It's hard to believe that anyone building vehicles or into the custom automotive scene could ever get tired of it. Somehow, Freddy Loya got tired of building customs and almost joined the other side of the automotive spectrum by working for the highway patrol. He explained that his dad owns a paint shop called Unique Auto Graphics, and Freddy was helping him with van conversions and outdated paint schemes. Over time, Freddy grew bored working with his father and made up his mind to get away from customizing.
A few years earlier, he had purchased a brand-new '00 Chevy Silverado. Since he lives in Texas, it was almost a requirement that he owned a truck. Seeing that his father and everyone else in his neighborhood drove some sort of truck, it was all Freddy knew. So, the Chevy was simply purchased as a commuter vehicle with the capability to haul supplies to his father's shop.
Just before making the final decision to sign up for the state's law enforcement agency, Freddy and a few friends went to the annual Texas Heat Wave show. Once he made it to the event and saw many airbagged trucks laying frame on the ground, it was over for him.He noticed how stylish a truck like his could turn out with a moderate amount of work. Instantly, Freddy found his new niche with super-low and flashy late-model trucks.
Immediately after the show, he made plans to turn the truck into a full show vehicle. The first thing on the list was to 'bag the truck over a set of 20-inch wheels and let it rest firmly on the ground. Then, at his father's shop, he bodyworked the Chevy and prepped it for paint. Freddy also disassembled all of the interior plastics and sanded them smooth for paint. When all of the parts were ready, they were taken into the shop's booth and painted in a bright red, with orange flames on the inside and the outside.
With a little upholstery work, Freddy's truck was complete and taken around to various shows. Because it had a bright color, the truck was photographed for show coverage in all of the magazines. This was a great feat to accomplish, but Freddy was still not satisfied. After seeing the truck in print and being an experienced show participant, he realized he had to up his game by body-dropping the truck over big wheels.
Freddy employed the help of Chris Birtciel to fit the biggest wheels possible while making the rockers hug the pavement. The first step in Chris's process was to raise the frame and replace the centersection with 2x4-inch steel tubing to retain the stock floor of the cab. Then, he measured the spacing up front and figured that he could fit 26-inch wheels. To keep costs down and for better ride quality, Freddy got a set of 24 inch wheels with meaty tires. Then, Chris was able to create a new IFS with a 4-inch-narrower track width. For the back, the rearend was narrowed 6 inches and attached to a triangulated four-link.
Even with all of the mods done to make this truck look stunning and tuck huge wheels, Freddy wanted to sacrifice as little as possible. That's why he left the door handles and kept the air conditioning, even though the blower box had to be modified to make room for the wheels. The truck's only inconvenience is its lack of windshield wipers, which were ditched to create more room under the hood. Besides that small detail, Freddy is proud to drive it on his daily commute to his job. Because he had so much fun building and driving this truck, Freddy has decided to stay in the truck scene, and we're sure he'll produce another killer ride for all of us to marvel at.