Moving to the modified body, Justin and Becca's mom talked about Becca's favorite body styles and decided on the Escalade front end. Bolting on the '04 Cadillac grille, headlights, and hood, Patrick Read, of Galveston, Texas, cut the original Chevy fenders to accommodate the new design. Wanting to provide the truck with a unique look, Patrick cut an '04 Dodge Ram front bumper and grafted it into place. While massaging the body, Patrick shaved the door handles, third brake light, taillights, tailgate handle, and added a Sir Michael's roll pan. Inside the bed, a full sheetmetal inner wall was built and ground smooth. Patrick was again called on to apply the PPG paint on the Silverado. He mixed Sports Blue, Custom Orange, Pure Pearl White, and Purple to go on the body. The two-tone paint is broken up by the wispy-orange-and-blue graphic that also flows seamlessly inside the bed. Orange graphics also appear on the blue Cadillac hood. This simple, eye-catching paint scheme draws you to the truck for a closer look.
Upon further inspection inside the truck, you'd see an interior that barely looks like a Chevy interior. The only things left from the original setup are the seats, which were recovered in bone white Enduratex with gator inserts by Troy Wacha, owner of Badass Interiors, in Palestine. Bronze shag carpet replaces the stock material and a bone white Enduratex headliner with graphics looks down on the full sheetmetal dash. The dash was built incorporating a custom floating metal console that houses the air gauge. Triple gauges supply engine vitals and are mounted on the left side of the dash. Painted with blue graphics, the dash and console perfectly match the exterior. Bone white Enduratex covers the door panels with gator inserts. The B.A.D. Rockstar billet steering wheel is also wrapped in gator leather with white Enduratex. Billet window cranks and billet pedals finish off the interior.
Becca originally purchased the truck with the V-6, but now a Vortec ZZ4 350ci V-8 calls the custom framerails home. Chris Carter and J&B Auto are responsible for the swap that uses ported and polished aluminum heads, a polished Edlebrock Air Gap intake, a COMP cam, an MSD ignition, custom Carter-built headers, and Flowmaster mufflers to power the Bow Tie. Replacing the electronic transmission, the crew swapped in a B&M 700-R4 with a B&M shift-kit and a B&M 2,800-stall converter. Supplying fuel to the carbureted mill is a 10-gallon fuel cell mounted between the rear framerails. No longer straining to smoke the rear tires, the healthy V-8 can roast the 24s with a stomp of the throttle.
Front to back and top to bottom, Justin built a truck that anyone would be proud to own, especially an enthusiast like Becca. His hope was to be on the cover of his favorite truck mag. After seeing the truck and hearing the story behind it, how could we not oblige him? Becca, we hope you're smiling down on us.