OWNER: Joey Machado
RIDE: 1991 Chevy S-10 Blazer
HOMETOWN: Ocala, FL
SHOP: Deviant Designs
One of the by-products of owning custom vehicles is the excessive amount of time you spend in custom shops. This was the case for Joey Machado of Ocala, Florida.
At the age of fifteen he picked up his first vehicle and as most kids do, he looked for a way to make it better. Needless to say, he wasn't good at it and began spending money he didn't have on repairs. After watching enough mechanics repairing his vehicles however, he began to develop an interest and started tinkering. As his knowledge increased, he began looking for a project that he could build on his own.
In the parking lot of a local shopping center sat a bone stock 1991 Chevy Blazer. The truck was neglected, the paint was worn and the motor wasn't anything to brag about but the price was just right. Joey spent the next year planning out his attack for his new project and started doing side jobs for his friends, learning as he went. Finally, with enough confidence and experience under his belt, Joey picked up the Sawzall and body-dropped his Blazer. The process took him over a month of nights in the driveway, working hard to do it right the first time.
Always looking for the creative edge, Joey designed and built a one-off air suspension setup, using a 11/2-inch rollcage inside the Blazer as the air reserve. A Viair 550 compressor was mounted underneath the Chevy with SMC valves activating the Slam Specialties RE7 'bags.
Once the truck could go up and down effectively, Joey turned his attention to the body. The fading paint was completely stripped. Steel patch panels replaced the door handles, keyholes, roof rack and all the emblems. An S-10 roll pan smoothed the rear and a Chevy 1500 front bumper upgraded the front. Without intimate knowledge of paintwork, Joey turned to local airbrush artist Trish Karz in Ocala, Florida. Inspired by a combination of car and truck cultures, Trish sprayed a yellow and white base- coat along with multiple shades of Kandy and pearls. Once satisfied with the base, Trish went to work airbrushing the entire Blazer, inside and out.
The final phase was the interior and Joey called in a little help from Eric at CKC in Ocala, Florida. Eric modified a pair of stock S-10 seats, shortening them 12 inches and wrapped them in tan leather. Joey then got to work on the stereo and custom touches and fiberglassed the entire dashboard adding a 19-inch Sharp LCD to the passenger side. Once satisfied that the interior was every bit as custom as the exterior, Joey could finally call his Blazer complete.
Most custom truck owners can say they have a hand in completing their final project, but Joey was involved every step of the way. The experience was so good that he decided to open his own shop in Ocala called Deviant Designs. And, since the only talent that he hasn't quite mastered was paint, Joey teamed up with Trish and convinced her to become a partner in the business, making it a full-service shop. "Working together has its advantages," Joey tells us. "Trish and I have been happily dating since her arrival at the shop." So now that he's got a painter, and a girlfriend, Joey just has to make sure not to screw it up! For more info on the mods, check out the Lowdown.