Custom 1996 Chevrolet C1500 Truck - Simply Shaved

Without trucks, what is there? This question was posed to us by truck owner David Hustus, and it stands as his inspiration for his deep involvement in our sport. Plenty of customs have been titled in his name and passed on. So, after further reviewing of David's portfolio, we can assuredly say that he is a true truck customizer. The C1500 here has seen a couple tweaks and twists here and there, but the final outcome is a simply shaved cruiser any one of us would be proud to own.

To achieve such a low-driving position, the truck was driven to the capable crew at Excruciating Metalworks in Rosharon, Texas, for an altered altitude. Putting 24-inch wheels underneath a truck and making it touch the ground sounds like an easy bolt-on proposition, but there's more to it than off of the shelf parts and handtools.

Juan Sorto ripped the stock suspension guts out and replaced them with Belltech 2-inch drop spindles up front and a two-link and Panhard bar out back. Slam Specialties RE7 'bags created the road destroying stance with Nitro Drop shocks to slow the bump reactions. Half-inch copper airlines feed the air suspension system from a leather-wrapped nitrogen bottle. David sought out Mike Henderson for a set of Centerline smoothie wheels that reflect plenty of light from their 24 inches of polished glory with Pirelli 275/25R24 tires making it all roll right.

Underneath the hood, the factory 5.7L V-8 was left pretty much totally stock, except for some breathing modifications and plenty of detail work. The stock airbox and battery wouldn't fit anymore, seeing as a pair of trailer fenders found their way in the engine compartment to replace the removed OE items. An Optima Yellow Top was fitted and wired underneath the bed, while a K&N filter was placed onto the modified factory air intake. A Raven exhaust system dumps the exhaust out of the engine with a high flow muffler and cats and turns down underneath the bed. Keeping David's truck cool during his drives to and from Texas shows in the scalding summer heat is a four-core radiator. Chirping those big 24-inch rollers is no sweat, thanks to a B&M shift kit sharpening the 4L60E's shifts.

Considering that Mr. Hustus calls this truck Shaved, it only stands to reason that the sheetmetal on this Chevy is seriously smooth. Still in the care of Juan at Excruciating, the door handles, stake pockets, third brake light, taillights, and tailgate handle were MIG-welded forever closed. A Sir Michaels roll pan replaced the rear bumper and a Goodmark cowl-induction hood was fitted, as well. Holes were cut into the tailgate to accept a sleek pair of LED taillights. Czar from Master Mind Design then loaded his paint gun with House of Kolor Tru Blu, Magic Blue, Teal, and Sunset Orange, and dropped a two-tone over the Bow Tie. Plenty of demonic skulls can be found in the graphics and on the inner fender panels, as they peer angrily at onlookers. A few trim pieces underneath the hood were colored to match and the finishing touch was a set of sword-like swaths of chrome slashing their way around the truck's metal skin. Upon completion of the paint, a fresh chrome grille with billet inserts was installed, along with crystal clear headlights, turn signals, and a smooth chrome bumper with driving lights.

The stereo was kept fairly minimalist, by some standards, with an Eclipse head unit and Pioneer speakers in the factory door and pillar locations. The rest of the interior commands the majority of the attention with a fully smoothed and painted dash, which is sporting white-face gauges, a Trenz billet shifter and HVAC controls, and a Colorado Custom Blackhawk steering wheel. A Trenz billet rear view mirror was also hung from the windshield. Robby from H&H Trim in Pearland, Texas, pulled out the seats, headliner, and door panels from the Chevy. He then proceeded to stitch and recover the seats and panels with light gray leather and dark gray suede. Meanwhile, the headliner was entirely wrapped in suede before it, too, was replaced in the truck.

David has rolled his truck to plenty of shows across the southern portions of our great nation, and in doing so, he has seen his fair share of attention. Thanks to Master Mind Designs, the truck has garnered several best-paint trophies. Not bad, we say, not bad at all. Plenty of time and income has been wrapped up in projects like these, and David surrounded himself with friends he could trust to get the truck to its current state of affairs. David thanks his friends Czar, Juan, Robby, and Mike; and at the top of his list is, of course, his beautiful bride, Susie.

We shot the Chevy at Heatwave 2006 and have since been waiting to get the truck in the right spot. Thanks to all of the killer paint and body work, that spot is right here in our annual paint and body issue because this truck is simply shaved.