Adjectives abound in this magazine as we try to relay to you, our readers, the way a truck looks, feels, and sounds. Some trucks are easy to describe: Yellow, stock, and Chevy can all be described with little effort. Describing Jose Hernandez's truck, however, is a much more difficult task, even with an unlimited vocabulary. You see, Jose went off the chain with his wild custom and decided to play mind games with the people who would have to describe it.
"Orange with graphics and spinners...oh, and speakers in the bed, with a Caddy clip and..." Yeah, we understand. It's tough even talking about it. Built in conjunction with MA Audio and MHT wheels, the Chevy 454SS standard cab went from a cool idea to an amazing show truck right in front of our eyes.
Starting with the suspension, Merzees Paint and Body, in Santa Fe, California, removed the stock components and put the C1500 on the ground. Using a four-link setup in the rear, the frame was lowered via 'bags and an Airtronix remote control. Stuffed under each fender are 22x9-1/2-inch DUB Esinem wheels with floating paint-matched spinners, and keeping the rubber on the road are 255/20R22 Nitto NT-555 tires.
A JET Performance chip, Gibson exhaust, and Nitrous Express kit help power the C1500's 454ci V-8 engine, while a Thunder Bird custom air cleaner and Wysco Products valve covers provide the perfect amount of bling. A total of seven Optima batteries power the audio and video. Now, with all these batteries, a killer system must be lurking inside the cab, right? Well, yes and no.
The insane system actually begins inside the cab but quickly runs out of room and fills the entire bed as well. Blowing our minds-and ears-is the MA Audio system that brings 12,000 watts to life through 10 speakers, five amps, and don't forget the four monitors. Edge Audio in conjunction with the pros at MA Audio built the rolling sound stage and used a host of MA Audio goods to make the Chevy bump. Inside the cabin, Azteka Customs, in Long Beach, California, wrapped the Tenzo seats in gray suede with dark-gray vinyl and also installed the Mercedes carpet and suede headliner. Trends Custom Paint also removed and painted the dash and door panels. Speaking of paint, the paint is what makes the truck special.
Before an ounce of paint was sprayed, the entire body was reworked to ensure maximum straightness. Trends Custom Paint filled the door handles and shaved the body lines before installing the Escalade front end and Cadillac taillights. A Trenz grille keeps the front lines smooth and the custom-colored taillights are from AVS mobile. With the body mods complete, Joe, at Trends Custom Paint applied the crazy paint and graphics to the truck's every panel. Using overlapping flames, Earth patterns, slashes, and swirls, Joe made the truck a feast of color.
Everyone sees something different in the paint, which is one of the great things about the truck. Tint magic was performed by Joe Conduff at The Tint Shop in Tustin, California.
Descriptions aside, the truck is nothing like Jose initially envisioned, but rather a representation of three years of blood, sweat, and tears. Go ahead, take a look at the paint and see what jumps out at you.