Owner: Brad Speir
Ride: '97 Chevy S-10 Extended Cab
Hometown: Celebration, Florida
It seems that everything Brad Speir has experienced in his life has lead him toward building the ultimate custom truck. Brad's father Gary has been wrenching on street rods, various custom cars, and race cars since he was a teenager himself, so Brad has seen more customs come and go in his life than most people can even fathom. At any given time, there was a street rod or other custom taking form in the Speirs' garage. Keep in mind, though, that this isn't a full-blown custom shop. It's simply the family's two-car garage. We think it was Gary Speir's '32 Vicky that finally pushed something in Brad's brain to drive him to create the ultimate mini-truck for himself.
Brad isn't a newcomer to building custom rides. This S-10 is the third ride he's put his hands on during the years he's been involved with the scene. He first worked on a '93 Chevy fullsize truck, which lead him to getting his first mini-truckin' taste with an '89 S-Blazer. Each time he took on a new project, he found that he'd learned more from what he'd already done and was ready to raise the bar on each new vehicle. This all made for a perfect transition to his newest custom -- a second-generation Chevy S-10.
Brad bought his '97 S-10 brand new, stark white, and super clean, but he felt ready from the onset to get crackin' on building something of his own. At first, he was happy to add custom wheels and make a few changes while enjoying his first year or two of ownership. Before long, however, everything that had been bred into him began to boil to the surface, and his beloved new truck was blown into thousands of parts as he started to make the most of his opportunity. What ensued was a five-year-long buildup that engaged all his free time. If you ask Brad, those five years were worth every day of work, sweat, and bloodshed that was put into his attempt to build the finest custom S-10 ever seen.
A full year before Brad rolled his still-incomplete S-10 into the gates at Blood Drag '04, the MT staff knew of this super custom's existence. It wouldn't be until some months later that Brad would call his truck truly finished, but we here at mini-truckin' world headquarters knew that once completed, it would become one of the greatest minis ever built. Now that we've seen what Brad and his father Gary were able to devise and execute, we'd have to agree that this one will be turning heads for years to come. For more information, scour the following pages -- we guarantee you'll be amazed with the fruits of the Speirs' imaginations. Is this truck a perfect 10? We're pretty sure it's about as close as you can get.