As a child, my father would surprise me once in a while with a piece of Doublemint chewing gum when he got home from work. This simple and small gesture has stayed with me all these years, because I know it meant he missed seeing his little guy during the long workday. Jessie Gomez of Santa Fe, Texas, received a little more than a piece of gum when he returned from boot camp. A surprise of a lifetime awaited him after beginning his career in the Air Force. What could be so special, you may wonder? How about a gesture of love and appreciation from his father and family.
Driving his '02 Chevy S-10 Xtreme during high school, Jessie always had big plans for customizing his truck, but his bigger plans of serving in the Air Force prevented him from really going over-the-top on his mini. Once he left for boot camp, Jessie, his father, and his uncle, Robert Meza, owner of Alamo Customs, in Alvin, Texas, decided to add some custom touches to the S-10. First off, Jessie removed all of the factory racing decals on the truck, shaved the rear tailgate handle, and then Patrick Reed from San Leon, Texas, applied PPG Silver tribal flames to the blue body. After the paint was sprayed, the truck waited for Jessie to return home and check out his baby. The itch was again getting to his dad and uncle, and they began working on the interior.
Inside the S-10 is a blue-and-silver interior with a custom acrylic steering wheel, which was fabbed up by the guys at Mind-to-Metal.
The door panels and flamed dash cover were painted by Jessie's Auto and Paint, then Patrick Reed stepped in and built a fiberglass center console that also received some color. Replacing the gray carpet in favor of silver matched the silver tribal flames. The seats were customized next and they were covered in blue with silver inserts by Mike's Upholstery. In the rear of the cab, a fiberglass enclosure houses four 12-inch Memphis Audio subs, which are powered by Kicker amps. A JVC head unit sends the signals for all of the tunes.