A little more than a year ago, Darrell had had enough with others building killer rides, being noticed, and eventually being published in magazines. This time, he would build a ride worthy of making those magazine guys beat down his door. He started with a '91 Chevy S-10 and immediately began to play some serious slice-and-dice with it. Before long, he was laying doors and ready to take on the task of pimping out his ride to match custom talents with anyone, anywhere, anytime. We caught up with Darrell during the last show season in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. He was on a mission from his home in West Virginia to gather up his share of show trophies from the largest gathering of minis anywhere in the United States. Somehow he found time to leave the show and spend a little time with us. By the time we got to see his ride, it was indeed a full custom. From top to bottom, inside and out, Darrell has built one first-generation S-mini to be completely proud of. If this is the rock bottom all of our parents warned us about if we didn't live the way they taught us. That's fine, we like it here.
Suspension
Bullet 2-inch dropped spindles up front coupled with Firestone airbags for suspension adjustability. In the rear, a triangulated four-link was hand-fabbed, replacing the function of the original leaf springs. To make the truck completely adjustable, though, another pair of Firestone air bladders was installed on custom mounts. Darrell performed all suspension modifications.
Wheels/tires
17x7.5-inch Neeper Vader wheels with 205/40R17 BFGoodrich Euro T/A radial tires.
Interior
The dash from a '98 Camaro serves as the centerpiece for Darrell's interior. Seating comes from a Honda Prelude that no longer needed its seating accoutrements. They were covered in light- and dark-gray tweed, and so was the rest of the interior. Alan Norwood in Athens, West Virginia, did all of the interior and upholstery work. Polished billet interior accessories and a Colorado Customs Hancock billet steering wheel top off the custom interior.
Paint & graphics
Chris Sizemore did the final body prep on Darrell's S-10 before he sprayed the whole body using Green and Silver PPG sealed with a Sherwin-Williams clearcoat. When the two-tone base was sprayed, blue flames were strategically laid onto the truck and striped for added accent.
Body mods
Darrell's body dropped his S-10 a total of 5-1/2 inches. In addition to shaving the door handles, the original body lines, the rockers, and the inner bed with custom-bent sheet steel, Darrell used a pair of Buick LeSabre side mirrors, the inner skin from a Grand Cherokee hood for his hoodscoop, and '91 Cadillac taillights.
Chassis/other mods
4x2-inch rounded square tubing was used to build the rear clip of the S-10. The shape of the new clip incorporates the notch that allows Darrell's truck to lay flatter than most on rock bottom.
Owner's quote
"The main guy I'd like to thank is Chris Sizemore. He and his wife Farrah, along with my mom and dad were the ones who helped make this all possible. Farrah, thanks for putting up with Chris being gone so much to help me out. Mom and Dad, thanks for paying the electric bill, cutting, and welding up plenty of electricity. Kenny Franklin, you stayed late on many occasions and helped me a ton getting the details such as the interior and the stereo worked out."