Custom 2000 Chevy Silverado - Migraine

When Paul Martinez set out to build his truck, he wanted to build a truck that people noticed -- that is, he wanted them to notice it from about 3 miles away. Take one look inside the cab and you'll understand exactly what we mean. Every square inch of Paul's interior is stuffed with subs, amps, and video equipment that will literally make your head hurt worse than a St. Patrick's Day hangover.

The interior was created thanks to a combined effort between Xtreme Designs in Pasadena, California, and AS Kustoms of La Habra, California. Xtreme Designs removed the entire interior and began wrapping it in tweed. Billet A/C knobs, light controls, and BAD Hellfire steering wheel were used to accent the interior. A combination of blue and gray tweed was used on the seats, doors, and headliner, while the dash was wrapped in a uniform blue. The bed was also wrapped in tweed and incorporates a tribal design, which was stitched throughout the rear. AS Kustoms took on the daunting task of installing an entire warehouse worth of Audiobahn, Alpine, Accele, and Nesa products within the cab, which is surrounded by tweed and fiberglass. A PlayStation 2 feeds the video signal to monitors in the pillars, doors, visors, and dash. Each of the windows, with the exception of the windshield, was treated to limo tint to protect the interior by Xtreme Tint in Whittier, California.

To get his '00 Silverado to lay on the ground, Paul took it to Richard of Best Customs in Covina, California. Richard replaced the control arms with DJM drop pocket control arms and installed Firestone 'bags in place of the stock springs. Half-inch air line was then run to SMC valves and four 5-gallon tanks, which are mounted in the bed. A C-notch was welded over the rear framerails, and a set of Firestone 'bags was mounted to the rear axle to allow the truck to lay out. Replacing the factory rollers is a set of 22-inch Monaco wheels encased in Goodyear 30-series rubber.

Now that his truck was nice and low, Paul focused his attention on the exterior. With the help of Insane Flames in Azusa, the door handles, filler door, tailgate handle, and mirrors were all shaved. The rear taillights were shaved and a set of Cadillac taillights was set in their place. An AIM roll pan was molded in the rear and the license plate was relocated to the tailgate. Once the truck was blocked and primed, it was shot using PPG Jet Black, then a set of tribal flames was laid out on the hood, tailgate, and sides of the truck.

To give the flames a unique look, a marbleizing technique was used. First a charcoal basecoat was sprayed within the flames and allowed to dry. Then, to ensure it dried slowly, a diluted solution of PPG Silver was sprayed over the basecoat and saran wrap was applied and peeled off the silver, giving it a textured look. The edges of the flames were then highlighted with PPG Blue Pearl. A Gaylord's tonneau cover was painted to match and installed over the bedrails.

A few upgrades were made to help the fuel-injected 4.8L cruise down the highway a little faster. The stock throttle body was spaced out using a JET Powr-Flo throttle body spacer, and the stock tune was improved with a JET Power Module. To give the truck a deeper growl, a Gibson stainless-steel super truck exhaust was hung beneath the Silverado.

Up front, a set of Matrix Projection headlights was installed along with Trenz upper and lower billet grilles. The roof was measured and fit for a sliding ragtop by Advanced Specialties in La Habra. In place of the shaved side mirrors, a set of Pro1 motorcycle mirrors was installed for a little extra styling.

Some trucks are known for their high-horsepower motors, but there's no doubt that this truck will be known for its high-horsepower sound system. Paul knows that without his friends, family, club, girlfriend, and sponsors, his dream truck would never have happened, and he'd like to send a special thanks to everyone involved.

Watts That Sound?

Clocking in at nearly 10,000 watts is the monster sound system that is caged within Paul's '00 Silverado. A boatload of Audiobahn speaker components were used, including six 15-inch subs behind the seats, three sets of 6.5-inch speakers set into the doors and center console, along with an additional set mounted in the headliner. Below the custom center console are two Audiobahn horn drivers that round out the highs. Five Audiobahn high-output amps and a 10-farad capacitor ensure that plenty of power is driving the speakers at all times. An Alpine head unit and DVD player were installed in the custom console, and the video signal is piped to two 15-inch Nesa LCDs in the doors, a 10-inch Nesa LCD in the dash, 6.5-inch Audiobahn LCDs in each visor, and two 5-inch Accele LCDs in the pillars.