Owner: Brian Hughes
Ride: '02 Chevry S-10
Location: Sausalito, California
Brian Hughes has been through the mill more than once while attempting to build his own version of the perfect S-10. When he decided that he wanted a truly custom mini-truck, he went for it with gusto. Brian soon found himself a shop that said it could do all the work, and trusted the crew to build the truck he had in mind.
After months of waiting, Brian visited the shop to find that some of the bodywork had been done and the base had been sprayed, but some serious demolition had been done with no completion in sight. He promptly pulled the truck out of that shop and tried to find a backup plan to turn his truck around. He had a deadline, though, since his truck was slated to sit in Mondera Wheels' booth at the 2003 SEMA show. He had a ton to accomplish and very little time to get it all done.
Since Brian knew he'd only be able to trust his friends, he looked to them to help get the truck moving forward again. The shop had left his truck a total mess, and he needed serious help turning it into something resembling a show ride. Using Air Ride Technologies' shockwaves up front, along with a pair of Belltech dropped spindles, the forward suspension was completely rebuilt. The rear was equipped with an Air Ride Technologies four-link setup and airbags, and the whole system was plumbed. Brian and his friend Tim Ardam spent 24 hours straight in Brian's garage and had the whole suspension ready to go.
Over the next few months, Brian kept working on various parts of his truck himself, sending out a few pieces here and there to keep the buildup process moving ahead. The truck was reassembled, and the work continued on the driver-side Lamborghini-style door, which had given the original shop nightmares and was providing Brian with plenty of headaches as well. In an unexpected short amount of time, the truck began to look a lot better than when Brian had rescued it from the shop. He soon found, however, that he had another serious problem on hand. When he left the truck at the shop, the dash was supposed to have been custom-built - of course, it wasn't. Brian has a good friend in Fernando Monreal: Fernando flew out to Brian's house just to finish the interior work on the S-10, including the dash. Once the dash was complete, everything that had been 'glassed or custom-made was sprayed to match the exterior of the truck using House of Kolor's Limetime Pearl.
Then, just before Brian was supposed to leave for the SEMA show, the unthinkable happened: Someone broke into the S-10 after the truck was impounded by the police for a list of "illegal" items, and tore the interior to shreds. This left almost no time for error since the show was right around the corner. In four days, just before he drove from Northern California to Las Vegas, most of the interior was re-done. We're still not sure how Brian made it that whole way without tripping out on the fumes from the freshly painted interior panels. In any case, he managed to get the truck done and safely to Las Vegas, where we promptly grabbed him and forced him into letting us shoot it for Mini Truckin'.
The Lowdown
Wheels/Tires 20x8.5-inch Mondera wheels with 245/35ZR20 Toyo tires
Suspension Airbagged using Air Ride Technologies shockwaves up front / Air Ride Technologies air springs and four-link in the rear / the truck's suspension was started and finished in 24 hours in Brian's garage at home using jackstands
Chassis Cross-drilled Power Stop brake rotors up front
Body Modifications '03 Trailblazer headlights / modified front fenders for Trailblazer conversion / custom Honda Civic front bumper cover / Lamborghini-style swinging driver door / suicide passenger door / frenched Cadillac taillights / shaved stock taillights / shaved door handles / smoothed steel roll pan / shaved third brake light / frenched and angled license plate box / custom rear bumper
Paint/Graphics House of Kolor Limetime Pearl base with silver and gold flames
Interior Fiberglass dash, center console, door panels, kick panels, and armrests / custom-upholstered seating using vinyl and suede with black carpeting / all interior work performed by Auto Glass Masters in Chicago / Billet Specialties polish-aluminum steering wheel / three nitrous tanks are installed under the tonneau cover, as well as a 10-gallon aquarium
Stereo/Electronics PlayStation2 game console / Sharp video screen / Eclipse head unit / JL Audio 30014 and 10001 amplifiers push six Polk Audio MM124 subwoofers in the cab housed in a six-chamber enclosure made from MDF and built by Fernando Monreal and the owner / Polk Audio separates installed in the door panels and dash / Bryan Hughes and Tim Arda performed all the wiring and general installation in Chicago
Engine/Performance Stage III Power Programmer / custom 2-1/2-inch exhaust sans mufflers
Special Thanks Those who supported Brian while he was trying to get his truck ready to represent at the 2003 SEMA show in Las Vegas, especially Paul DiComo and Cal Kuo / if it weren't for Fernando flying out to work with Brian on his dash, the truck would never have made it to SEMA