Article and Photos by
Bryan Fross

   Every year there are new custom trucks being built. Every year there are custom trucks from years before that are revamped or rebuilt. Mike Sutton from Long Beach, California has now built this truck twice. Last year he had a clean dark blue 2000 Chevrolet Silverado with multi-colored flames spreading from the front to back. It was a clean truck and was built to be displayed on the cover of magazines and at shows. I had intended to shoot it for a feature but by the time I was ready, Mike was working on rebuilding the entire truck from top to bottom. With a rendering from Brandt at GraphicDisorder.com, Mike's new truck would be something on another level. Not to say the first version wasn't great, but Version 2.0 really grabbed mine and others attention.

   While a lot of things changed on Mike's Chevy, a few things stayed mostly the same. It lays body on the pavement with help from Art and Jeremy at GO-EZ in Placentia, California. Art laid the truck out using Firestone air bags, DJM A-Arms, a KP Components 6-link, a monster notch, and Toxic shocks. Jeremy body-dropped the truck 2-5/8 inches to finish the ground pounding stance. It wasn't easy to do but they worked the truck until it fit the 22x10-inch Intro Rockman wheels with 285/35 Nitto Tires.

   The largest difference between Mike's first truck and his newly revamped truck are the body modifications. The front end was removed and replaced with updated 2003 Chevy Silverado parts. The front bumper is a Street Scene SS model and the front grille was replaced with a  smooth Street Scene grille shell. The openings were then filled with Street Scene's Speed Grilles. The hood was also removed and replaced with a Reflexxions cowl hood. The truck's body was already shaved of it's stock door handles and other protruding items but Mike wanted more modifications. He turned to Foreign Auto Body in Gardena, California to perform one of the hardest modifications to pull off. The cab and bed had to be molded together. Bob Grant of Grant Kustoms was asked to make a set of filler panels to make the modification a little less difficult. Once the major work on that was done, Foreign Auto Body worked on the rear of the truck to give it a new look. The LED taillights are recessed near the stock locations, but they give the rear a whole new style. The rear end was finished off with a  Sir Michaels roll pan molded in. The truck was sprayed by Steve Deman of Deman Custom Paints with a two-tone PPG base coat of yellow and silver. Steve added a gold leaf graphic between the 2 colors to separate them. The inner bed was sprayed by Line-X to keep it clean and protected.

   After that was done, the body theme and style had to be brought into the cab so Foreign Auto Body was not finished just yet. They used a 1960 Chevy truck dash and built a custom console to branch off of it. It was all molded together and painted to match by Steve Deman. The gauges were replaced with Dakota Digital models and the APC Billet Steering wheel was bolted up to the Ididit tilt steering column. The seats, door panels and stereo were left to the pro's over at Stitchcraft Custom Interiors.  Revo and his staff at Stitchcraft wrapped the Cerullo bucket seats and door panels in 2 shades of Enduratex Vinyl. They also added a host of MA Audio equipment including ten 5-1/2 inch midrange speakers, and two 15-inch subwoofers. The two amplifiers have a total output of 3,200 watts to give Mike a fairly large dose of volume. The Pioneer head unit was hidden behind the glove box door.

   The last thing on Mike's list was to have a clean, high powered, and overall fitting example of how an engine compartment should look and run. The stock V8 needed major upgrades to fit the newly revised Chevy. A Magnuson LS1 Street Rod blower and intake manifold were installed for power. A K&N Air Filter was bolted in place and the Gibson Exhaust was installed. The transmission was upgraded by Level 10 with a custom shift kit and Lokar shifter. Flex-a-lite fans keep the engine cool. To clean in all up, the motor and transmission were painted and the motor was detailed. The pulleys and alternator were replaced with polished versions and the coolant tank was custom-made by JC at Schoolhouse Kustoms. The frame and all of the suspension parts were also painted and detailed to finish off an amazing street rod inspired custom truck.

Mike would like to thank everyone who had a hand in his trucks buildup. His sponsors, his family, and his friends. Special thanks to his wife Jennifer, their two boys Victor & Tyler and his brother in law Nicholas.

Model: JP

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