Owner: Heather Elsken Ride:...
Owner: Heather Elsken
Ride: '95 Toyota Tacoma
Hometown: Grenada, Mississippi
Club Affiliation: Relaxed Atmosphere
Continuing on with our girls issue, we bring you Heather Elsken's sick flamed '95 Toyota Tacoma. If you recognize this name, it's because Heather is one of the most hard-core girl mini-truckers alive. Heather's Tacoma was also a 2001 Sport Truck Top Ten of the Year pick in its first incarnation. Looks like being a respected member of Relaxed Atmosphere and one of the few hard-core women in the sport drives you to be the best.
With Heather's ride already pimped-out, she was cruising show-to-show in the South, making guys' jaws drop at the fact that they were just clowned by a girl. If Heather's Taco' wasn't already a good enough statement, someone decided to rear-end her at Showfest '02. This usually would put concrete in the backpack of enthusiasm, but Heather looked at this as an opportunity to show guys she could not only show them what time it was, but also throw the smackdown even harder and update her ride.
This time around, the Tacoma was built full-tilt. The motor was pulled to smooth and paint the engine bay, as well as add front fenderwells. Heather's Taco' doesn't need any excuses when it's on a lift for service work, as most of the underside of the Tacoma has been Rhino Lined.
With a new paint scheme of '74 VW Guinea Blue with Candy Apple Red flames that run over the roof laid down by Ronnie Boatman, Heather's Tacoma has been reborn, and she's already attending shows all over the South with her newly revamped ride. Try not to let Heather take your dignity - she is a just a mini-trucker like the rest of us.
The Lowdown
Wheels/Tires 18x7-inch TSW RIBs in silver wrapped in Toyo 215/35ZR18 FZ4 low-profile tires
Suspension/Chassis Air Lift Gen II airbags / flipped ball joints / relocated antisway bar / Doestch shocks / custom tubular crossmember / Air Ride Technologies chrome four-link / nitrogen with Harrison regulator / 6-inch step notch / all suspension modifications by Kustomwerks
Body Modifications Bed sides flared / 4x4 fenders / '96 Tacoma bumper / custom sheetmetal bed floor and front fenderwells / fenders, markers, and antenna by Kustomwerks of Union City, Tennessee / Alter Images Cali Combo / shaved door handles and shaved hood squirters by Ronnie Boatman of Grenada, Mississippi
Paint Painted '74 VW Guinea Blue and House of Kolor Candy Apple Red with ultra-mini-flake flames by Ronnie Boatman
Interior Dashboards Plus carbon-fiber kit / cut down 4Runner seats upholstered in Galaxy Blue leather and Gray Opal by C&C Upholstery in Memphis / custom fiberglass gauge pod for air-ride controls
Stereo JVC CD player / Pyle equalizer / 400-watt Eclipse amplifier / six 6x9-inch Boss Audio three-ways / 1,000-watt Autotech amplifier / two 15-inch Digital Audio subwoofers in custom enclosure by Joe Fox / 13-inch Pyle flip-down LCD monitor / PlayStation 2 installed in glovebox / 15-inch Colorado Custom flame steering wheel
Engine/Performance Chrome valve cover / polished aluminum fendertubs / polished aluminum radiator / driveshaft shortened 2 inches / driveshaft mated to four-speed Toyota rearend / Pacesetter header / Sonic Boom racing muffler / Optima battery / 8mm plug wires
Special Thanks MasterCard - a familiar name that's usually left out