 Credit for the bodys...  Credit for the bodys shavework and paint goes to Daryl Peveto of Pevetos Custom Paints. This tasteful flame treatment heats up the trucks attitude, as does the other graphics work. |
 Damon Silva nicely dressed...  Damon Silva nicely dressed up the interior with touches of carbon fiber, including the dash pieces and a wheel ring from Grant. The Ram-faced bottle not only adds more character to the cockpit, it sends 150hp shots to the mostly-stock mill. Inside, a healthy sound system consisting of Kicker, Autotek, Eclipse, and Alpine components keeps the drive alive and kicking. |
 This shot illustrates the...  This shot illustrates the work that went into installing the Sedan DeVille taillights. It also illustrates, however, the importance of having insurance against idiotic, uninsured motorists. |
The specs. |
Down by the bayous of southeast Texas, the city of Orange hosts a growing sport truck scene thats as hot as its Gulf Coast blacktop. This is a region where the battle between Ford and Chevy rages and anyone caught between has tended to be overlookedbut not anymore. Not since one of Oranges own, Damon Silva, strolled into the arena with his customized 95 Dodge Ram 1500 has much remained the same in the citys War of Labels. Damons truck made its first appearance in our Nov. 99 Readers Trucks department. We then got a closer look at the Ram during the Texas Heatwave show in Austin, where it earned Second Place in its class. At the show, one thing we noticed about this truck was its drastically altered back: It was injured quite seriously. An uninsured motorist drove into the rear of Damons truck, and the roll pan and the handle-shaved tailgate, which once attracted attention to the hard work spent on tunneling in the Caddy taillights, instantly became an ugly sight of mangled proportions.
Utterly discouraged, Damon packed his things to return home. His dad Nicky, however, encouraged Damon to go on to the show even though the outlook seemed hopeless. Fortunately, there wasnt too much damage, and enough of the Dodge still looked so great it deserved an award.
Even more satisfying than winning the trophy, is the pride the Silvas feel knowing their truck defies the stereotype that other-brand loyalists have tried to place on Dodges. In Damons circle of peers, if you own anything other than a Bow Tie or an Oval, you just might be snubbed. He took this into consideration when he built his truck; he wanted to make sure he wasnt neglected. He had customized just about all the other brands out there, but hed never before been a Mopar man. With this Ram, he wanted to create something different. And although parts can sometimes be hard to find or are outrageously expensive, with the help of friends like Terry Childres of Orange Autobody (where Damon works) and others, Damon found all he was looking for to complete his ride. He did much of the work himself, including achieving the handsome 4/6 drop, which he lifted from 6/8 after dragging a hole in the gas tank.
By building this Dodge, Damon learned it takes a decent amount of money, a lot of time, some trials, and a few errors to create this kind of vehicle. Regardless of popular opinion, Damon is quite satisfied with owning his customized version of the Ram. And as an eye-pleasing example of fresh styling and clean craftsmanship, the product of his work is certainly one worthy to fill our pages.