If you have been visiting SoCalCustoms.com since 2001 you may remember Chris Call from Temecula, California. His previous truck 'Smooth 93' was featured on this website shortly after I added the features section. His newest truck is a 1997 Toyota Tacoma that is lower, faster, and wilder than his previous creation.

  Chris started with the frame of his '97 and worked his way up. The truck received a new back-half using Chris Alston Chassis Works frame rails and a chrome reverse cantilever 4-link setup. The electrical wiring and air lines were run through the frame rails for a clean appearance from front to back. To make it even cleaner under Chris' truck, the frame was painted silver with blueberry pearl and the gas tank was relocated from it's stock position to allow the filler neck to sit near the frame in the truck bed. A chrome 5-gallon air tank was mounted between the 4-link bars along with two chrome ViAir 380c compressors using steel braided lines. To match the rear, the upper A-arms and custom lower A-arms in the front were also chromed. The rear shocks are Doetsch Tech and the fronts are custom valved Bilstein shocks. Then, it was time to bolt on the 18-inch Intro Twisted Vista wheels with custom backspacing that were wrapped with 215/35R18 Nitto 555 tires.

   The body of this project had to be even lower and cleaner than his last truck so Chris had his hands full. The truck was body-dropped a total of 4-inches to bring it completely to the pavement. As almost any other custom truck body modification list starts, the door handles, tailgate handle, and gas door had to go. This list got longer and included the antenna, gas door, windshield squirters, third brake light, and the factory roof bump. The bumper and valance were custom built to add a frenched-in angled license plate box. The stock fenders were removed and replaced with wider 4x4 versions. Then the grille and valance openings were filled with billet grille inserts while the headlights received Lexus HID bulbs. The corner and bumper lights were swapped out for clear lenses to finish the front end. Opening up the cab was a must in this truck for Chris. So an area was marked off and cut wide open for the sliding ragtop to fit from front to back. There is no tint on the windows of Chris' Tacoma to leave a clear view of the interior and the back window has been replaced with a Lexan rear window that holds the rear license plate. The rear bumper was tossed out in favor of a Sir Michael’s roll pan and the bed was topped off with a Snug Top tonneau cover. It was then sprayed with a coat of PPG Porsche Rivera Blue base and silver flames were laid down to cover the entire truck.

   Inside the cab had to be as custom as the exterior but still comfortable enough to enjoy the ride. It was stripped down and everything was modified in one way or another. The dash, door panels, custom subwoofer enclosure, and any other untouched pieces he could find were fiber-glassed and painted to match. The seats were scrapped so a set of silver wrapped PRP race seats with flame-stitching, and 3-point seatbelts could be bolted in over the custom carpet from ACC. The headliner was also custom built to incorporate flames. The instrument panel was updated with a Nu Image flamed gauge face and the steering wheel was replaced with a Billet Accessories Direct Inferno style wheel. Starting the audio/video system is a Pioneer touch screen DVD player sending it's signal to chrome flamed Audiobahn amplifiers, separates, and two 12-inch subwoofers. Drawing current from a blue top Optima battery, the sound system packs a punch with about 3200 watts total power.

   Toyota trucks have long been known for their reliable engines but raw power was on Chris' mind when he installed a TRD supercharger with a 55 shot of Nitrous courtesy of Nitrous Express, putting out roughly 300 horsepower to the tires. EL Prototypes supplied a pro-stock header and blower pulley. The truck received a Gibson exhaust, stiffer valve springs, larger valves, a ported head, Flex-a-lite electric fans, chrome valve covers, Vitek spark plug wires, and an AEM intake.

Chris would like to thank the friends, companies, and sponsors that made this project possible. Thanks to Ben Wood, Brian Jendro, Alex Anderson, Steve Butts, Gabe & Joe at Al & Ed’s Temecula, Gabe Perez, Negative Camber, Ron at Temecula Valley Paint, Brain at Intro Wheels, Gary at TRD, Eric at E.L. Prototypes, Daniel at Audiobahn, Jeremy at Lightning Audio, Erik at Vitek, Auto Custom Carpets, Sam & Lance at ViAir, Jeremy & Pat at Loud & Clear, Chris & Aaron at PRP, Randy at  Nitrous Express, Flex-a-lite, Scott at MGM Plastics, Tony at North County Plating, Joe at Rigid Graphics and Billet Accessories Direct.