"I didn't want to spend too...
"I didn't want to spend too much on wheels and have them take away from the look of the truck." -Jason Logan
Jason Logan is a big truck guy and has learned to build around the limitations of his geographical surroundings. The roads in his town of Falmouth, Kentucky, are very curvy and host an abundance of truck-damaging potholes. Since the streets of his region are terrible to drive on, he adapted his '02 Chevy 2500 HD to handle the situation. It is custom-painted and lifted to avoid any problems while making his way around town. It is a daily driven truck that was clean enough to grace the pages of our July '05 issue.
The Chevy HD satisfied his needs for a lifted truck, but Jason wanted to go low. Since his daily commutes were a little rough, it didn't make too much sense to bring the truck down to a frame-scraping stance. He loved the idea of having a hot-rod-style truck that wasn't insanely low. With such a truck, he could run small, smoothie wheels with big tires to maintain a quality ride on any road.
Of course, most of the mods that Jason had in mind were simple and could be done by him or with help from his friends. Since he went to school and landed himself a job painting vehicles for a living at a collision repair shop, it was easy for him to get some booth time to paint whatever he desired. With the ability to paint just about anything, Jason was able to make his Chevy HD show-worthy with a custom paintjob he sprayed himself. Any new project could easily have full custom paint, as well.
The other perk about working at the repair shop is that it's located in a Chevrolet dealership, and Jason was able to get a killer deal on a new truck for his project. Knowing that, Jason was able to pick out this base model truck with the big 5.3L V-8 and purchase it for less than 15,000 bucks. It is the perfect truck to pass off the hot-rod theme with the big motor and the lightweight standard cab body. Before the truck ever left the dealership, it went right over to the repair shop to have some custom bodywork done.
Jason does not have too much extra change hanging around to be spent on his truck, so during the build he would save up his money, do a mod, and then save up for the next custom thing. While the truck was getting built, it ran into a deer on the road and caused a tremendous amount of damage that almost prompted Jason's insurance company to declare it a total loss. Luckily for Jason, he got the money for the repairs and completely repainted the truck with a new flame job during the reconstruction.
Through time, Jason's truck took form and became stylish, while being still able to roll on the bumpiest of roads. When Jason came upon flat straight roads, he wanted a little more bang for his buck and added a bottle of nitrous oxide for that extra kick in the pants. Eventually, that got him into bracket racing down the quarter-mile, and now he has a fastest time of 13.4 seconds at 106 mph on 109 octane. It's a pretty decent time for a truck like this, and it also makes for a good time at the track for Jason and his friends. Jason built this truck to be quick, reliable, and good-looking. He has accomplished all of those things, while maintaining the truck's practicality, without spending a fortune.
The 411
Owner/hometown:
Jason Logan / Falmouth, Kentucky
Year/make/model:
'04 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
Engine/drivetrain:
5.3L V-8 / 40hp computer race tuning by Westers Custom Tuning / custom intake made from intercooling pipe / Vararam air cleaner / MagnaFlow 3-inch stainless steel muffler / 150-shot Nitrous Express Stage 1 EFI / 4L60 automatic transmission
By: Jason Logan
Rims:
Front: Stockton Wheel 51 Smoothie 16x7-inch with 5.5-inch backspacing
Rear: Stockton Wheel 51 Smoothie 16x8-inch with 6.5-inch backspacing
Tires:
Front: Uniroyal Laredo Cross Country 235/70R16
Rear: Uniroyal Laredo Cross Country 265/70R16
Suspension:
Front: DJM 4-inch lowering control arms / Toxic shocks
Rear: DJM 6-inch lowering flip kit / Toxic shocks
Accessories: N/A
Chassis: DJM C-notch
By: Jason Logan / Chris Cummins of Cummins Auto Center in Berlin, Kentucky
Body Mods:
'05 Chevy HD hood and grille / Trenz billet grille insert / welded on and smoothed Sir Michaels roll pan / shaved door handles, tailgate, and stake bed pockets
By: Jason Logan / Brandon Ogden of Piles Chevrolet Williamstown, Kentucky
Custom Paint:
Sikkens Auto Base Plus Victory Red WA9260 and Galaxy Silver WA519F / orange and red pinstriping
By: Jason Logan / Brandon Bowling of Independence, Kentucky
Interior:
GM stock bench seat with center removed for console / custom-built console by Josh of Audio Unlimited / BAD Gunslinger steering wheel / '02 steering column installed to adapt steering custom wheel / smoothed and painted dash, armrest, and console
By: Jason Logan
Audio/Video:
Eclipse AVX2404 head unit / Eclipse 6.5-inch in door speakers / four 10-inch MTX Thunder 9500 subwoofers / two MTX Thunder 81001 amps / Stinger HPM-series 0-gauge circuit breaker
By: Audio Unlimited of Dry Ridge, Kentucky
Special Thanks:
His mom and dad, his girlfriend Diana Hopkins who would have rather had the money that was spent on the truck, everyone at Piles Chevrolet, Audio Unlimited, and all his friends in Kaotic Designs