OWNER: Tyler Christensen
RIDE: '96 Chevy S-10
LOCATION: North Ogden, Utah
CLUB: Severed Ties
Roughly four years ago, Tyler Christensen of North Ogden, Utah, decided he was going to push himself to the limit; he wanted to see just what it would take to build one of the cleanest S-Dimes in the West. His inspiration came from one of his buddies' brothers, who was rolling a bagged mini and was getting tons of attention and admiration. It seemed like a lot of fun to Tyler, so he decided to go all out on his first build.
Along the way Tyler learned a lot, made new friends, and joined one of the nation's most recognized clubs, Severed Ties. He also managed to get quite a reputation on his block.
"Anytime we did any kind of metalwork," Tyler says, "our neighbors always started talking about Orange County Choppers, Jesse James, and how much money we could make doing the same thing. It was great."
Since Tyler did most of the work to the truck himself, it's easy to see why the neighbors would wonder what was going on all the time.
"One thing most people always found funny was how my dash was made," Tyler says. "My brother and I noticed a telephone pole at the end of the street that was the perfect diameter for the dash, so we bent the metal around the pole. People driving by always laughed at the two guys hugging the pole."
Tyler tell us that the best part on his build is all the attention the truck gets. "Putting the truck back together after the frame-off build went very slow," Tyler says. "I thought it would never get done. So, finally accomplishing it after a back- and front-window disaster was awesome."
Considering it was his first attempt, we would have to say that it looks like it went back together perfectly.
Tyler's biggest accomplishment, however, came thanks to the Utah Highway Patrol. He got a fix-it ticket and fought it in the court system for four months. After jumping through a ton of hoops, he can now proudly say that he has the only street-legal air-bagged truck in Utah. Now that's one crazy accomplishment. Can you send us the name of your lawyer? We think we can keep his firm busy for years to come.
The Lowdown
Rolling Attire
Wheels front/rear: 18-inch Lexani Krystals
Tires front/rear: 235/40R18 Falkens
Chassis Modifications
Suspension type: Air
Front suspension: SuicideDoors front cups w/Slam Specialties bags
Rear suspension: SuicideDoors flame bridge kit w/slams in the rear
Airbag/cylinder type and size: Front - RS-62s Slam; Rear - RS-72s
Control arms: Stock and painted candy red
Spindles/springs: Belltech 2-inch drop powdercoated silver
Shocks: Factory rechromed
Valves: SMC 1/2-inch fills, 3/8-inch dumps
Compressor(s): Big massive Yorks-oh yeah, baby!
Air line: 1/2-inch
Air accessories: KP gauges
Frame mods: C-notched and four-linked
Frame material: Umm, metal
Gas tank: Raised and painted candy red
Brakes: Candy-red painted calipers
Detail work: Frame, powdercoated silver; all suspension painted candy red
Misc.: Anything that bolts on was either painted or powdercoated
Performed by: Owner
City/State: North Ogden, Utah
Body Modifications
Shaved: Handmade 2-inch cowl, antenna, door handles, cab seams, gas door, full skin, smooth sheetmetal bed, smoother inner fenders and smoothed firewall
Frenched: Rear license plate and caddy taillights
Body dropped: 3 inches
Front end: '98 GMC Sonoma
Back end: Full skin
Taillights: Caddy tails
Suicide doors: Suicide Doors kit with bear-claw latches
Exterior bolt-ons: Billet grille, Street Scene mirrors
Misc.: LED side markers, third brake light smoothed to match the paint, relocated gas door to the inside of the bed
Performed by: Owner and Accident Pros Inc
City/State: Brigham City, Utah
Paint
Brand and colors: R-M Corrizma Candy Apple Red over a gold base; R-M Silver for the flames
Style: Traditional long skinny flames
Pinstriping: Gold around red flames and purple around the silver flames
Airbrushing: Drop shadows and skulls on dash
Misc.: 70 hours in masking, shadowing, and all 100 flame licks
Performed by: Owner and Accident Pros Inc.
City/State: Brigham City, Utah
Interior
Seats: Pontiac Sunfire seats
Material: Gray and red tweed by Alex upholstery in Brigham City, Utah
Dash: Handmade sheetmetal dash painted to match exterior
Door panels: Handmade fiberglass accents and speaker pods
Center console: Handmade out of sheetmetal molded to dash
Flooring: Gray tweed
Headliner: Smooth with gray tweed
Gauges: Auto Meter Platinum-series gauges
Misc: Flaming River polished column, Colorado Customs steering wheel, billet foot pedals, billet shifter, Lokar handles, billet window cranks, billet rearview mirror
Performed by: TC Fabrication
City/State: North Ogden, Utah
Stereo
Head unit: Alpine
Mids & highs: Clarion 6.5-inch components
Amplifier for mids & highs: Rockford Fosgate T4004 four-channel
Subwoofers: Rockford Fosgate 10-inch P-3 DVC
Amplifier for subwoofers: Rockford Fosgate T4004
Wiring/accessories: Four-gauge Rockford wire
Custom fabrication: Custom-made speaker box, custom-made speaker pods in the doors
Performed by: Owner
City/State: North Ogden, Utah
Engine/Performance
Intake: Custom-made polished aluminum
Rear-end type: Custom-made painted red
Battery: Optima
Inner fenders: Smoothed and painted
Detail work: Firewall shaved and painted, Severed Ties hood
Misc.: Powdercoated pulleys, billet caps, billet master cylinder
Performed by: Owner
City/State: North Ogden, Utah
Special Thanks (by owner)
Extra special thanks to Stan Norman and K.C. Anderson at Accident Pros Inc. They supplied the paint in Brigham City, Utah. Thanks to my brother, Tony Christensen, and Jarred Miller for all their help during the build. Thanks to Steve Cole at Flaming River Corp., and Brady at HiFi Shop for the stereo equipment. Thanks to Alex of Alex Upholstery for the seats and the hood liner. Lastly, thanks to Carrie, my brother's wife for putting up with the loud noises and stinky smells.