Owner: Jennifer Lacey Ride:...
Owner: Jennifer Lacey
Ride: '91 Chevy S-10
Hometown: Edgewater, Florida
Club Affiliation: Vivid Reality
It's not every day that we get a chance to put a female's ride on the cover. In fact, as you might know, this is the first issue in the history of any custom-truck magazine to ever feature all girls' rides. So we thought it only appropriate to head up the Chicks Special with one of the baddest mini-trucks ever built. You better believe that this mini is one to be reckoned with. If you thought it was embarrassing getting beat by a girl in your old karate class, then you might want to get a hold of Jennifer Lacey's show schedule so you never have the misfortune of going head to head with her on the showfield. Chances are, she will kick your butt there as well, since she is the first girl ever to take home the coveted Best of Show trophy at Showfest in Greenville, Mississippi.
We decided that it would be cooler to hear the story straight from Jenn, so we brought back the infamous MT Cover Truck Interview with both the model and owner of this killer mini.
MT: How did you get involved in this sport?
Jenn: I've loved trucks since I was a kid. This is my first truck and I got it when I was 16. I added new rims and had the truck lowered. At age 19, when I got my first good-paying job, I added an air-ride suspension and became hard-core.
MT: And you met your fianc, Jimmy Graham, somewhere along the way?
Jenn: Yes, before we were together, he did a lot of work for me, 'bagging the truck and accomplishing the 3.5-inch stock-floor body drop. That's how I got to know him.
MT: Now, you and Jimmy work at Scrape-n-Customs in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, where the truck was built. That worked out nicely. Tell us about this latest phase. Obviously, you decided to go all the way with the truck. How did that begin?
Jenn: I am very picky and a clean freak. I said I wanted to take every single piece apart - I wanted everything brand-new, nice, pretty, and clean.
MT: What was the sequence of events for the body mods?
Jenn: It was already 'bagged and body-dropped, so we began by detailing the chassis - tons of chrome, alumi-coating, and paint. Since we were going to use a busy flame job, we eliminated the body lines using steel rod so that we could get a nice clean, smooth look. Then we ditched the roof lines, cowl, antenna, door handles, locks, taillights, and gas door. The roll pan, tailgate, and firewall were smoothed, and the wheeltubs were molded to the firewall and front fenders. All the seams were filled between the doorjambs, rockers, and cab. The truck has suicide doors that open a full 90 degrees and sports a fullsize Chevy bumper, narrowed 12 inches to fit. The rear of the truck has flush-mounted taillights in the shape of flames made from a single red lens fitted into the sheetmetal. Todd Fisher from Volusia County Customs did all the paint and bodywork on the truck. We did the suspension, welding, and fiberglass work.
MT: We've heard that you took an active role in the customizing process of your truck. Tell us more about that.
Jenn: I knew how to weld before I met Jimmy, so I was actually able to do some of the work on the truck myself, and helped out as much as I could during the buildup.
MT: Wow, there's nothing cooler than a girl who can weld! Fill us in on the chassis and suspension work.
Jenn: We used the frame as the reservoir for the air suspension. It holds about 7 gallons of air and two Viair 450s pump it up. Everything on the chassis is molded and painted House of Kolor Pink, except for the upper and lower control arms and custom-made four-link, which are chrome. Four Slam Specialties 'bags, eight nickel-plated GC valves, and stainless-steel air lines complete the air system.
MT: Tell us about the clean stereo setup and the interior.
Jenn: Shane Schlack and Will Russell work here at Scrape-n-Customs and did the install. We used a Pioneer head unit and Audiobahn chromed four-channel amp to power the system. Speakers include the single 10-inch Audiobahn subwoofer between the seats, a set of 5.25-inch components in the kick panels, another set of 6.5-inch components under the dash, and tweets on the A-pillars. Tsunami wire, connectors, and fuse panel finish it up. We wrapped the door panels and the A- and B-pillars with tan leather and ostrich hide. The carpet is Mercedes-Benz tan wool. Tony's Upholstery in Edgewater, Florida, did the seats.
MT: The dash looks totally custom and really adds to the hot-rod look of the interior.
Jenn: It is. Shane did the fiberglass dash, console, and speaker box that were later painted to match the outside of the truck. We used a chrome column topped with a Colorado Customs flamed steering wheel, chrome shifter, shifter knob, rearview mirror, pedals, door handles, and window cranks. The new console contains seven switches, five for the air ride, one for headlights, and one for the windshield wipers. Most of the stuff is hidden for a cleaner look. The gauges are from Auto Meter.
MT: We see a five-speed stick shift. What is it connected to?
Jenn: Under the hood, there is a 2.8L V-6 that we tore completely apart and rebuilt. Michael Schlack did the work, and then we repainted it. We chromed a lot of parts and alumi-plated the rest.
MT: The engine bay is absolutely beautiful.
Jenn: We built inner fender panels using sheetmetal and a bead made from tubing, and then painted everything to match the exterior.
MT: The wheels really add to the overall look of the truck.
Jenn: We chose to run 20x8.5-inch Boyd Coddington chromed Turbines wrapped with 245/35R20 Nitto tires.
MT: And the bed?
Jenn: The air-suspension bridge support with our lighted logo shows through the bed. We rounded the bed sides and relocated the gas filler door, then painted everything to match.
MT: What are the colors?
Jenn: The truck uses House of Kolor Pink with Molly Orange and Chrome Yellow flames with HOK Chameleon Pearl on top of the flames along with HOK Kosmic Klear. The flames go inside the wheelwells, in the doorjambs, on the inside of the door, dash, and core support, and there is a set of floating flames inside the smoothed-out bed. Todd Fisher at Volusia County Customs did the paint and House of Kolor sponsored the material.
MT: How long did it take you to get to this point?
Jenn: Fifteen months of all day, late nights, and weekends. We got a little break once it went off to the painter.
MT: What are the plans for the future?
Jenn: Take good care of it, keep it real nice, and take it to shows. I want to take it everywhere I can and show it off. It took a lot of hard work and now it's the truck's time to shine.
MT: Congratulations on being the first lady on the cover of Mini Truckin' who owns - and helped build - her own truck.
Jenn: Thanks! I would also like to say thanks to Scrape-n-Customs (Jimmy, Shane, and Will), for all of their hard work, as well as the members of Vivid Reality, my friends and my family, Scott George from Daytona Custom Paint, Todd Fisher from Volusia County Customs, Tony from Tony's upholstery, and Michael Schlack for all the motor work. I really want to thank my sponsors, House of Kolor, G/C Valves, and Team Tsunami, who all added so much to the project. Finally, I would like to give an extra special thanks to my fianc Jimmy and my great friend Shane for all their late nights and hard work. I wouldn't have been able to build a truck of this caliber without all of your help.