Feature Truck
Jason Moreno * Merced, CA
'04 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD
When Jason Moreno bought this '04 Chevy Silverado HD, he had no idea that he would turn it into the monster of a truck you see here. Initially, Jason went to his local Chevy dealership in search of a new truck that would carry loads on occasion. At the time, he had no previous experience customizing vehicles and had no plans on getting serious into the truck scene.
Rolling around in his stock Silverado, Jason was content for a while. But, seeing that one of his friends drives a lifted Chevy and another is a fabricator, it was inevitable that Jason would play with his truck. The funny part about his decision to lift his truck is that Jason did not start with a mild lift that led to the full-custom suspension. Instead, he went from bone-stock to a completely wild build.
Because Jason was attempting to outdo his friend's truck, he started out by giving his own ride some height from a one-off suspension lift. To make this possible, Jason rolled the Chevy to his friend Justin's shop, Modern Finish/Kwik Komponents. There, it was put on the lift and raised over this set of 16.5-inch Weld Racing Super Single II wheels with 39.5-inch-tall Interco Super Swampers. From there, Justin took down some measurements and fabricated a four-link system that gives the truck articulation accompanied by a smooth ride. The linkage and coilovers were made to fit a reinforced Dana 44 front axle that was snagged from a '75 Chevy C10. For the rear, Justin had 16-inch leaf-spring packs made and installed them with a set of custom traction bars.
If you have custom suspension, it is a good idea to finish it off correctly so others can see what is going on. Even though it is easy to rattle-can everything black, it may not help in showcasing the fancy work. Knowing this, Justin unbolted his trick suspension work and had all of the components finished in either a blue powdercoat or chrome. To continue the bright work under the truck, Justin took the frame out from under the body and had it sandblasted clean of the factory undercoating. With the frame stripped down to bare steel, the holes were welded up and certain areas were boxed in. When the frame was clean, Justin sprayed it with factory white paint followed by white satin pearl and then topped with clear.
To make this truck closer to being a full show vehicle, restyling the exterior was a must. Jason decided to clean up the body's look by keeping it real simple. One of the things on the to-do list was a front-end swap to an '05 Chevy Silverado front clip. This new sheetmetal serves the purpose of updating the front-end styling, while a shave job of all the distracting details on the bed cleans up the truck's rear. When it came time to paint all of the body panels, Jason decided to spray them in factory white with a pearl just like how the frame was finished. Also, to match the suspension, the white was broken up with House of Kolor True Blue paint on the upper portion. After the paint dried, Richard Galindo of Cen Cal Creations airbrushed a chrome-like stripe with green pinstriping around it. Richard also got busy striping the tailgate, frame, and the backside of the bumper valance.
Although this truck has a lot of bright work, you should not confuse it for a truck that is all show and no go. That's because the aggressive look of this lifted Chevy is backed up by one mean powerplant that started with the truck's original gas-guzzling 6.0L V-8. Early in the build, it was pulled out and torn down for a rebuild. Jason and Justin then decided to build this motor to separate the truck from the wealth of lifted diesel-powered trucks pumping out black smoke. With the engine torn down to the block, the internals were upgraded for strength, while a set of ported and polished Dart aluminum heads was bolted on along with a Comp Cams camshaft. On top of that, they decided to adapt a super-huge Littlefield 8-71 supercharger with a custom-made intake manifold. This was then followed by an Enderle fuel-injection system and an MSD LS6 ignition. All of these parts were specifically picked out for their ability to handle the volatile methanol fuel. That's right, this truck is fed with pure alcohol.
Having a massive amount of power coming from an engine is one thing, but being able to transfer it to the wheels is another. To help this situation, Jason had a 4,500-stall torque converter installed on the factory Turbo 400 transmission. To turn this factory 2x4 Chevy into a truly functional four-wheel-drive truck, Jason had a bulletproof NP205 transfer case attached behind the transmission. The NP205 is what supplies rotational force to the custom rear and front driveshafts. From there, the front and rearends turn 5.13 gears transferring enough raw power to easily shred these big, knobby tires with a slight press of the accelerator.
With the majority of the truck finished, the interior was the last part to get worked on. As you can see, the factory dash and a few other interior plastics were pulled out for Richard Galindo to coat them in the same True Blue as the exterior. Once back in, the factory cluster was replaced by a set of Auto Meter C2 gauges. Since the truck developed a performance image with the motor and suspension, Jason decided to continue the theme with a quick-release steering wheel and four Kirkey aluminum racing seats. Then, a custom center console was made from round-tube steel to mount the B&M pistol-grip-style shifter.
It's ironic that Jason's initial lack of interest in custom trucks morphed into the ability to build this insane show-stopping Chevy. When he started on this truck, it was his only mode of transportation. Since it needed a lot of time in the shop, Jason eventually bought another truck that now tows this one. We have no doubt that Jason would drive this truck everyday, but unfortunately a newer truck like this with a blown alcohol motor isn't legal to run on the streets of California. Although he admits to taking it out for cruises every now and again, he simply tries to stay under the radar. Eventually, Jason will unleash this truck on the sand dunes of California's coast, but for now he will continue towing it to shows while collecting trophies along the way.
The 411
Engine/Drivetrain:
405-cid LS1 V-8 / Eagle crankshaft, rods, and pistons / Dart ported and polished aluminum heads / Comp Cams camshaft / Littlefield 8-71 supercharger with custom intake manifold / Enderle methanol fuel-injection system with 110 mechanical fuel pump / nitrous oxide injection kit / MSD LS6 ignition system / Optima RedTop battery / Hedman Hedders Down Style Kit with weld-on collectors / B&M pistol-grip-style shifter / Turbo 400 transmission with Hughes 4,500-stall torque converter / NP205 transfer case / custom rear and front driveshaft / Dana 44 front end from '75 Chevy C10 / Motive Gear 5.13 gears in both front and rear ends / Mark Williams axles
BY: Justin McConell at Modern Finish / Kwik Komponents, Merced, California
Rims:
Front & Rear: 16.5x14 Weld Racing Super Single II
Tires:
Front & Rear: 39.5x18x16.5 Interco Super Swamper
Suspension:
Front: Custom four-link with Panhard bar made from chrome-moly / Fox Racing reservoir coilovers with custom mounts / custom sway bar
Rear: Custom 16-inch leaf springs / 6-inch lift block / custom traction bars / Fox racing monotube shocks
Accessories: Custom-made aluminum fuel cells
Chassis: Frame sandblasted, boxed, painted, and pinstriped
BY: Justin McConell / Kwik Komponents / Richard Galindo at Cen Cal Creations, Modesto, California (pinstriping)
Body Mods:
'05 Chevy Silverado front clip with hole cut in the hood for the engine / shaved tailgate handle, AVS rollpan, and taillights / Precision billet grilles / LMC Truck billet grilles in bumper / Cadillac Escalade door handles
BY: Justin McConell / Kwik Komponents
Custom Paint:
Factory white with white satin pearl / House of Kolor True Blue / airbrushed chrome-like trim / green and blue pinstriping
BY: Hugo & Jose Gonzales at Kar Kustoms, Atwater, California (two-tone) / Richard Galindo (pinstriping and airbrush work)
Interior:
Dash smoothed and painted True Blue / Auto Meter C2 gauges / Billet Specialties accelerator pedal / billet trim pieces / custom center console made from round-tube steel / Kirkey aluminum racing seats with custom brackets / suede headliner / Coach upholstery / Speedway quick-release steering wheel
BY: Justin McConell / Kwik Komponents / Richard Galindo (paint)
Audio/Video:
Kenwood Excelon head unit / Kicker mids and highs / two Kicker 15-inch L7 with two 1,000-watt amplifiers
BY: Justin McConell / Kwik Komponents
Special Thanks:
His mom, dad, sister, Justin McConell at Modern Finish, Shane Fresson at T&S Powder Coating & Media Blasting, Steve and Stevie Mora at Mora's Handwash, Tim Roush and Dave Magee at Super Shop, Erick and Bob Borla at Bob's Paint, J.S. and Joel Storey at Merced Custom Cycles, Walt and Eric at Performance Machine, Richard Galindo at Cen Cal Creations, and to all of his friends