When Richard Galindo decided it was time to get serious about building a custom, he also decided that he wouldn't leave the truck's construction up to a number of shops. He felt that the only way to make sure his ride was built the way he envisioned was to build it himself, in his own garage, just as long as his parents would allow him to use the garage for an extended period of time. That isn't as easy as it sounds, though; especially if you have a dad who's into custom trucks, too.
Richard lives in Merced, California, where there is no shortage of lifted trucks; yet there are very few custom lowered rides, much less full custom lowered trucks. Sure, you'll find a street rod on every other corner, but when Richard bought the S-10 from a friend who was buying a 4x4, he was able to get the truck for cheap. Just about as soon as he'd gotten his hands on it, Richard began reworking the truck's body.
The first thing he did was shave the tailgate. At the time, Richard was still in high school and used magazines to get ideas on what to do to his truck next. Before long, Richard was knee-deep in his first custom-truck buildup. Since Richard had wanted his own custom truck long before he could even legally drive, the buildup of his S-10 was a dream come true. The fact that it was evolving before his eyes, in his own garage, was even more unbelievable to the young would-be custom-truck owner. Soon, his newfound truck was completely shaved and ready for a slick new paintjob that would make his truck stand out and become truly his own.
Before too long, Richard had a very shaved, bright House of Kolor-painted Sunrise Pearl Orange S-10 that would sear eyeballs wherever it went. Richard was more than proud of what he'd accomplished. The truck was outfitted with air ride at all corners, using a KP Components triangulated rear suspension setup, KP Components 'bag cups, Firestone airbags front and rear, a pair of VIAIR 450C compressors, and 7 gallons of on-demand air stored in a pair of air tanks. Nearly everything you see done to the truck was accomplished by a close network of friends and family.
Before Richard could grow a huge ego about what he'd managed to do, however, his bright-orange truck met up with an immobile curb, effectively crushing the rockers from the front to the back of the truck on one side. Rather than see his dreams crushed away with the rockers, Richard chose to dive back into his truck and make it even better than it had been before.
This time, Richard decided that much more was needed to make his truck stand out, and with the help of some of his closest friends, the truck went back into the shop (aka Richard's garage) and was torn apart once again. Along with the repairs needed from the curbing that the truck had received, the doors were unbolted and the doorjambs were reworked to allow the doors to swing suicide-style. On top of the bright-orange paint, Richard laid out his own flames and sprayed them using Planet Green with micro flake, and Candy Lime/Gold sprayed over the top. Thankfully, Richard's friend Anthony was there throughout the buildup process to keep Richard sane, and to help keep the truck on track.
With the new buildup came a slew of new tasks that needed to be completed to change up the truck. Included in this list was a revamping of the interior, which was mostly taken care of by Richard and his friends. Just about everything that was solid was removed, then smoothed and painted House of Kolor Sunrise Pearl Orange to match perfectly with the exterior of the truck. While Richard and his friends were busy with the interior, they sent the fullsize Chevy truck seats out to Isidro's Upholstery in Los Banos, California, for custom work.
The interior was also treated to plenty of custom parts, including a Billet Accessories Direct aluminum steering wheel, various billet parts from Empire, Nu Image flamed gauges, and a new carpet kit from ACC. Once the crew put the seats back, it finished up the installation of the truck's stereo system. Richard takes his tunes pretty seriously, so the truck was equipped with a Pioneer in-dash DVD/CD player, Alpine and Rockford Fosgate speakers, and more than 700 watts of Rockford power to back it all up.
Once this was complete, the new interior was reassembled, and a set of 235ZR4018 Falken GRBFK451 tires were tucked deep into 18-inch Boyd Coddington Nemesis wheels mounted to the truck's corners. Now the truck was ready to leave the garage in search of trophies all over the Southwest. Since the day it rolled out of the garage, the MT staff has seen this truck at every major venue we've been to in Southern California, Nevada, and Arizona. This is proof positive that Richard is 100 percent into the show scene and loves to make the trek from Merced to wherever mini-truckers are gathering to show off their handiwork.