When your husband is tearing down the streets of Virginia in his custom, frame layin' Blazer, the itch to build your own custom ride comes into play.
For Tania Sabousky of Yorktown, Virginia, this rings true since her husband, Rob, who owns LaydOut Kustoms, was the only one having fun with the truck world. She was getting jealous of everyone dragging their trucks, while she was driving around in a Toyota Celica all riced out. As she told us, "I wanted to throw sparks too, damn it". With a little thought and planning, Tania was thinking about how she could clown her friends. The answer was a slammed Chevy S-10 layin' frame, ready to tear up the pavement and run circles around everybody.
With her Celica trembling in its tuner shoes, it was kicked to the curb to make room in the garage for her newfound love. Having a canvas for her custom ambitions, away she went. Tania wanted to incorporate an old school flare and today's technologies in her design. Once the suspension was layin' over a set of 18 and 20-inch wheels, the sounds that emerged from the garage was something we are all too familiar with. It was the howl of sheetmetal being sliced open by a sawzall. Tania wasn't scared, as the roof of her S-10 became scrap metal with a few strategically place cuts turning it into a permanent convertible. The two-tone orange paintjob along with airbrushed ghost skulls dividing the two colors provides a nice contrast to all of the billet accents found throughout the truck.
It order for Tania to get her truck the way it sits, it took four different S-10 trucks and she put them together in less than two months so she could drag her very own truck and debut it at Scrapefest. LaydOut Kustoms is her husband's shop, where most of the work was done by both of them. She told us that everyone always assumes either the truck belongs to her husband, or that he built it for her. In reality, while he was a big help in building the truck, she performed a lot of the work herself, from hanging the front clip, to the metal work in both the suspension and body. It was Tania's ideas, and her own blood, sweat, and sleepless nights that built her truck.
So, what's next for Tania and her Dime? Plenty, we're sure. She has all of the similar symptoms the rest of us have, including the compulsion to keep redoing her truck, keepin' it one step a head of the boys. How far will she go? Give her time; she just might surprise us-some more.
OWNER: Tania Sabousky
RIDE: '01 Chevy S-10
HOMETOWN: Yorktown, VA
The Lowdown
Rolling Attire
Wheels: Equus 18-inch Chrome EQ208's (Rear) Equus 20-inch chrome EQ208's
Tires: (Front) Nitto NeoGen 215/35/18'5 (Rear) Nitto NeoGen 245/30/20'5
Chassis Modifications
Suspension Front: Belltech 2-inch drop spindles, Firestone 2500-pound 'bags, modified spring perch
Suspension Rear: Suicidedoors.com three-link system, Firestone 2600-pound 'bags
Compressors: Two Viair 480c
Air/hydro accessories: Four 3/8-inch SMC, 7-gallon air tank
Frame mods: step-notch
Misc.: chrome rearend cover, painted rearend and link bars all the air accessories housed under stock bed floor
Performed by: LaydOut Kustoms
Body Modifications
Shaved: Windshield squirters, antenna, mirrors, door handles and locks, gas door, taillights, cab vents, side steps, tailgate handle
Body mods: Sonoma grille shell, headlights, and bumper; FBI billet grille insert, HID low beams, cowl hood by Goodmark, chrome '56 Chevy emblem, fiberglass wiper cowl, FBI skin combo, front steps and filler panels all fully molded to bed, relocated gas door to inside bed, molded AVS retractable license plate in Bulkhead, smoothed seams inside bed and rounded bed corners, molded in caddy tails, roadster-style roof, cut down cab to be even with the bed, custom metal work to blend the exterior into the interior
Bolt-ons: Motorcycle mirrors, Billet Specialties chrome gas door, Billet Specialties billet windshield wipers
Performed by: Cory Niggard at Crazy Paint Studios
Paint
Brand and colors: Glasurit / bright orange, graphite, and burnt orange; two tone, with graphic stripe
Misc.: skulls airbrushed in graphic stripe
Performed by: Tim's Custom Painting and Dave at Dye Art
Interior
Seats: '97 Blazer power seats with seat heaters, wrapped in Katskinz charcoal and orange leather
Door Panels: top half of the door wrapped in custom orange leather
Misc.: Envoy chrome door handles, billet shifter, billet HVAC knobs, Colorado Customs Hancock steering wheel custom wrapped to match, billet rearview, shaved visors, relocated dome light, Billet Specialties pedals, '97 Blazer center console modified to house digital air gauge and switches
Performed by: LaydOut Kustoms
Stereo
Head unit: Clarion touch screen MAX675VD with NAX970 Navigation Unit
Mids and highs: Four sets 6-inch V2 Planet audio components, one set in the doors and one set in Q-Iogic kick panels
Amplifier for mids and highs: Planet Audio Vortex 3002 Sub Amp: Planet Audio Vortex 2250D mono block
Subwoofers: Two 12-inch Planet Audio Big Bangs
Misc.: Custom enclosure and amp rack behind the seats
Performed by: LaydOut Kustoms
Engine/Performance
Intake: AEM Brute Force Intake
Exhaust: Custom made with Flowmaster muffler
Misc.: Optima Battery RedTop, Powermaster alternator
Performed by: LaydOut Kustoms
Special Thanks from Owner
I want to thank my little brother Gary for all the preliminary body work done to the truck to make it a decent daily driver, all the guys that came over and helped out, all hours of the night. Most importantly my husband Rob, who without the truck would never be where it is today. He was not only a source of some inspiration and completely supportive, he also showed me how to do what I didn't know and had the faith in me to let me work on the truck myself, and helped me with what I couldn't do alone.