio. Then, various new items from Street Scene were installed, including its new '07 Tahoe bumper cover, prototype billet fender vents, Cal-Vu sport mirrors, and chrome Speed Grilles in the main grille and bumper cover. More flashy accessories round out the product offering. All Sales supplied the build crew with its new third brake light cover, a chrome gas door, and billet door handles. The hot chrome taillight covers are from Putco, and the ultra-bright LEDs inside the taillights are from Spiderlite.
"Teaming up with the folks at DJM on this project has been a great opportunity for us at Stylin' Concepts," says John Milos, Stylin' Concepts' President. "They have some of the highest quality lowering components out there, and when a new vehicle is released, they are first to market with a really great suspension kit. We've made some good friends, and with their help, we were able to produce a really great project vehicle that shows everyone out there just what Stylin' Concepts and DJM are all about-making trucks look good and go fast!"
Previous Stylin' Concepts' sweepstakes included a custom "04 Chevrolet Silverado, a lifted '05 F-150, a lowered and supercharged '05 Chevy Tahoe, a lowered and supercharged '06 Ford F-150, and a lifted '06 Chevy Colorado.
You can enter the current sweepstakes by visiting www.sporttruck.com or by visiting the Stylin' Concepts' showroom and filling out an entry card. You can also enter by visiting the sweepstakes website at www.stylinconcepts.com/WinTahoe.
TITAN JUNKIES GET TOGETHER AT STILLEN
If you were anywhere near the Orange County area and have a Nissan Titan, then you should have been at Stillen's second annual Titan Day, held on November 11, 2006. A full day of free food, good music, a kick-ass car-crushing demo, and ride and drives with Steve Millen, himself, made this an event to check out. Spectators voted all day for their favorite 2WD and 4WD Titan, and these awards were presented to the owner who received the most votes. There were lots of stock, lifted, blown, and rockcrawling Titans on hand to check out and get ideas for your build.
Robin Stover from Four Wheeler magazine also put on a How to Crush a Car demo for the crowd. The car was a pre-production model that could not be registered or sold, and it was scheduled to be crushed anyway. So, instead of just sending it away, the Stillen crew decided to have some fun. Check out our website, www.sporttruck.com, for more pictures from Titan day.
10 MOST WORTHLESS FACTS
1. The '96 Chevrolet Silverado C/K 1500 pickup was given a 5-star crash safety rating by the NHTSA. To find out how your truck rates, visit: www.nhtsa.gov/NCAP.
2. The first passenger car tires were not black in color, but rather, they were white. Tires changed from white to black only after the Peekskill Chemical Company heeded a customer's request for a darker-colored tire. Later on, it was learned that the darker color actually made the black tires last longer than the white ones.
3. Back in the day, the gas gauge was an option on Henry Ford's Model T, and the gas tank was located under the front seat. There were no gas stations, and you bought gas for the T from the local general store and hauled it to the car in buckets, filling the tank through a funnel.
4. In the United States, there are more than two million miles of paved roadways.
5. No matter where or in what decade you decide to examine roadways of the world, you'll find that the one common ingredient in them is stone.
6. Catwalk models are hot, if you like that skinny crackhead look.
7. Asphalt was not widely used in roadway construction until it covered the Champs-Elysees in Paris, France.
8. A 12-volt electrical system first appeared in the '56 lineup of Ford F-100 pickups.
9. LS-series crate motors come from the factory filled with 5w30 Mobile1 synthetic motor oil.
10. Traditionally, 10mm nuts are found on all Toyota pickup positive battery terminals.
SAY WHAT?
The staff speaks and you listen. It's that simple.
This month's question is:
What was your first truck?
Mike: I didn't buy my first truck until I was 18. Before that, I owned a second-generation Camaro, a CRX, and a Datsun 240Z that were all purchased and modified in the pursuit of going fast. After I graduated high school, I bought a brand-new '94 Toyota that I swore I was going to leave stock. It stayed that way for about three months, and I've been a custom truck junkie ever since.
Galen: My first truck was a '74 Ford Courier that my grandfather bought brand-new. It was given to my dad, who drove it for many years until it was finally my turn to have it. The truck served as my canvas for experience, and it went through a lot. I drove it everywhere, to river runs, shows, down to friends' houses-it didn't matter. And then after 19 years, the motor finally gave up the ghost. I took it to a shop and had nothing but problems, so I had to buy another mode of transportation. Since then, the truck has been done away with. I wish that I still had the truck with the experience that I have now. You never know, I might even try to find the truck and fix it up.
Andy: A '74 Dodge D100, regular cab, shortbed. My dad bought it from a friend of his who had bought it from a CalTrans Auction. It was super-clean, ran well, had an all-black interior, and best of all, had brand-new shiny CalTrans Orange paint! It became known as The Pumpkin. I miss that truck.
Kevin: I still drive the first truck I ever owned. It's my '00 Chevy S-10 that was in the Devious gas tank install and the "Retro-Billy Stylin'" tech article. The classic lines of the S-10 are what got me going into the truck scene. Since the day I got it bone-stock, I knew I was going to take it further than its OE state. At the same time, I love older trucks, and they have given me some ideas of how to build it differently than the rest of the mini-trucks out there. This truck and my passion for photography are the main reasons why I work at Sport Truck.
Calin: My first truck wasn't my first vehicle, but it was my second. I used the money I got from selling my first car, a '64-1/2 Mustang, to buy a '70 Chevrolet Blazer that my dad had. It was a factory two-wheel-drive that was lowered on 15-inch True Spoke wires that were painted turquoise. Yes, they were turquoise, but you have to take into consideration it was 1985. The truck never made it past the primer phase, because a guy pulled up to my work and made an offer to buy it-his wallet was bigger than my need to have it.
Sport Truck SLANG TERM O' THE MONTH
#3,769: sawzall (sz-l) n. This is a slang term used to describe one of our favorite tools, the reciprocating saw. Sawzall is actually the brand name used by Milwaukee Tools Corporation for its own saw. Other companies like Makita, Craftsman, and Black & Decker also manufacture these cool, electric-powered metal destroyers. Sawzalls are great for cutting through sheetmetal, steel plate, aluminum, wood, or almost anything else your destructive mind can conjure up.