As is standard affair within our truck-customizing realm, picking just the right features and products is usually an arduous task. Quite frankly, we live for it and wouldn't trade in our "problem" for anything else in the world, but after shooting this month's cover truck and boat, it dawned on us: What kind of freaky dreams would appear if we had to build a pair of vehicles, leaving no stone unturned, and still make both vehicles look right? Shivers a plenty creep up and down our spines with those frightful desires. Now make one vehicle yours and one a friends...the drama ensues.
While kicking around some ideas about a matching truck and boat combo, friends Stephen Chubbuck and Tom Agerstig amassed themselves quite a few napkin drawings depicting their collective thoughts. The local polished brass pole establishment is still billing them for depleting its inventory. What the duo came up with was then added onto by a grouping of aftermarket heavy hitters, and we have been drooling ever since we viewed the mostly finished project at the '05 Los Angeles Boat Show.
Stephen Chubbuck, owner of Accessory House in Montclair, California, rolls in the big rig '04 Chevy Crew Cab HD 2500. Before you have to figure it out on your own, it's a two-wheel drive. Stephen knows his grit when it comes to lifted trucks, and he wasted no time nabbing a CST Performance Suspension lift kit. For an increase in nose height, a 9-inch drop cage, 2-inch torsion adjusters, and 4-inch spindles combine for a 15-inch lift. Getting the Bow Tie's derriere to match the front's import-clearing stance are Deaver 13-inch lift springs boosted by 2-inch blocks. CST's massive lift makes it all too easy to clear the 40x15.50-22 Toyo Mud Terrains. Stephen opted for dual King shocks with reservoirs to dampen each corner's suspension action. Ten wheels were needed to fit the bill for this tag-team, and Stephen turned to Tom for inspiration. While mulling it over during some playtime at the fabulous Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Tom found the answer in front of him, and it was Aces high. Back at home, MC Motorsports in Ontario, California, signed on to create the one-off wheels from billet blanks of aluminum stock. On the face of each of the truck's 22x11-inch wheels, MC Motorsports CNC cut and etched the Jack and Ace of Spades into the anodized face, while added dimension from the Spade's formal format was milled from six equal portions of the wheels as well. Full Scale Motorsports in Riverside, California, fabricated traction bars matched to the spaded theme.
With so much rubber to roll around, performance and towing capabilities hit the skids. With a 6.6L Duramax turbodiesel under the hood, upgrades came with ease. Starting with the simple stuff, an RBP stage-one intake and exhaust package found its new home on the diesel mill. A cherry-topping Edge Products' Juice and Attitude combine for a Corvette-crippling boost in power. With the chip selected for maximum burn, towing can be done at "I swear I didn't know I was going that fast officer!" speeds. Mag-Hytec differential and transmission covers try to keep the precious fluids cooled at full afterburner.