Michael "Guppy" Engberg bought this truck two years ago from Direct Autosports in Orange County, California. The truck was basically done and was used to feature new wheels for Jesse James at the SEMA Show. It was already 'bagged, stretched for the 6-footlong bed, and coated in suede paint. The truck looked good-good enough to please Michael's son, Arick, aka Li'l Gup. Even at a young age,Li'l Gup had an eye for cool, and after seeing the excitement in his kid's eyes, Big Guppy knew what he had to do-buy it. Michael owned the truck for about a year, and in that time, he enjoyed driving his son to shows and hanging out. One night on a back country road, something horrible happened. A 45-pound raccoon wandered its fat butt out on the road, causing Michael to swerve right into a guard rail.The guard rail kept Michael on the road but tore through the sheetmetal like a can opener. This accident was the inspiration to rebuild, this time with some personal style.
The rebuild started by fixing the big gash in the side of the truck.Some new sheetmetal and a bunch of bodywork got that straightened out.While Michael was fixing that stuff, he decided to shave the handles and a few other things. Once he completed the bodywork, good friend Mike Koil was enlisted to lay down the black, silver,and Diamont Candy Apple Red paint scheme. While the paint was still wet, Michael moved on to fixing some of the bugs in the air suspension system. Basically, he gutted the whole system and re-plumbed it with new lines and valves. The lower arms were narrowed 1/2 inch on each side to remove some of the negative camber the truck had when it was laid out. A SuicideDoor's gas tank crossmember was used to raise the tank above the scrub line and keep it safe from dragging. The old compressors were swapped out for two Air-Zenith units, and a set of water traps was installed to keep the system functioning well. The last little bit of personalization Michael performed was the rolling stock. He picked up a set of Billet Accessories Direct (BAD) Wraith rims, 20s for the front and big ol' 22s for the back. Heck, he even got the matching steering wheel to go along with them.
The interior of the truck was already done by Revo and the crew at Stitchcraft Custom Interiors. It didn't really need much, but Michael decided to install a 23-inch-tall shifter from Lokar to complement the retro feel brought on by the shiny red, flaked vinyl. Now that the truck is back on the road, Michael is very pleased to say, "That's my ride." He still takes his son to every show he attends, and that is what keeps him motivated. Motivated to do what, you might ask? Well, he's inspired to build another truck, but this time it's going to be a C10 with big wheels and an even bigger motor.