Although Mike Rovansek's truck is clean, he first got into custom vehicles by watching Dr. Dre's music video for "Let Me Ride" in the early '90s. That particular video made several fans out of these cruisers because it showed the many aspects of the lowriders. Though there were many clips of various cars, the main focus was on Dr. Dre as he three-wheeled his '64 Chevy Impala down Los Angeles' Crenshaw Boulevard. The combination of a clean older car with the capabilities of an adjustable suspension gave Mike the urge to build such a vehicle for himself. His choice of vehicle was a '61 Impala, but with those cars fetching such high prices nowadays, he settled for a more reasonable '82 Buick Regal. He started working on the car in his personal garage and along the way picked up jobs helping others do the same. This led Mike to owning his own shop and going to shows to help promote his work.
While going to lowrider shows, Mike caught on to trucks by seeing minis with adjustable suspensions and tilt beds. The idea popped into his head to build a custom truck to drive and double it as a tow pig for his immaculate lowrider. Mike found the perfect project truck, this '92 Chevy dualie with 30,000 miles on a newly swapped-in 454 Chevy big-block. After money was exchanged for the truck, Mike started making plans on what to do first on the big hauler. He found out a friend of his was trading in a similar truck with a lowered suspension to a dealership. Because dealers would rather have a stock used vehicle that they can put a warranty on, the two of them made a deal to swap the stock suspension for the aftermarket stuff. One year later, Mike decided he needed the truck to go even lower with the use of components from Air Ride Technologies.
Though Mike is into lowriders, he isn't into wacky non-flowing body mods or wild paintjobs that can be found on certain tricked-out cars. He digs cleaner luxury styling on the inside and outside, like what you might find in a Cadillac. To keep cost down, an Escalade front clip and '00 GMC truck bumpers on the truck were salvaged from a local body shop by his brother, Nick. Then, to stylize the rear in similar fashion, the taillights were shaved, and a set of white LED '92 Caddy lights were installed. The tailgate was brought up to par with a shaved handle and a newer Caddy emblem that contains a back-up camera in place of the keyhole. Other major body mods that set this truck off include a tilt-forward hood and suicide rear doors. To finish these mods in paint, Mike's friend, Troy Lukins, made a contribution by coating the entire truck in a pearl white for a classier look.
Since the body was immaculate, Mike did the same on the inside by covering every panel in tan leather and suede. Other additions include an overhead console and miscellaneous billet pieces placed on the dash. Meanwhile, all the speakers were replaced, and three 12-inch subwoofers were added. A DVD player was also placed in the cupholder tray and is viewable through the many monitors placed throughout. If that wasn't enough, a PlayStation 2, a TV tuner, and a VCR were installed, just in case there aren't any good DVDs on hand.
The cool thing about this dualie is how well all the many modifications were thought out. All the little details work together in making this truck really tasteful. Though there are many of these body-style trucks with Caddy mods like this one, Mike's version makes for an overall unique custom. The icing on cake is that this beast is set to tow, and you wouldn't be able to tell if you saw it at a show.