1996 Chevy Tahoe

Truck shows will warp your mind and change your life. Before you know it, you can shave a body panel, mold carbon-fiber, and spot a set of 20s from 300 feet away. Marc Ballard of Mesa, Arizona, is just like the rest of us when it comes to passion and enthusiasm. What sets him apart is his kick-ass ride. Many of us have dreamed about a truck as cool as Marc’s ’96 Chevy Tahoe, but very few of us can actually put one together. His Tahoe used to be a boring mom mobile, but he managed to transform it into a stunner in less that two years. His reasons? Just because.

Marc’s Tahoe had to be low. Were not talking drop spindles and cut coils low, were talking about raising the floorboards, bridging, and bagging. Trevco Design and fabrication in Mesa, Arizona, fulfilled Marc’s lowered demands by adding a set of four 2600-pound Firestone Airbags with six air compressors, four electric air valves, and 1/2-inch lines throughout. The frame was bridged and C-notched and the floorboards were raised a whopping 5 inches. Marc took out the fenderwells in order to tuck the rims. To make more room underneath, a ’98 two-door two-wheel-drive gas tank was swapped in, and the shocks were mounted to the rear of the axle. A four-link with Chrome dbars and bolts. It’s low enough to squash ants.

When it came time to modify the exterior, Marc knew exactly how he wanted it to look. It had to be clean, eye-grabbing, and smooth as a stripper. The first thing that went on was the ’01 Cadillac front clip and Caddy taillights.

A Trenz Billet grille was stuffed in front, along with an ’01 GMC truck bumper to give it a super custom and cool appearance. It still didn't look clean enough for Marc,though, so he shaved off the door handles, the roof rack, the third taillights, the antenna, and the ten holes in each Cadillac fender. He also added a suicide gas door for that custom touch.

The front clear corner lights were specially made to eliminate the ugly orange glare. And because every luxury ride has to have a sunroof for the honeys to hang out of, Marc installed a Black Sliding custom-fit 40-inch by 81-inch ragtop, with matching headliner inside the interior, from Street Beat. The ’01 Volkswagen Techno Blue PPG paint was sprayed on before the the 20-inch Alba Blades, wrapped in Pirelli P Zero 255/35R20 rubbers, were slapped on.

The interior of Marc’s Tahoe contains a set of super comfy and pleasantly smelly leather seats. The door panels are wrapped in vinyl with a tribal design, and the inside door handles are chromed. Along with the custom console, a custom-molded carbon-fiber dash with a Trenz billet gauge cluster makes his innards one of a kind. The Alien steering wheel is from Billet Specialties and has a carbon-fiber half wrap. A custom center console houses a 9-inch TV, a VCR, and a DVD unit. But the real treat is the sound system. The tunes come from a Pioneer 800R deck with two sets of Polk Audio mids and tweets hooked up to four JL Audio W6 12-inch subs and powered by four Alpine amps. It will give you a blasting like you've never experienced.

The 5.7L Vortec V8 is all chromed out thanks to Pete’s Custom Metal & Finishing in Phoenix, Arizona. All of the Empire Motorsport billet accessories, hood latches, engine latches, and brackets were dipped in shine along with the computer, the brake booster, and the master cylinder. The intake tube was custom fabricated and performs as good as it looks. Marc's Tahoe is a shining example of good looks and originality. Sport Truck magazine would like to do some further research along with a test drive. So Marc, if you're reading this, please drop the keys off at our office immediately and we'll get it back to you… eventually.