When you see Charlie Hutchison Jr. of Manassas, Virginia, rollin' around in his '94 Chevy S-10, you might need to do a triple take to realize you're not stuck in the middle of the African desert on some insane jungle safari. When your mind fades back into reality, you slowly begin to realize what you are looking at is one hell of an off-the-wall paint scheme. If you can't peel your eyes off these pages, then the truck's paint scheme has obviously done its job to grab your peepers in a WWF-style hold. Having already built a mini-truck prior to this, Charlie knew he needed to separate his S-10 from the rest of the very large herd of similar-looking S-10 trucks out there. Check out the lowdown section and the rest of the pictures to see what kind of sick ride this truly is.
| Owner: | Charlie Hutchison Jr. |
| Ride: | ’94 S-10 Extended Cab |
| Hometown: | Manassas, Virginia |
| Club Affiliation: | Exclusive Styles |
The Low Down
Chassis/Suspension To tackle the job of bringing the truck closer to the pavement, Charlie called on Mike Swanigan of Manassas, Virginia, to rework the factory suspension. He began in the front by stripping the factory spindles out and replacing them with a pair of Belltech 3-inch lowered spindles; he then replaced the front springs with a set of Firestone airbags. In the rear, Charlie decided to go with Belltech lowered leaf springs and another pair of Firestone airbags. To soften the ride, he chose to use Belltech Nitro shocks.
Wheels/Tires 17x8-inch Billet Specialties GT48 wrapped in 235/40R17 rubber.
Body Mods When it came time to go over the body of the ride with a fine-toothed comb, Charlie decided he wanted to keep his body mods as simple as possible because he didn't take away from the wild paintjob he had in the works. He contacted Brian Ramey to remove the factory tailgate handle and the huge bumper that stuck out like a second bed. Instead of the bumper, Charlie decided to go with a steel roll pan and have it molded on for extra cleanliness. He then added a cowl-induction hood to make the truck appear more aggressive from the front. He also added a pair of Street Scene mirrors and a Street Scene wiper cowl.
Custom Paint Charlie soon decided his truck was ready to receive a wild paintjob. He enlisted the help of Dean Designs of Manassas to lay down the animalistic scheme you see before your eyes. The company decided to go with House of Kolor products to give the paint scheme its lifelike appearance. After Dean Designs had cracked open uncountable cans of HoK and a coat of sealing was sprayed, the truck was buffed and finished.
Engine/Drivetrain To liven up the appearance of the mostly stock 4.3L V-6 engine, Charlie had numerous pieces chromed and polished to catch the eyes of ongoing spectators. He added some red wire loom and a Red Top Optima battery to tie the outside paint scheme into his engine bay. He then added a 2-1/4-inch Flowmaster exhaust system to let the truck's exhaust note purr loud and strong.
Interior Craftsmen upholstery in Fairfax, Virginia, is responsible for trying to tame the interior in Charlie's S-10. Malibu-colored tweed was used throughout the interior to give it a clean, uncluttered look. The stock S-10 buckets were the seat of choice for this ride, but the crew chopped the factory headrests off and reupholstered the seats in tweed. Then, various billet pieces throughout the interior were added to bring this simple and clean interior together. In the bed, the crew decided to build a crazy bed kit wrapped in tweed to house the custom-painted air tank and cleanly crafted notch cover.
Owner's Quote "I would like to thank Dean Designs, Craftsmen Upholstery, Exclusive Styles, and my parents for their support."