Completion of the chassis and suspension fabrication led to going full throttle on the envelope with a list of modifications performed to smooth the truck from grille to roll pan. Kelly enlisted Troy Anderson of Anderson Bros. in West Sacramento to grip onto his welder and delete much of the truck's factory make-up. Providing a wrinkle-free surface for the fire-red pearl liquid to adhere to, Troy shaved the stake pocket holes, the door handles, the tailgate handle, and the factory taillights. The original body line on the tailgate was filled for a smoother look, while a Sir Michaels roll pan graced with a pair of 12-inch Hi-Tech LED taillights, quenches the custom thirst out back. Once the truck was arrow straight and wrinkle-free, Troy rolled Kelly's baby into the paint booth and dusted several coats of Lesonal fire-red pearl over all the freshly worked metal. A Reflexxion steel cowl induction hood lends a performance element to the show truck picture and works in conjunction with Street Scene mirrors and a Reflexxion front bumper to sanitize the nose.
Stuffing the cab with sights and sounds was next on the list after the paint was color sanded and polished to a fine shine. Aiming for a cab-rumbling driving experience, Kelly put the credit card in the red zone and purchased a combination of Kenwood and ARC Audio gear to rock the cab confines. A Kenwood KVT 815 DVD head unit feeds various music selections to two ARC Audio 10D4 subwoofers and two sets of ARC Audio mids and highs mounted in each door. Maintaining crystal clear sounds and maximizing volume pumping characteristics are ARC Audio XXK 4450 and ARC Audio XXK 2500 amplifiers mounted in a custom amp rack mounted in the bed.
Santana Interior Design in Diamond Springs, California, hooked up the factory bench seat with Mercedes Benz Java-colored vinyl and laid Mercedes Benz wool carpet down to accent the floorboards. The factory dash and cab plastics were smoothed and painted by Anderson Bros. to contrast the rich earth-tone fabric surroundings. Empire Motorsports billet trim panels brighten the dash while bringing a little bling to the cockpit. Up top a custom fiberglass headliner drenched in fire red brings more style to the interior and blends with the restyled door panels and smoothed and painted dash. Topping the painted steering column is a Billet Specialties Thrasher steering wheel, which perfectly accents the surrounding billet and paint updates.
Kelly Dickinson successfully crafted a stunning C-1500 packed with class and top-notch hot-rod attributes. He is quick to point out that his fire-red frame dragger would not have been possible without the help of Troy Anderson, Bruce Hendrickson, Dan Twenty, Rick Santana and the support of his wife, Michelle, and two children. If you see this sensational standard cab at a show next summer be sure to check it out; it's more than just another pretty face with a slammed stance and big wheels.