Draggin' The Natural State
Ronnie Merritt's '00 Chevy Silverado
Greenbrier, Arkansas
We Say: Ronnie has been working on his truck for about five years, buying parts and doing stuff as he gets the money. His plans for the truck are to shave the door handles and taillights, put in some LEDs, a new two-tone paintjob, and possibly do some more work to the engine. We think Ronnie is just a few minor steps away from a full feature. The truck is still totally killer, and he really deserves to win some of our junk.
The 411
Rims/tires: 22-inch Oasis B1 / 265/35/R22 Nitto 420S
Engine: 5.3L V-8 / AEM cold-air intake / Escalade engine cover smoothed and painted along with all other plastic under the hood
Suspension: 'Bagged with a custom two-link / Slam Specialties RE7 bags / eight 3/8-inch SMC valves / 1/2-inch air line / two 5-gallon tanks / MIC pressure switch / two Viar 480 compressors / two KP dual-needle gauges mounted in A-pillar pod
Body Mods: Shaved tailgate / Sir Michaels rollpan molded in / Escalade door handles inside and out / Street Scene Sport Mirrors / Stull billet grille / chrome Tahoe grille shell with polished billet Bow Tie emblem / Truckmaster Designs front valance / APC clear marker lights / APC euro taillights with french-cut covers / Indigo Blue metallic paint (factory)
Interior: Escalade gauge cluster / Katzkin leather seats in two-tone blue and gray / Budnik Trilogy steering wheel / billet pedals, scuff plates, shifter, heater box cover, and dash pieces / smoothed and painted dash and door pieces
Audio/video: Two 12-inch Kicker Comp subs in Pro box / Kicker 600-watt amp / two Memphis 6-1/2-inch speakers in the doors and 4x6s in the B-pillars / Optima YellowTop battery
What He Wins: Besides the usual Mother's detail products, Mechanix gloves, and ProForm Funnel, we are sending Ronnie a complete redneck outfit from ARP. This includes a sweet hat to protect his noggin and an apron to keep his wife-beaters clean while he wrenches on his ride. We also threw in a mouse pad for inside the house, because you can never have enough gearhead decorations.
Win Some Of Our Cool Swag!Each month here in Sport Truck, the Homegrown Haulers winner will receive a pair of Mechanix Wear gloves, a Mother's detailing package, a Havoc DVD, and some awesome Sport Truck stickers. And to keep it real, we're also tossing in a piece of swag from our trusty old junk drawer! So just how do you win? It's easy. It all starts with you taking a killer photo(s) of your truck and sending that along with all of your information as well as a list of mods done to your truck. High-resolution digital photos are preferred and may improve your chances of winning. But really what it comes down to is if your truck is cool enough to pass our standards (OK, more like if we happen to get a bull's-eye on the dartboard!). So get going! Get out there with your digital cameras, put the settings on high-quality, and start shootin'. Email all of your stuff to calin.head@sorc.com, or send a CD with images via snail mail to: Sport Truck Magazine, Homegrown Haulers, 2400 East Katella Ave., Ste. 1100, Anaheim, CA 92806.
Easley Built
Jamie Easley's '98 Ford F-150
Stephenville, Texas
We Say: Jamie is a student and still finds time and money to mod out his F-150. He has plans to drop the truck a lot more and slap on some custom rollers. He has a set of racing buckets at the upholstery shop right now getting covered in black leather with black suede inserts. Judging by the mods Jamie has already done, we can't wait to see the finished product.
The 411
Rims/tires: Stock
Engine: 4.2L V-6 / five-speed manual trans / Bosch Platinum wires / Denso Iridium spark plugs / custom exhaust / cold-air intake / Stage 1 ACT clutch / Royal Purple fluids
Suspension: 2-inch drop shackles
Body Mods: '03 front clip / Street Scene bumper cover / Lightning-style headlights / clear corners / billet grille / foglights / rollpan / euro taillights
Interior: Some of the interior pieces have been painted metallic silver / 30mm wrench for the shifter
Audio/video: Jensen head unit with 7-inch screen / Memphis Audio 5x7s in the door / rears converted to 6x9 Alphasoniks / Power Acoustik 400-watt amp / two Alphasonik 12-inch subs