White Lightning... With a Red Stripe
Who: Ronnie and Becky Lee
Where: Amarillo, Texas
What: '81 C10
Ronnie and Becky Lee of Amarillo, Texas, have owned this little jewel since its birth in 1981. Since then, there have been plenty of modifications over the years. Starting with the motor, a blown 468 big-block has been carefully nestled in between the framerails that produces 617 hp at the flywheel and rumbles through a Dynomax exhaust. It is backed by a TH400 transmission, controlled by the B&M Shift Improver Kit that drives the narrowed rearend with 3.73 gears and posi-trac carrier. Sticking the power to the ground is a set of Cragar wheels, wrapped in M/T 33x22x15 rubber. Also, Ronnie shaved the door and tailgate handles, tailgate, and taillights, then covered them in white pearl paint with a red graphic down the side and ghost American Flag painted on the tailgate. The interior sports stylish tweed and Dakota Digital gauges, as well as a JVC stereo system.
What They Win
As the chosen ones for the month of January, Ronnie and Becky Lee will receive a JBA coozie to keep their drinks cold in the Texas heat, a Raybestos T-shirt, and, not to forget the truck, a bottle of Chevron's Purescape gas treatment for the ultimate driving experience.
Big Blue
Who: Aristeidis Maroulis
Where: Belleville, Ontario, Canada
What: '00 Dodge Dakota R/T
Aristeidis Maroulis sends us his e-mail all the way from Canada, showcasing the progress he has made on his '00 Dodge Dakota R/T. He has done a few upgrades but nothing too crazy. For the suspension, Aristeidis lowered it closer to earth with Ground Force's 2-inch drop kit, with everything sitting atop the 20-inch chrome wheels and Hankook tires. To dress up the body, he added a Zenon front air dam, roll pan, stainless steel door and tailgate handles, and billet gas door and grille. To wrap up the inside, he installed a Sony CD/MP3 player, two 8-inch JL Audio subs, a Phoenix Gold amplifier, and XM Radio.
Ice Cool
Who: Lew Baustert
Where: Dover, Delaware
What: '97 Ford F-150
John Garcia has been working on his '97 Ford F-150 for a few years and has built this truck into a trophy collector. The truck's exterior has been dressed up with Tyco Clear headlights and corners, Euro taillights, a billet grille and bumper insert, a polished front valance, a polished fuel door, acetoned emblems, and a Leer 700-Series tonneau cover. To get the truck to stand out a little more from the boring single-color paintjob, a combination of graphics and airbrushing was layed down. Stock rolling attire wasn't good enough either, so a set of 20-inch Bigg Player Bigg Rims, wrapped in Falken STZ04s 275/45R20 rubber, was bolted to the F-150.
Flamed
Who: Jesse Hock
Where: Robinson, Illinois
What: '94 Chevy Cheyenne
Jesse Hock of Robinson, Illinois, started by repainting his '94 Chevy Cheyenne black with custom red and black flames. The truck received a 4-inch drop all the way around, and rolling stock comes in the form of American Racing Vintage 20x8-inch IROC Replica chrome wheels, wrapped by 245/35ZR20 Riken Raptor Tires by Michelin. A CheckMate bedcover is used to protect the carpet kit in the bed, and a custom roll pan with flame taillights smooth out things at the rear. He added a red and black velvet interior, with several billet accessories. Jesse gave the system a little tune-up with the addition of a Pioneer head unit and Boss Audio amps, speakers, and subs.
The Grand Canyon
Who: Boyd Smith
Where: Oak Grove, Kentucky
What: '06 GMC Canyon Crew Cab
Boyd is the proud owner of an '06 GMC Canyon Crew Cab that sports a 2-inch lift to clear the 18-inch Gear Alloy Flywheels wrapped in 285/65R18 Nitto Terra Grapplers. To get those big wheels spinnin', Boyd installed an AEM Brute Force intake with custom setup, an Optima YellowTop battery, gutted first catalytic converter, and a Gibson dual exhaust with the tips exiting under chrome on the rear bumper. He tells us that he's saving up so he can have an LS2 motor stuffed in his truck, along with a 4-inch lift and bigger tires.
Little Red Riding 'Hoe
Who: Cody McKelvy
Where: Plugerville, Texas
What: '00 Chevrolet Tahoe
Cody says he is finally finished with his '00 Tahoe-right. Nobody is ever finished with their ride, because there is always some new product that you will have to have on your ride. Cody says the objective was to have a smooth, clean, and powerful daily driver, and he really feels he has accomplished that. Under the hood, Cody has some serious products from companies such as True Flow, Jet Mass, Jet Power, JBA, Bosch, and Corsa. The truck has been outfitted with a McGaughy's 3/5 drop and rides on 22x10-inch Boyd Coddington Timeless 6 wheels with 285/45R22 Nitto tires. He has also color-matched the front and rear bumpers, door handles, and mirrors. A Street Scene chrome grille shell with chrome speed grille inserts and chrome Bow Tie make the whole package very eye-appealing.