If the name John Melvin sounds familiar, it's because you may have seen his work before. Just a few months back, John's '03 Silverado SS was on the cover of Sport Truck doing a big-fat, roasty burnout. At the time, John had towed the SS to the shoot with a 500-plus-hp Crew Cab dualie diesel, and he had even brought out his latest project, an '05 Silverado 1/2-ton Crew Cab. Back then, the truck had a black interior and a new paintjob, but it was just missing a little bit of interior detail and it would be done. "I'll get the seats done and call you," John would say, and he kept true to his word.
...he went the extra mile...
...he went the extra mile and airbrushed all of the plastic pieces under the hood silver with a rusted rivet look...
Over the next few months, word of John's truck kept leaking out. The dualie was traded in for an '06 Duramax HD Crew Cab with a tan interior. That truck was going to be John's work truck, and he felt that the tan interior wouldn't last very long. Now he had two Crew Cabs and two different interior colors, so he decided to make the swap and give his orange Crew a little classier look. After he called to say his Katzkin kit was on order, a photo shoot was lined up and things seemed to be moving forward.
Another call came. "Hey, I got a supercharger. I'm going to put it on and get it all handled, then we'll shoot it." Nothing is simple, though, for John. Instead of just slapping the Vortech supercharger in the truck, he went the extra mile and airbrushed all of the plastic pieces under the hood silver with a rusted rivet look to match the iron cross on the hood. Everywhere from the valve covers on up was painted by John at his shop, JM Custom Concepts in Laveen, Arizona. Then, the whole kit, painted up and pretty, was expertly installed by Kevin and Scott at Bartling Motorsports in Queen Creek, Arizona.
It may have taken some time, but in the end, John put out yet another high-quality ride. He tells us that he plans on keeping this one for a bit, and yes, he still has the SS, but there are two more trucks in his fleet that just might be a little too stock for John's taste. Stay tuned.