Always being into rat rods and the look of flat paint, the green light was given to scuff all of the paint off of the GMC and start fresh. Before the truck was painted, however, Nate had some cool body components added to make it stand out. While the chassis was being worked on at his shop, on went an '06 GMC 1/2-ton grille shell fitted with an APC billet grille, headlights, and turn signals, and an '06 3/4-ton GMC front bumper at Auto Art Studio. Not pleased with the large factory gap of the front bumper to the body, Nate actually extended the mounts to narrow the gap; something GM should have done to start off with. Welding on a Grant Kustoms roll pan and tailgate skin, Dave Steger handbuilt the taillight fillers, added the factory compound curve to the skin and roll pan, and then Brad Houk, from Auto Art Studio, in Prescott, stepped in with his welder. Brad proceeded to weld in the custom-bed sheetmetal, shaved the bed pockets, and welded in the slick '59 Cadillac taillights from Mooneyes. The truck was then sprayed PPG Flat Black Clear by Robert Howell. Charles Armstrong, from Auto Art Studio, masked off the wild hot-rod flames and Robert came in and sprayed them PPG Make You Blush Red Pearl. Famous pinstripers Butcher and Bugs then came in and striped the flames and chassis. Out of the paintbooth and into the Arizona sunshine with only hours left until the show, the truck looked killer and truly unique, but Nate was suffering from what most of us would call a breakdown.
The truck rolled to SEMA and was a huge success, but the interior was not quite finished. The truck was delivered to The Interior Shop, in Phoenix, where Todd swapped the factory carpet in favor of Mercedes-Benz black carpet. While he was at it, he swapped in a suede headliner with flames. To go along with the black theme, each plastic panel was dyed black. Todd also covered the seats in black suede and black ostrich leather with red piping to give the interior an old-skool look. The rear seats were reshaped to resemble an old bench seat and have just the right contour to accommodate the two 10-inch Rockford Fosgate subwoofers under the seat. A Kenwood DVD head unit sends signals to two Rockford Fosgate amps, powering the subs and Rockford components in each door. Nathan Navatony handled the audio system. A BAD Sixty-Four billet steering wheel and smoothed and painted dash bezel and tinted gauge cluster housing Autometer gauges round out the interior modifications. For a bit of detail, Alex Hamilton stepped in and pinstriped several of the dash components.
It almost killed him, but looking back, Nate is very thankful for the truck and his dream coming to fruition. He was quick to thank everyone who had helped him get the truck finished, including Charles, Brad, John, Robert, Dave, his kids, and of course, his wife. Death is certain, but a truck's outcome is not so predictable. Chalk this one up for the mistress.
 John Davison Smoothed And...  John Davison Smoothed And Painted The Dash Bezel And The BAD Steering Wheel Is The Only Billet You'll Find Inside Of The Truck. |  A Magnuson Supercharger Adds...  A Magnuson Supercharger Adds The Boost, While A JBA Performance Exhaust Expels The Gases. |  Taillights From A '59 Cadillac...  Taillights From A '59 Cadillac Now Call The GMC Home. |
 A Subtle But Awesome Trick,...  A Subtle But Awesome Trick, Nate Had Butcher And Bugs Use Gloss Black Paint While Pinstriping On The Flat Black Surface. Slick! |  The rear end is from a Ford...  The rear end is from a Ford and the lift is courtesy of a completely new back-half: CAD drawn and laser-cut track bars, along with Eibach coils, Fox Racing Shox, and a custom three-link. |  Providing even more lift to...  Providing even more lift to the truck, Nate cut and welded in taller body mounts to give the GMC 4 inches of height. Small radiation symbols are found throughout the chassis. |