A Veteran's Affair
Article and Photography by:
 Bryan Fross
 Model: Lacey Vargas

     

   After High School, young adults have their first real-life decision to make that will guide them on the path that will shape their lives. Some choose to continue schooling by going to College while others find jobs and search out the one that could become a lifelong career. Others choose to serve their country in the Armed Forces with a chance to learn, travel and meet new people all while protecting the freedoms that this country was founded upon. Todd Burton is one of those people. He is a Veteran of the United States Army and worked in several locations in the U.S. as well as some time in Baumholder, Germany. After his time in the Military and further education at a tech school, Todd found his way eventually to Arizona to set up for his next step.

   What began as a hobby in a driveway, has transformed over the years into a custom shop building some of the best in the Southwest. Lowboy Motorsports is the name Todd chose for his shop located in Mesa, Arizona and it's where he spends countless hours working on dream rides for customers. As many shop owners will admit, working on customer vehicles so much leaves little time to build anything for themselves. Todd purchased this stock 1988 Chevrolet Standard Cab Dually in 2000. After 12 years it was worn out and needed a rebirth not just a rebuild. The big block engine and transmission were swapped out for a small block and overdrive transmission. The suspension was altered to accept air bags, the front of the frame was Z'd and the truck was body-dropped 3.5-inches. After painting it flat black, Todd drove the truck daily for 7 years.

   In 2010, Todd started to rework the truck but never had the time he needed to get it where he wanted it to be. He narrowed the rear end 9-inches in house and changed the entire air bag setup in the rear with a two-link installed. The rear frame was also modified to drop down to compensate for the body-drop and allow the bed floor to remain at the factory height. Todd also built a set of control arms for the front of the truck. Tucking under this ride is a set of one-off custom wheels that were also cut in-house at Lowboy Motorsports. It may have been difficult to find the time to work on his own vehicle but when he did, the custom touches on Todd's Chevy are abundant and unique.

    When the time came to change the exterior of the dually permanently, Todd began the bodywork himself with a ton of help from Leon Redman, Jay Webb and several other helpers at the shop. Leon then sprayed the truck with Viper Red base with Red Fireball Mini Flake mixed with Gold Pearl. A Frost White mid section breaks up the red with an addition of Green Pearl flames outlined with a green pin stripe. Before the bumper was given some color, it was cut, sectioned and recessed to fit closer to the body of the truck. The headlights were updated with cat eye style lights and a GMC grille with billet insert was installed to complete the look.

   The interior of Todd's truck is a sea of red but it didn't start that way. Everything inside has been changed in some way, shape or form. The stock bench was re-foamed and re-wrapped by Todd Jubert at The Interior Shop. Todd did the wrapping and flame work on the the headliner as well as wrapping the subwoofer box. The dashboard was fiberglassed and smoothed at Lowboy Motorsports then finished off by Jay Webb at Rolling Canvas. Many of the miscellaneous parts for the interior were wrapped to match by several different places in the area. Turning to the audio system, Todd called in friend and installer Kevin Ferry. The simple-looking stereo is actually all top-of-the-line Kenwood products. A Kenwood Excelon head unit feeds signal to the Excelon XR 4-Channel and Subwoofer Amplifiers. From there, the sounds come out of XR Components and shallow-mount 10-inch subwoofers. Kevin also built and installed the subwoofer box, console and aluminum inlays as well.

    With Veteran License Plates and his Dog Tags hanging from the rear view mirror, Todd is proud of his past and has merged it with present-day life. Todd would like to thank the people involved in the project including Jay Webb, Aaron Reyes, Jesse Matthiesen, Rob Hanson and Eddie Garcia. Special thanks to Leon Redman and Kevin Ferry who he says went above and beyond or as Todd puts it, his Wolf Pack.